1970's ~ Top Heavyweight Upsets

[Bill Paxtom]

'Upset Special #10'

Tuesday ~ February 11, 1975

International Center Arena ~ Honolulu, Hawaii

Attendance ....... { 3700 }

Ron Lyle ~ 30-1-1 {21 KO's} ~ 6' 2" ~ Reach 76" ~ 218 1/2 lbs. ~ {Age; 33 years, 11 months}
vs.
Jimmy Young ~ 13-4-2 {3 KO's} ~ 6' 2" ~ Reach 77" ~ 203 3/4 lbs. ~ {Age; 26 years, 3 months}
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'The Skinny'

Ron Lyle >
Ron Lyle, the #3 World-Rated Heavyweight is a bruising puncher with power. But Ron is
slow-footed and somewhat predictable.

Ron is 'in-line' for a World Championship bout with Muhammad Ali, and set for March 24th,
but {later changed to May 16th}.

Ron was using this bout in Hawaii as a 'final tune-up' before facing Muhammad Ali.

Though Ron was a 'bruising puncher', there had been questions about his lack of desire and
'lazy' training habits over the past year.

Over the past '13-Bouts', Ron had gone 11-1-1, but only had scored '4' Knockouts, after scoring
'17' Knockouts in his first 19-Bouts.

Ron's only loss {L Dec 12} was to Jerry Quarry back on February 9, 1973.

In 1974, Ron had scored wins over;
* December 13 .......TKO 5 ........ 'Memphis' Al Jones
* September 17 ......TKO 8 ........ Boone Kirkman
* July 16 ................W Dec 12 ... Jimmy Ellis
* March 19 .............W Dec 12 ... Oscar Bonavena

Manager > Billy Daniels
Trainer > Chickie Ferrara

Billy Daniels >
"We wanted this bout as a 'Final Tune-Up', before fighting for the Championship in 6-Weeks. It will be
a good bout for Ron to sharpen his skills. Jimmy Young is a 'cagey kid' from Philadelphia, and he's
a very good counter-puncher."

"It should be a close and competitive fight for 5 or 6 Rounds. Then I expect Ron to take over with his
strength, and catch Jimmy with his hard right-hands over the second-half of the bout. Ron punches
too hard for this kid, and Jimmy will be lucky to make it thru 10-Rounds."

To prepare for this bout in Denver, Ron was sparring with 'young' 22 year-old Texas Heavyweight -
Johnny Boudreaux, and 'mammoth-sized' 25 year-old Leroy Jones.

In these sessions, Ron was given a difficult time by both sparring-mates, and was out-boxed in most of the
the gym sessions.

Despite this, Ron Lyle was listed as a {3-1} Betting-Favorite.

Jimmy Young >
Jimmy Young, the #9 World-Ranked Heavyweight is an elusive and smart counter-puncher from Philadelphia.

Jimmy has gone 6-0-2 in his last '8-Bouts' dating back to February 19, 1973. But, Jimmy has 'no power', and
has only scored '1' Knockout in his last '12-Bouts'.

Jimmy is coming off a {Draw 10} with dangerous-punching Earnie Shavers on November 26, 1974 - the same
fighter who 'blasted out' {KO 3} Jimmy 2-years earlier, back on February 19, 1973

Jimmy also scored and impressive {W Dec 10} over Jose Luis Garcia on July 6, 1974.

To prepare for this bout, Jimmy has been sparring in San Diego with Top-Ranked Contender - Kenny Norton and
'mammoth-sized' Jimmy Gilmore.

Manager - George Benton >
"We have prepared for this bout by sparring 75-Rounds over the past 3-Weeks. We are ready, and will score a
win here. Ron's style is made for Jimmy, and my guy will counter-punch Ron all over the Ring."

Note; The Promoters posted Jimmy Young's record at > 15-3-1 {5 KO's}
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'The Bout'

Jimmy came out and utilized his movement and elusive-style to frustrate the 'plodding' Ron Lyle over the
first 2-Rounds.

In Round 3, Jimmy was scoring with sharp-lefts, and had Ron Lyle and his slugging/punching style completely
baffled. In frustration, Ron started slamming Jimmy with blows to the belt-line, and several were low and
'south-of-the-border'.

The Referee - Walter Cho penalized Ron {1-Point} at the end of Round 3.

Jimmy picked the pace even faster in Rounds 4 and 5, as he took the lead, and scored with quick '2-Punch'
combinations to the head. Jimmy was much faster and more agile than Lyle, who was too slow to counter.

In Rounds 6, 7 and 8 >
Jimmy locked 'head-to-head' with Ron, and beat him to the punch time and again with 'rapier-type' left-hands
to the face. And each time the fighters moved from the break, Jimmy would nail Ron with 'quick' left-hand
smashes to the head.

Badly behind on Points, Ron made an aggressive-charge in Round 9, and slammed hard left-hooks into
Jimmy's kidney area, in attempt to slow him down so he could unload his powerful right-hand. Ron appeared
to shake Jimmy late with several jolting body-blows, but he couldn't follow up as Jimmy was too agile.

At the beginning of Round 10, Ron 'bolted' across the Ring, and tried to nail Jimmy with a big right-hand
in attempt to 'end-it-all' with a Knockout.

But Jimmy again was too elusive, and countered Ron's aggressive-attack with more left-hands to the face
while staying in close to smother Ron's big-swings.

Scorecards
* Referee - Walter Cho ........ 49-42 {Jimmy Young}
* Judge - Gilbert Souza ....... 48-43 {Jimmy Young}
* Judge - Wilbert Minn ........ 50-44 {Jimmy Young}

~ Little-Known Jimmy Young Too Elusive For Ron Lyle, Scores Upset Decision In 10 ~