Interesting fight between a couple of prematurely big Heavyweights. Most quotes and clips about Williams point to him having great power in both hands but never having the mental toughness to compete at the highest level. Lyle, on the other hand, was in two of my favorite fights as a kid. His slugfest with Foreman and Shavers remain two of the best HW fights I've ever seen and prove he had some serious resolve. My gut feel is that Lyle could choose to box Williams and win a fairly easy decision. But the truth is that Lyle would probably be lured into a brawl that would reduce his chances of winning. In the end, I'd have to say that I see Lyle stopping Williams in 5 or 6 after a serious scrap that sees both guys on the canvas. I just think Lyle would have the will and mental toughness to keep getting up and Williams would fold. My dad, rest his soul, would verbally crush me for this opinion. Williams was one his favorites as he saw him fight live many times. He always grouped Williams in with the guys he thought Marciano retired to avoid fighting. Hmmm.
Good assessment. Williams does has that rep of one of the best heavies to never win the title, but he never even proved he was the 2nd best heavy around (after Liston).
Cleveland struck terror in the hearts of Cus D'Amato and Floyd Patterson and they were scared to death of him as they knew he would destroy Floyd, and guys like Johansson and Zora Folley avoided him like the plague. Lyle was really beaten up by Jerry Quarry in his first loss, and I saw a lot of flaws in him on that night, particularly with his balance and leverage as he squared up a lot, and also walked forward putting his right foot in front of his left foot. Cleveland was the better all around fighter and had more physical gifts, but I agree with the concensus that Lyle was mentally tougher, as the Shavers catharsis proved in one of the top five brutal battles ever at heavyweight. Lyle got up after being knocked dead by Earnie and then being belabored for long periods on the ropes, and he would have survived Williams' promised and very hard assaults. Ron Lyle wins by a knockout in round five.
