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The Most Brutal Heavyweight Brawl
Breaking Down the Best: George Foreman versus Ron Lyle
© 2015 James LaFond
FEB/28/15
This is the full broadcast. More focused versions are available on YouTube but this version gets you Howard Cossell and Ken Norton at ringside. This was a battle. It may seem crude but George won and Ron nearly did, so they had the right idea.
George had a quirky style that he did not perfect until his comeback years later. His best weapons were the heavy plodding jab that freezes the opponent’s hips and his wicked right hook to the body. He stops and catches the opponent’s lead left with his right hand from his open guard. Foreman is an arm puncher. But, a guy who can hurt you just punching with his arms will have a naturally good uppercut that he can uncork at any time. Also George had exceptional timing, able to pivot his hips into an awkward punch—even if only partially—which gives him the ability to hurt you while open and off balance, which is very deceptive.
Ron Lyle was an underrated fighter. He was the heavyweight gatekeeper and had the tools to beat George. Note how he uses the right to the body to drop George’s guard and then hurt him with the overhand right. That is a nice changeup game against a tall strong man. I really liked Lyle’s style in this fight. The fight itself was a dice rolling contest in the end. It’s a shame for Ron that George rolled box cars just as he rolled snake eyes.
Grab a beer and enjoy this one—except for you Oliver; shadow box while you watch this.
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Dominick     Feb 28, 2015

That bizarre Colt 45 commercial I vaguely remember as a kid..another Baltimore brewing classic. Works every time!
James     Mar 1, 2015

Yes, drinking for effect is a facet of Harm City culture. I recall once picking up a bottle of Dakota Crazy Horse malt liquor at a stop, shop, and rob. Half way through enjoying this really marginal brew I was not only drunk [it was a 40 ounce of course] but already had a hangover! I became suspicious of the brewing art of the Native Americans of the Dakotas and checked the label on the bottle thinking about writing a letter of complaint—it was that bad—and then discovered that this swill had been brewed in Baltimore!
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