Howard Winstone won the British featherweight title from Terry Spinks in 1961, Terry Spinks' will was broken in the 10th by an array of ferocious body shots at Wembley Pool. Spinks was a fine fighter, he had won the Olympic Gold medal in the flyweight division at the 1956 Melbourne games in Australia at age of 18. Winstone defended the British crown six times. After winning the European title in 1963, he successfully defended that title seven times over the next three years.
Howard Winstone won the world featherweight title by stopping Mitsunori Seki of Japan in the 9th round at the Royal Albert Hall in Ken's London in 1968. Referee Roland Dakin, the only ring official under British rules, stopped the contest because of a bad cut over Seki's right eye. Winstone had been in command of the fight until the end, Seki had fought ferociously in the 7th and 8th rounds to try and get back into the fight and had prevented Winstone from setting the pace. Winstone came out fast in the 9th and rammed a solid jab on Seki's injured eye. When he saw blood he immediately pressed his attack and landed another succession of jabs on the eye followed by a vicious right cross. Dakin stepped in and ordered Seki to his corner and the fight was stopped.
"Slapsy" Maxie Rosenbloom was a light heavyweight in the 1920s and 30s, and he's quite legendary in the world of boxing. He was called "Slapsy" because of his open-gloved style of boxing, where he used open hands to hit opponents, rather than closed fists. Journalist Damon Runyon nicknamed him "Slapsy Maxie" due to this unusual, slapping technique. Rosenbloom once said of his unique style of fighting, "I didn’t want to hurt nobody, just smack ‘em around and let ‘em know who’s boss." Famous boxing trainer Cus D'Amato was heavily influenced by the boxing style of "Slapsy" Maxie Rosenbloom, particularly in the development of the Peek-a-boo style, which D'Amato then refined and modified. Rosenbloom's extensive use of movement, a tight high guard, and constant evasive action inspired D'Amato to create a more aggressive, counter-punching variation of the defensive style. It's a shame that there's no fight footage of Rosenbloom, rumor has it that there are private collectors out there somewhere that have a few cannisters of film of Rosenbloom fights, I sure wish we could get a peek. Don't let his nickname fool you, Rosenbloom was made of galvanized steel, he was one of the most durable fighters in boxing history, in 299 fights, he heard the final bell 297 times. His resume is ridiculous,It's a who's who of greats from that era. The names he fought are mind boggling. Although he didn't punch hard, he was a different kind of monster. Maxie Rosenbloom was no joke. He was an all-time great fighter. He was known as a technical and defensive boxer with great stamina who fought by disrupting his opponents rhythm while keeping them at bay with his slappy, stick-and-move style. He fought a lot of the great boxers of his time and did not fear or duck anyone. Reportedly, Rosenbloom wanted to fight Joe Louis and often called him out, but several members of Louis’ camp felt it would be bad for his image even if he won because of Rosenbloom’s awkward spoiling style. It can also be mentioned that Maxie never drew the color line and fought many black fighters of his era. He was successful after boxing, owning several nightclubs and having a successful Hollywood career, often playing roles involving punch-drunk boxers. He also did a live travelling show with Max Baer. He was a playboy, often enjoying the company of women, he had many celebrity friends, and was also a friend of the mob, the famous LA gangster Mickey Cohen was known to frequent his nightclubs in the 40s. Rosenbloom was known as a “clown prince” of boxing for his antics in and out of the ring. He hated training and although he didn’t drink he would stay out late dancing and partying, and often blew all his money on gambling. As far as his resume is concerned, the fighters he beat, and the Hall of Famers he beat, some of them more than once, it's ridiculous:
Mickey Walker (HOF)
Jimmy Slattery x3 (HOF)
Tiger Jack Fox (HOF)
Lou Nova
James Braddock (HOF)
Ted Kid Lewis (HOF)
Tiger Flowers (HOF)
John Henry Lewis x3 (HOF)
Ace Hudkins
Dave Shade X2 (HOF)
King Levinsky
Like I said, Slapsy Maxie Rosenbloom is a legend in boxing, he was one of the most prolific fighters in boxing history, his resume win or lose is probably the deepest in boxing history. The guy was no joke. There was a thread on boxing forum 24, where the big boys of boxing knowledge go to play, and it breaks down his resume in detail. It's batsh.. insane.
By the way, boxing forum 24 puts this place to absolute shame, there must be a thousand members there from all over the world, boxing is a lot more popular than people think. There's a special section on boxing forum 24 called "The Lounge" over there where you can go and talk about anything on this planet, from politics to sports to porn to anything, it doesn't matter. That place is rocking, 24/7, there's always something going on over there. Fights break out constantly in the lounge and the mods just break them up, the mods don't treat you like 5 year olds over there. They fight, it gets broken up, things go back to normal, rinse and repeat. It's action packed.
Back to Maxie Rosenbloom, great shot of Rosenbloom slipping Walker's attack and landing a left hand counter, Rosenbloom was a defensive genius, and the second shot is Rosenbloom landing a left jab against Walker.
Maxie Rosenbloom on the cover of Ring magazine in 1930. I actually own the type 1 original photo of the image from this cover, it's one of the best photos in my collection, check out the cauliflower ear.
Maxie Rosenbloom lands a left hand on Larry Johnson. Well, judging by this photo, it certainly looks like Rosenbloom could hit pretty hard when he wanted to.
This is one of my favorite photos of Maxie Rosenbloom, climbing through the ropes with that deadpan look in his eye. Almost 300 fights. He was from the planet Krypton.
The extraordinarily tough former welterweight and middleweight champion Carmen Basilio, who fought two brutal bouts with Sugar Ray Robinson, winning his middleweight title and then losing it to him, was born in 1927, in Canastota, about 25 miles east of Syracuse, and was one of 10 children.
His Italian immigrant onion farmer father was “a fight nut,” he recalled, who bought his sons boxing gloves. Basilio boxed in the Marine Corps during World War II, then made his pro debut in 1948.
They called him the "Upstate Onion Farmer" and he became a champion with an unrelenting attack, willing to take punishment as well as dish it out. Hard as nails.
His nephew, Billy Backus, was also world welterweight champion in 1970 and 1971.
In the most brutal confrontation of their rivalry and arguably the greatest greatest single fight in history, Muhammad Ali retained the world heavyweight title in 1975 when Joe Frazier's manager, Eddie Futch, surrendered from the corner moments before the bell was to ring for the 15th round at the Amanita Coliseum in Manila, Philippines.
Frazier, dominating the middle rounds with the fury of his youth, had been battered by the champion throughout the three rounds prior to Futch's merciful decision.
“I stopped it,” Futch explained, “because Joe was starting to get hit with too many clean shots. He couldn't see out of his right eye. He couldn't see the left hands coming.”
“My guy sucked it up,” said Ali's trainer, Angelo Dundee. “When he looked completely out of gas, he put on another gas tank. I thought we were in front. My guy was hitting him better shots.”
“Joe had two bad rounds in a row,” Futch said “Even with three minutes to go, he was going downhill. And that opened up the possibility in that situation that he could've been seriously hurt.”
Wearing dark glasses to hide his puffed eyes, especially his right eye, Frazier agreed with Futch.
“I didn't want to be stopped, I wanted to go on,” Frazier said, “but I'd never go against Eddie.”
"I saw a lot of things in prison that aren't clean or nice to talk about. I was seventeen years old. I didn't consider myself dangerous but I was surrounded by killers, rapists, child molesters, skinheads, mafia types, so I was in a dangerous situation. I saw a guy stabbed to death with a makeshift ice pick in an argument over a pack of cigarettes. You see rapes. You don't go in the shower with no clothes on. You take a shower wearing your shorts because, no matter how tough you are, it's not enough if you're up against four or five people. That HBO show Oz is like cartoons compared to what I saw in prison."
- Bernard Hopkins
Bernard ""The Executioner" Hopkins, one of the greatest pound-for-pound fighters in the history of boxing, started out his life heading towards absolute disaster. At 17, he was sentenced to prison for armed robbery, which resulted in a sentence of 18 years, he served 56 months of that sentence. While incarcerated, guards told him he’d be back once released, that he’d never change. Hopkins refused. He picked up boxing in prison, sharpened his discipline, and when he walked out, he never looked back. He went from inmate to middleweight king, defending his title 20 straight times.
Years later, he shocked the sport again. At 49 years old, Hopkins won a world title to become the oldest world champion in boxing history.
Hopkins proved boxing is more than a sport. It’s a way to rebuild, to reinvent, to change your life forever.
Swedish boxer Anthony Yigit suffered a grotesque, cricket ball-sized swelling to his left eye during his 2018 fight against Ivan Baranchyk, which was eventually stopped by the ringside doctor in the seventh round due to the extreme injury. The fight marked Yigit's first professional defeat, and though he sustained the injury in the second round, he continued to fight until the seventh, showing incredible resilience.
Ron Lyle vs Earnie Shavers Sep 13, 1975 was one of the greatest slugfest in boxing history, two brutal punchers collided like two freight trains that night.
Two heavyweight rivals going to war always creates a level of excitement that’s hard to replicate in any other division in the sport of boxing. Take a couple of big, physical fighters, both with great heart, determination, and one-punch knockout power and fans feel the hairs stand up on the back of their neck, or cutis anserina, anticipating such a match-up. The 1975 clash between Ron Lyle and Earnie Shavers covered all these criteria, from the lead-in to the fight right up to the brutal ending in round six.
Even though no title was being fought for in the Denver Coliseum, the promoters and organizers putting on the bout knew action was guaranteed as Denverite Lyle hosted Alabama’s big-punching Shavers. Lyle had thirty wins, while Shavers needed one more win to hit fifty. Ron had only lost against the best, while Shavers had lost of to some fighters lower on the boxing talent ladder. But Earnie was a serious puncher who common-opponent Muhammad Ali described later as the most concussive hitter he ever faced. Lyle had lost his last two (though one loss was to greatest-heavyweight-ever Ali) and needed a big performance when the two met head on. Rallied by a capacity crowd, expecting to be thrilled from the first bell to last, the chance that the winner would be declared after a 15-round decision was thin. This proved true, and the contest did not disappoint.
In the opening round Lyle circled away from Shavers’s big right hand, using the entire ring to keep the big man working. Shavers stalked, looking to trap Lyle and throw his vaunted power shots, but “The Black Destroyer” wasn’t cutting the ring off effectively. Lyle lay on the ropes in the middle of the round and allowed Shavers to tee off, which would become a common feature of the fight. That wasn’t of course an advisable strategy for the Denver boxer, who would have be better off throwing the jab to create distance and working on tying Earnie up when the pair got close. The crowd rose in anticipation as Lyle pinned Shavers against the ropes and worked furiously to the head and particularly the body as the round closed.
Lyle took to the front foot briefly in round two, but quickly thought better of it as the pair continued to gauge each other while watching the considerable power the other man possessed. Ron’s nifty head movement evaded some chilling Shavers left hooks and a looping right hand. Soon after, Lyle stretched against the ropes for too long and allowed Shavers to size him up twice with the left hook before Shavers finally connected flush and sent Lyle’s head spinning and his frozen frame to the canvas for a count. Luckily for Lyle, the knockdown occurred right at the end of the round; and even though Shavers raced across the ring to try and finish the job, he was unable to do so as the bell rang. Lyle later said that instead of his body falling to the canvas, it felt like the canvas came to him.
At the beginning of the third Lyle tried to bluff Shavers into thinking he was not hurt and came roaring out of the corner throwing wild right hands. Shavers accepted the bait willingly and pushed Lyle to the ropes, preferring to pummel his opponent with left hooks and right hands to head and body. Lyle needed every ounce of his trademark resiliency to negotiate a passage through the rest of the contest, let alone the rest of the round. Ron again insisted on spending time languishing on the ropes, trying to counterpunch. He had success but his defense was never strong enough to sustain such a strategy without getting hit with significant leather.
By round five Lyle’s body shots, together with Shavers’s work rate, were starting to have a draining effect on the Alabama slugger’s gas tank. Shavers was standing still for long enough to allow Lyle’s right hand to find a home more frequently. Lyle sensed his man had come out wearily in the sixth and started nailing him with right hands. Earnie’s reserves were depleting fast; Lyle increased the volume and Shavers suddenly appeared helpless on the ropes. The final two blows were unnecessary and it is doubtful today that a referee would’ve allowed Earnie to take the finishing shots while showing no defensive posture whatsoever. Shavers rolled around on the canvas and tried desperately to haul his hulking frame up, but he was counted out, much to the delight of Lyle’s fervent Denver following.
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Howard Winstone lands a body shot on Saldivar during one of their three fights.
Howard Winstone won the British featherweight title from Terry Spinks in 1961, Terry Spinks' will was broken in the 10th by an array of ferocious body shots at Wembley Pool. Spinks was a fine fighter, he had won the Olympic Gold medal in the flyweight division at the 1956 Melbourne games in Australia at age of 18. Winstone defended the British crown six times. After winning the European title in 1963, he successfully defended that title seven times over the next three years.
Howard Winstone won the world featherweight title by stopping Mitsunori Seki of Japan in the 9th round at the Royal Albert Hall in Ken's London in 1968. Referee Roland Dakin, the only ring official under British rules, stopped the contest because of a bad cut over Seki's right eye. Winstone had been in command of the fight until the end, Seki had fought ferociously in the 7th and 8th rounds to try and get back into the fight and had prevented Winstone from setting the pace. Winstone came out fast in the 9th and rammed a solid jab on Seki's injured eye. When he saw blood he immediately pressed his attack and landed another succession of jabs on the eye followed by a vicious right cross. Dakin stepped in and ordered Seki to his corner and the fight was stopped.
Great image from Howard Winstone vs Derry Treanor, Winstone stopped Treanor in the 14th round to defend his British featherweight title.
Great shots of Winstone with some fans in Mexico City.
Howard Winstone (left) rolling a beer barrel at Merthyr Tydfil Brewery in South Wales, Winstone was employed there when he wasn't boxing.
Howard Winstone with his belts.
Howard Winstone fight pose, this is one of my favorite images of Winstone, I would love to own the type 1 original copy of it.
Howard Winstone had a movie made about his life, the 2010 film "Risen."
A scene from the film "Risen."
The Howard Winstone statue in Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales.
Great book about Howard Winstone.
Gotta love these.
The great "Welsh Wizard", Howard Winstone. Beautiful boxing.
"Slapsy" Maxie Rosenbloom was a light heavyweight in the 1920s and 30s, and he's quite legendary in the world of boxing. He was called "Slapsy" because of his open-gloved style of boxing, where he used open hands to hit opponents, rather than closed fists. Journalist Damon Runyon nicknamed him "Slapsy Maxie" due to this unusual, slapping technique. Rosenbloom once said of his unique style of fighting, "I didn’t want to hurt nobody, just smack ‘em around and let ‘em know who’s boss." Famous boxing trainer Cus D'Amato was heavily influenced by the boxing style of "Slapsy" Maxie Rosenbloom, particularly in the development of the Peek-a-boo style, which D'Amato then refined and modified. Rosenbloom's extensive use of movement, a tight high guard, and constant evasive action inspired D'Amato to create a more aggressive, counter-punching variation of the defensive style. It's a shame that there's no fight footage of Rosenbloom, rumor has it that there are private collectors out there somewhere that have a few cannisters of film of Rosenbloom fights, I sure wish we could get a peek. Don't let his nickname fool you, Rosenbloom was made of galvanized steel, he was one of the most durable fighters in boxing history, in 299 fights, he heard the final bell 297 times. His resume is ridiculous,It's a who's who of greats from that era. The names he fought are mind boggling. Although he didn't punch hard, he was a different kind of monster. Maxie Rosenbloom was no joke. He was an all-time great fighter. He was known as a technical and defensive boxer with great stamina who fought by disrupting his opponents rhythm while keeping them at bay with his slappy, stick-and-move style. He fought a lot of the great boxers of his time and did not fear or duck anyone. Reportedly, Rosenbloom wanted to fight Joe Louis and often called him out, but several members of Louis’ camp felt it would be bad for his image even if he won because of Rosenbloom’s awkward spoiling style. It can also be mentioned that Maxie never drew the color line and fought many black fighters of his era. He was successful after boxing, owning several nightclubs and having a successful Hollywood career, often playing roles involving punch-drunk boxers. He also did a live travelling show with Max Baer. He was a playboy, often enjoying the company of women, he had many celebrity friends, and was also a friend of the mob, the famous LA gangster Mickey Cohen was known to frequent his nightclubs in the 40s. Rosenbloom was known as a “clown prince” of boxing for his antics in and out of the ring. He hated training and although he didn’t drink he would stay out late dancing and partying, and often blew all his money on gambling. As far as his resume is concerned, the fighters he beat, and the Hall of Famers he beat, some of them more than once, it's ridiculous:
Mickey Walker (HOF)
Jimmy Slattery x3 (HOF)
Tiger Jack Fox (HOF)
Lou Nova
James Braddock (HOF)
Ted Kid Lewis (HOF)
Tiger Flowers (HOF)
John Henry Lewis x3 (HOF)
Ace Hudkins
Dave Shade X2 (HOF)
King Levinsky
Like I said, Slapsy Maxie Rosenbloom is a legend in boxing, he was one of the most prolific fighters in boxing history, his resume win or lose is probably the deepest in boxing history. The guy was no joke. There was a thread on boxing forum 24, where the big boys of boxing knowledge go to play, and it breaks down his resume in detail. It's batsh.. insane.
By the way, boxing forum 24 puts this place to absolute shame, there must be a thousand members there from all over the world, boxing is a lot more popular than people think. There's a special section on boxing forum 24 called "The Lounge" over there where you can go and talk about anything on this planet, from politics to sports to porn to anything, it doesn't matter. That place is rocking, 24/7, there's always something going on over there. Fights break out constantly in the lounge and the mods just break them up, the mods don't treat you like 5 year olds over there. They fight, it gets broken up, things go back to normal, rinse and repeat. It's action packed.
Back to Maxie Rosenbloom, great shot of Rosenbloom slipping Walker's attack and landing a left hand counter, Rosenbloom was a defensive genius, and the second shot is Rosenbloom landing a left jab against Walker.
Slapsy Maxie Rosenbloom's nightclub in Hollywood California. The place was a popular hangout for celebrities and mobsters.
Maxie Rosenbloom on the cover of Ring magazine in 1930. I actually own the type 1 original photo of the image from this cover, it's one of the best photos in my collection, check out the cauliflower ear.
Rosenbloom training in his prime.
Maxie Rosenbloom lands a left hand on Larry Johnson. Well, judging by this photo, it certainly looks like Rosenbloom could hit pretty hard when he wanted to.
Rosenbloom with his arm raised after defeating Jimmy Slattery for the light heavyweight title in 1930.
This is one of my favorite photos of Maxie Rosenbloom, climbing through the ropes with that deadpan look in his eye. Almost 300 fights. He was from the planet Krypton.
The great "Slapsy" Maxie Rosenbloom.
The extraordinarily tough former welterweight and middleweight champion Carmen Basilio, who fought two brutal bouts with Sugar Ray Robinson, winning his middleweight title and then losing it to him, was born in 1927, in Canastota, about 25 miles east of Syracuse, and was one of 10 children.
His Italian immigrant onion farmer father was “a fight nut,” he recalled, who bought his sons boxing gloves. Basilio boxed in the Marine Corps during World War II, then made his pro debut in 1948.
They called him the "Upstate Onion Farmer" and he became a champion with an unrelenting attack, willing to take punishment as well as dish it out. Hard as nails.
His nephew, Billy Backus, was also world welterweight champion in 1970 and 1971.
In the most brutal confrontation of their rivalry and arguably the greatest greatest single fight in history, Muhammad Ali retained the world heavyweight title in 1975 when Joe Frazier's manager, Eddie Futch, surrendered from the corner moments before the bell was to ring for the 15th round at the Amanita Coliseum in Manila, Philippines.
Frazier, dominating the middle rounds with the fury of his youth, had been battered by the champion throughout the three rounds prior to Futch's merciful decision.
“I stopped it,” Futch explained, “because Joe was starting to get hit with too many clean shots. He couldn't see out of his right eye. He couldn't see the left hands coming.”
“My guy sucked it up,” said Ali's trainer, Angelo Dundee. “When he looked completely out of gas, he put on another gas tank. I thought we were in front. My guy was hitting him better shots.”
“Joe had two bad rounds in a row,” Futch said “Even with three minutes to go, he was going downhill. And that opened up the possibility in that situation that he could've been seriously hurt.”
Wearing dark glasses to hide his puffed eyes, especially his right eye, Frazier agreed with Futch.
“I didn't want to be stopped, I wanted to go on,” Frazier said, “but I'd never go against Eddie.”
"I saw a lot of things in prison that aren't clean or nice to talk about. I was seventeen years old. I didn't consider myself dangerous but I was surrounded by killers, rapists, child molesters, skinheads, mafia types, so I was in a dangerous situation. I saw a guy stabbed to death with a makeshift ice pick in an argument over a pack of cigarettes. You see rapes. You don't go in the shower with no clothes on. You take a shower wearing your shorts because, no matter how tough you are, it's not enough if you're up against four or five people. That HBO show Oz is like cartoons compared to what I saw in prison."
- Bernard Hopkins
Bernard ""The Executioner" Hopkins, one of the greatest pound-for-pound fighters in the history of boxing, started out his life heading towards absolute disaster. At 17, he was sentenced to prison for armed robbery, which resulted in a sentence of 18 years, he served 56 months of that sentence. While incarcerated, guards told him he’d be back once released, that he’d never change. Hopkins refused. He picked up boxing in prison, sharpened his discipline, and when he walked out, he never looked back. He went from inmate to middleweight king, defending his title 20 straight times.
Years later, he shocked the sport again. At 49 years old, Hopkins won a world title to become the oldest world champion in boxing history.
Hopkins proved boxing is more than a sport. It’s a way to rebuild, to reinvent, to change your life forever.
Swedish boxer Anthony Yigit suffered a grotesque, cricket ball-sized swelling to his left eye during his 2018 fight against Ivan Baranchyk, which was eventually stopped by the ringside doctor in the seventh round due to the extreme injury. The fight marked Yigit's first professional defeat, and though he sustained the injury in the second round, he continued to fight until the seventh, showing incredible resilience.
Ron Lyle vs Earnie Shavers Sep 13, 1975 was one of the greatest slugfest in boxing history, two brutal punchers collided like two freight trains that night.
Two heavyweight rivals going to war always creates a level of excitement that’s hard to replicate in any other division in the sport of boxing. Take a couple of big, physical fighters, both with great heart, determination, and one-punch knockout power and fans feel the hairs stand up on the back of their neck, or cutis anserina, anticipating such a match-up. The 1975 clash between Ron Lyle and Earnie Shavers covered all these criteria, from the lead-in to the fight right up to the brutal ending in round six.
Even though no title was being fought for in the Denver Coliseum, the promoters and organizers putting on the bout knew action was guaranteed as Denverite Lyle hosted Alabama’s big-punching Shavers. Lyle had thirty wins, while Shavers needed one more win to hit fifty. Ron had only lost against the best, while Shavers had lost of to some fighters lower on the boxing talent ladder. But Earnie was a serious puncher who common-opponent Muhammad Ali described later as the most concussive hitter he ever faced. Lyle had lost his last two (though one loss was to greatest-heavyweight-ever Ali) and needed a big performance when the two met head on. Rallied by a capacity crowd, expecting to be thrilled from the first bell to last, the chance that the winner would be declared after a 15-round decision was thin. This proved true, and the contest did not disappoint.
In the opening round Lyle circled away from Shavers’s big right hand, using the entire ring to keep the big man working. Shavers stalked, looking to trap Lyle and throw his vaunted power shots, but “The Black Destroyer” wasn’t cutting the ring off effectively. Lyle lay on the ropes in the middle of the round and allowed Shavers to tee off, which would become a common feature of the fight. That wasn’t of course an advisable strategy for the Denver boxer, who would have be better off throwing the jab to create distance and working on tying Earnie up when the pair got close. The crowd rose in anticipation as Lyle pinned Shavers against the ropes and worked furiously to the head and particularly the body as the round closed.
Lyle took to the front foot briefly in round two, but quickly thought better of it as the pair continued to gauge each other while watching the considerable power the other man possessed. Ron’s nifty head movement evaded some chilling Shavers left hooks and a looping right hand. Soon after, Lyle stretched against the ropes for too long and allowed Shavers to size him up twice with the left hook before Shavers finally connected flush and sent Lyle’s head spinning and his frozen frame to the canvas for a count. Luckily for Lyle, the knockdown occurred right at the end of the round; and even though Shavers raced across the ring to try and finish the job, he was unable to do so as the bell rang. Lyle later said that instead of his body falling to the canvas, it felt like the canvas came to him.
At the beginning of the third Lyle tried to bluff Shavers into thinking he was not hurt and came roaring out of the corner throwing wild right hands. Shavers accepted the bait willingly and pushed Lyle to the ropes, preferring to pummel his opponent with left hooks and right hands to head and body. Lyle needed every ounce of his trademark resiliency to negotiate a passage through the rest of the contest, let alone the rest of the round. Ron again insisted on spending time languishing on the ropes, trying to counterpunch. He had success but his defense was never strong enough to sustain such a strategy without getting hit with significant leather.
By round five Lyle’s body shots, together with Shavers’s work rate, were starting to have a draining effect on the Alabama slugger’s gas tank. Shavers was standing still for long enough to allow Lyle’s right hand to find a home more frequently. Lyle sensed his man had come out wearily in the sixth and started nailing him with right hands. Earnie’s reserves were depleting fast; Lyle increased the volume and Shavers suddenly appeared helpless on the ropes. The final two blows were unnecessary and it is doubtful today that a referee would’ve allowed Earnie to take the finishing shots while showing no defensive posture whatsoever. Shavers rolled around on the canvas and tried desperately to haul his hulking frame up, but he was counted out, much to the delight of Lyle’s fervent Denver following.