"There are a lot of good fighters in boxing in all weight classes. Take Pacquiao for example, tough, tough kid, good puncher, takes a good shot, very smart and has a great trainer. Pacquiao is old school because he's being taught by old school people. Freddie Roach is old school. Freddie Roach came up under the same people I came up under. That's old school, so he's gonna get that knowledge. Mayweather is old school. He's had good teachers: his father and his uncle," stated former heavyweight title challenger Ron Lyle as he shared his thoughts on some of today's fighters and the current state of boxing. Check it out!
PC: You seemed to still be in good physical shape my man. What does your workout regimen look like?
RL: Well, I do a few push-ups, sit-ups, chin-ups and I run, but I haven't done any of that in awhile. I'm going to start back now that the weather is starting to break, you know?
PC: You said Ali was special and that's obviously a rare trait because we don't throw that term around a lot for fighters. In your opinion, what makes a fighter special and what made Ali special?
RL: Well, it could be a lot of things. In Ali's case, I think the timing was right and he was the right person to be out front. I think he represented very well. He was in tune with what was going on around him and that's what made him special because he was real. He didn't have to act. It was real. When it's real like that, people gotta accept it because it's real man.
PC: You sparred with both Ali and Frazier. When you heard they were gonna fight, did you lean one way or the other or was it a fight you just wanted to see?
RL: Basically, fighters are pretty much fighters, you know what I mean? Fighters want to pretty much see the best guy win, you know what I'm saying? In Joe Frazier and Ali's case, it took Joe Frazier to make Ali who he was, you know what I mean? Joe Frazier was the opposite of Ali and Ali was a very gifted, coordinated and well-balanced fighter. He had a good offense and a good defense. Joe Frazier was more straight ahead. He had a good offense and a good defense. You had to work to hit Frazier, you know what I mean? So Ali had to work, you know?
PC: What were those sparring experiences like for you having the opportunity to spar both of those guys?
RL: It was a chance of a lifetime. Here you have one of the greatest fighters in the history of the game and you're in the process of trying to become a professional, so if you could match your skills, it gives you a chance to compete at that level. When I saw that I could match my skills with Ali, it gave me the confidence in what I was doing.
PC: We hear a lot about Muhammad Ali and a lot of shows have been done on Ali and rightfully so. Do you think the boxing world kind of underappreciated Joe Frazier, because I can tell from the show, you held him in high regard as well?
RL: No, I think the boxing world appreciates Joe Frazier because boxing people realize that without Joe Frazier, there wouldn't have been an Ali and without Ali, there wouldn't have been a Joe Frazier. I think they both needed each other. They both enhanced each others careers, you know what I mean?
PC: You said Ernie Shavers hit you harder than anyone had ever hit you. What was your toughest fight?
RL: That's hard to say because each fight is tough in its own way, whether it is a mental toughness or physical toughness or you just make it tough on yourself. But all fights are tough and all fighters have to overcome that obstacle. A fight itself is tough; just the fight itself. Everything else around the fight makes it even tougher, you know what I mean?
PC: I follow you. You said you still watch a ton of boxing. In any weight class, is there a fighter out there that reminds you of yourself?
RL: There are a lot of good fighters in boxing in all weight classes. Take Pacquiao for example, tough, tough kid, good puncher, takes a good shot, very smart and has a great trainer. Pacquiao is old school because he's being taught by old school people. Freddie Roach is old school. Freddie Roach came up under the same people I came up under. That's old school, so he's gonna get that knowledge. Mayweather is old school. He's had good teachers: his father and his uncle. His uncle Roger, who I know very well...Roger Mayweather is a cornerstone in boxing dog. He's a student of the game.
PC: Is there anybody that you wanted to fight when you were coming up that you never got the opportunity to fight?
RL: All fighters want to fight the best in their weight class; all fighters. And when a fighter gets to fight the best fighter in his weight class, he should feel humbly honored because that's not automatic. That's something that you have to work for and when you work for that, that should be enough.
PC: What do you think is the problem in the heavyweight division right now?
RL: Boxing is at its highest right now. There is a lot of excitement coming up in the game and a lot of young fighters. It's going through a change right now, but it's going to be for the best. Boxing is one of the oldest sports, the best sports, and it's still THE sport. We in the boxing community, we realize what we have and we understand how it goes and trust me, boxing ain't going nowhere. It's a cornerstone. It's what our system is made of, to prove self worth, you know what I mean?
PC: Do you remember what it was like preparing for Ali? It had to be tough to find sparring that could mimic his movement and hand speed.
RL: Well, there will never be another Ali, never in the history of this game. There will never be a guy that could match up the way he did. But the game will always progress. Will it get better? Absolutely because the guys before you teach the guys after you? So if the guys coming after you don't learn from you, then yeah, the game will slip. As long as they are learning, it's gotta progress.
PC: You had a tough upbringing. You were one of 19 kids like myself; you did a long prison stint for murder. We don't see fighters with that kind of upbringing anymore. Is it almost better for a fighter to come from a tough situation, as far as being hungry, than a kid trying to fight and say attend college?
RL: College produces tough kids too, you know? There are hard times in college too and boxing is all about the hard times. So is any other sport. You have to work through the hard times and if you can work through the hard times, you can achieve success.
PC: Did you ever think Ron Lyle would be in the position that he's in right now after the way your life started?
RL: When I first started in boxing, no, because I didn't look at it like that, but after I knew what I was in and I knew what I was trying to do, I knew where I would be in the end. I knew I would be at the top. I wasn't going to quit until I got there.
PC: I know you respect the sport of boxing and it's been great to you, but at the end of the day, do you feel like boxing was fair to you?
RL: I think it was because I came out with my faculties. I came out with a good sound mind and still had the right heart to try to do the right thing and be a good citizen. I think boxing did me very well. I think boxing builds character man and without adversity, there would be no character. It doesn't matter who it is. No matter how it turns out, you know what I mean? I don't think it's treated me no worse than it treated anybody else and I don't think it treated me no better than it did anybody else.
PC: It's great to be in contact with you and keep your name alive in the sport man. I think one thing that's wrong with boxing is the fact that we forget our legends way too fast. I appreciate your time and as always, I look forward to having you on the site. Give me some closing thoughts my man.
RL: It's a pleasure to be able to participate in a sport that you made your living doing, you know what I mean? The people in the end remember you for what you did while you were doing it. I remember one time a guy told me a long time ago, he said, "If you give your all, no matter how it turns out, they will remember you in the end. But if you lay down like you a mutt, they don't remember you." So I think my reputation spoke for itself. I gave my all and that's all you can do.
[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]