Have Buster Mathis and Ron Lyle ever fought each other?

Yes. Buster Mathis and Ron Lyle met once on September 29, 1972, and Ron Lyle won by KO in round 2.

Who has the better record, Mathis or Lyle?

Buster Mathis is 30-4 and Ron Lyle is 43-7-1. Buster Mathis has the higher win percentage.

Who has more knockouts, Mathis or Lyle?

Buster Mathis has 21 knockout wins and Ron Lyle has 31. Ron Lyle has more.

Do Mathis and Lyle have any common opponents?

Buster Mathis and Ron Lyle share 3 common opponents: Muhammad Ali, Bob Stallings and Jerry Quarry. Buster Mathis fared better against 1 of them.

How much fight data does Kill The Body have on Mathis and Lyle?

This comparison is drawn from 35 bouts tracked for Buster Mathis and 51 bouts tracked for Ron Lyle. Method and activity splits reflect those bouts only.

Buster Mathis vs Ron Lyle — Records, Stats & Common Opponents

🇺🇸HEAVYWEIGHT

Ron Lyle

Buster Mathis (30-4) and Ron Lyle (43-7-1) are compared on record, finishing method, activity, and common opponents on Kill The Body. The two have met once. They share 3 common opponents.

Mathis

Wins21 KO · 70%

Losses

Draws35 tracked bouts

Lyle

Wins31 KO · 72%

Losses

Draw51 tracked bouts

Head to Head

Lyle leads 1–0

Buster Mathis and Ron Lyle have met 1 time; Lyle leads 1–0.
Met	1972Sep 29	Series
Buster MathisFighter A	LLost	0–1W–L
Ron LyleFighter B	WWon	1–0W–L
Result	KOR2Lyle vs Mathis	1Meeting

Lyle vs Mathis · Sep 29, 1972

The Numbers

Mathis 4 · Lyle 3 of 7 measurable rows

MathisEdge = longer wingLyle

Record: 30-4 (edge)43-7-1
Win %0–100%: 88.2% (edge)
85.3%
Wins by knockoutmax 31: 21
31 (edge)
KO rate0–100%: 70%
72.09% (edge)
Stoppage rate (tracked wins)^†0–100%: 71%
72% (edge)
Times stopped^†max 4: 2 (edge)
4
Title reignslevelmax 0: 0
0
Bouts per year^‡max 4.8: 4.8 (edge)
2.1
Bouts trackedcoveragemax 51: 35
51

† Counted from bouts Kill The Body has ingested, not a career total. · ‡ Across each fighter's tracked career span. · Bars are scaled per row — percentages on 0–100, counts against the larger of the two. Every figure is also printed as text.

Tale of the Tape

HeightLevel: Buster Mathis: 6′3″; Ron Lyle: 6′3″
ReachLevel: Buster Mathis: 76″; Ron Lyle: 76″
Agenot comparable: Buster Mathis: Died aged 52; Ron Lyle: Died aged 70
Stance: Buster Mathis: Orthodox; Ron Lyle: Orthodox

Buster Mathis left, Ron Lyle right, as everywhere on this page. Age is stated, not scored — neither age nor stance carries an edge.

How They Win

Tracked bouts only

Buster Mathis31 wins · from 35 tracked bouts

22 by KO/TKO 71%9 on the cards 29%

Ron Lyle43 wins · from 51 tracked bouts

31 by KO/TKO 72%12 on the cards 28%

One square per tracked win. Counted from the bouts Kill The Body has ingested for each fighter — Buster Mathis 35, Ron Lyle 51 — not from a career-complete method table.

Common Opponents

3 shared

3 shared · Mathis better on 1 · even on 23 shared · Buster Mathis better on 1 · even on 2

MathisBuster Mathis

Opponent

LyleRon Lyle

Buster Mathis
Loss, UD
1971Nov 1971
AliMuhammad AliUnited Kingdom 56–5EvenEven — 0–1 both
Ron Lyle
Loss, TKO 11
1975May 1975
Buster Mathis
2–0 against
Win, SD
1966Sep 1966
Win, UD
1965Sep 1965
StallingsBob StallingsMathis betterBuster Mathis better — 2–0 to 1–0
Ron Lyle
Win, UD
1973Apr 1973
Buster Mathis
Loss, UD
1969Mar 1969
QuarryJerry QuarryUnited States 53–9–4EvenEven — 0–1 both
Ron Lyle
Loss, UD
1973Feb 1973

Both sides are set at the same size on purpose. Kill The Body does not score a second-round knockout above a split decision — the edge counts losses first and wins as the tiebreak, and the rest is yours to argue. Shared opponents are matched on fighter identity, not on name, so two different fighters with the same name never merge into one row.

Current Form

Oldest left · newest right

Buster Mathis had won one in a row before losing by stoppage to Ron Lyle. Mathis last boxed on Sep 29, 1972.WLLWL

Chuvalo Feb 1969Quarry Mar 1969Ali Nov 1971McBride Sep 1972Lyle Sep 19724.8 tracked bouts per year

Ron Lyle has won four straight since losing by stoppage to Gerry Cooney. Lyle last boxed on Aug 18, 1995.LWWWW

Cooney Oct 1980Johnson Apr 1995Pollard May 1995Strickland Jun 1995Slaughter Aug 19952.1 tracked bouts per year

Common Questions

With the rows behind them

Have Buster Mathis and Ron Lyle ever fought each other?: Yes. Buster Mathis and Ron Lyle met once on September 29, 1972, and Ron Lyle won by KO in round 2.
Who has the better record, Mathis or Lyle?: Buster Mathis is 30-4 and Ron Lyle is 43-7-1. Buster Mathis has the higher win percentage.
Who has more knockouts, Mathis or Lyle?: Buster Mathis has 21 knockout wins and Ron Lyle has 31. Ron Lyle has more.
Do Mathis and Lyle have any common opponents?: Buster Mathis and Ron Lyle share 3 common opponents: Muhammad Ali, Bob Stallings and Jerry Quarry. Buster Mathis fared better against 1 of them.
How much fight data does Kill The Body have on Mathis and Lyle?: This comparison is drawn from 35 bouts tracked for Buster Mathis and 51 bouts tracked for Ron Lyle. Method and activity splits reflect those bouts only.

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Buster Mathis vs Ron Lyle — record, stats and common opponents compared

Buster Mathis

Ron Lyle