Have Jimmy Ellis and Ron Lyle ever fought each other?

Yes. Jimmy Ellis and Ron Lyle met once on July 16, 1974, and Ron Lyle won by UD.

Who has the better record, Ellis or Lyle?

Jimmy Ellis is 40-12-1 and Ron Lyle is 43-7-1. Ron Lyle has the higher win percentage.

Who has more knockouts, Ellis or Lyle?

Jimmy Ellis has 24 knockout wins and Ron Lyle has 31. Ron Lyle has more.

Do Ellis and Lyle have any common opponents?

Jimmy Ellis and Ron Lyle share 9 common opponents: Joe Bugner, Earnie Shavers and Muhammad Ali (and 6 others). Ron Lyle fared better against 4 of them.

Who is bigger, Ellis or Lyle?

Ron Lyle is the taller fighter at 190 cm, 5 cm above the other.

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

This comparison is drawn from 55 bouts tracked for Jimmy Ellis and 51 bouts tracked for Ron Lyle. Method and activity splits reflect those bouts only.

Jimmy Ellis vs Ron Lyle — Records, Stats & Common Opponents

🇺🇸HEAVYWEIGHT

Ron Lyle

Jimmy Ellis (40-12-1) 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 9 common opponents.

Ellis

Wins24 KO · 60%

Losses

Draw55 tracked bouts

Lyle

Wins31 KO · 72%

Losses

Draw51 tracked bouts

Head to Head

Lyle leads 1–0

Jimmy Ellis and Ron Lyle have met 1 time; Lyle leads 1–0.
Met	1974Jul 16	Series
Jimmy EllisFighter A	LLost	0–1W–L
Ron LyleFighter B	WWon	1–0W–L
Result	UDEllis vs Lyle	1Meeting

Ellis vs Lyle · Jul 16, 1974

The Numbers

Ellis 1 · Lyle 6 of 7 measurable rows

EllisEdge = longer wingLyle

Record: 40-12-143-7-1 (edge)
Win %0–100%: 76.4%
85.3% (edge)
Wins by knockoutmax 31: 24
31 (edge)
KO rate0–100%: 60%
72.09% (edge)
Stoppage rate (tracked wins)^†0–100%: 60%
72% (edge)
Times stopped^†max 5: 5
4 (edge)
Title reignsmax 1: 1 (edge)
0
Bouts per year^‡levelmax 2.1: 2.1
2.1
Bouts trackedcoveragemax 55: 55
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

Height+2″: Jimmy Ellis: 6′1″; Ron Lyle: 6′3″ (edge)
ReachLevel: Jimmy Ellis: 76″; Ron Lyle: 76″
Agenot comparable: Jimmy Ellis: Died aged 74; Ron Lyle: Died aged 70
Stance: Jimmy Ellis: Orthodox; Ron Lyle: Orthodox

Jimmy Ellis 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

Jimmy Ellis40 wins · from 55 tracked bouts

24 by KO/TKO 60%16 on the cards 40%

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 — Jimmy Ellis 55, Ron Lyle 51 — not from a career-complete method table.

Common Opponents

9 shared

9 shared · Ellis better on 1 · Lyle better on 4 · even on 49 shared · Jimmy Ellis better on 1 · Ron Lyle better on 4 · even on 4

EllisJimmy Ellis

Opponent

LyleRon Lyle

Jimmy Ellis
Loss, PTS
1974Nov 1974
BugnerJoe BugnerHungary 69–13–1Lyle betterRon Lyle better — 1–0 to 0–1
Ron Lyle
Win, SD
1977Mar 1977
Jimmy Ellis
Loss, KO 1
1973Jun 1973
ShaversEarnie ShaversUnited States 76–14–1 · HeavyweightLyle betterRon Lyle better — 1–0 to 0–1
Ron Lyle
Win, KO 6
1975Sep 1975
Jimmy Ellis
Loss, TKO
1971Jul 1971
AliMuhammad AliUnited Kingdom 56–5EvenEven — 0–1 both
Ron Lyle
Loss, TKO 11
1975May 1975
Jimmy Ellis
Win, TKO 7
1973Oct 1973
JonesAl JonesEvenEven — 1–0 both
Ron Lyle
Win, TKO 5
1974Dec 1974
Jimmy Ellis
Loss, SD
1973Dec 1973
KirkmanBoone KirkmanUnited States 36–6Lyle betterRon Lyle better — 1–0 to 0–1
Ron Lyle
Win, TKO 8
1974Sep 1974
Jimmy Ellis
Win, UD
1967Dec 1967
BonavenaOscar BonavenaArgentina 58–9–1 · HeavyweightEvenEven — 1–0 both
Ron Lyle
Win, UD
1974Mar 1974
Jimmy Ellis
Draw, SD
1974Mar 1974
MiddletonLarry MiddletonLyle betterRon Lyle better — 2–0 to 0–0–1
Ron Lyle
2–0 against
Win, UD
1973Oct 1973
Win, KO 3
1972Dec 1972
Jimmy Ellis
Win, MD
1968Apr 1968
QuarryJerry QuarryUnited States 53–9–4Ellis betterJimmy Ellis better — 1–0 to 0–1
Ron Lyle
Loss, UD
1973Feb 1973
Jimmy Ellis
Win, UD
1965Nov 1965
LeslieChuck LeslieEvenEven — 1–0 both
Ron Lyle
Win, TKO 2
1972Jan 1972

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

Jimmy Ellis has lost two straight, after one straight win. Ellis last boxed on Aug 3, 1987.LLWLL

Bugner Nov 1974Frazier Mar 1975Baker May 1975Magee Oct 1986Magee Aug 19872.1 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 Jimmy Ellis and Ron Lyle ever fought each other?: Yes. Jimmy Ellis and Ron Lyle met once on July 16, 1974, and Ron Lyle won by UD.
Who has the better record, Ellis or Lyle?: Jimmy Ellis is 40-12-1 and Ron Lyle is 43-7-1. Ron Lyle has the higher win percentage.
Who has more knockouts, Ellis or Lyle?: Jimmy Ellis has 24 knockout wins and Ron Lyle has 31. Ron Lyle has more.
Do Ellis and Lyle have any common opponents?: Jimmy Ellis and Ron Lyle share 9 common opponents: Joe Bugner, Earnie Shavers and Muhammad Ali (and 6 others). Ron Lyle fared better against 4 of them.
Who is bigger, Ellis or Lyle?: Ron Lyle is the taller fighter at 190 cm, 5 cm above the other.
How much fight data does Kill The Body have on Ellis and Lyle?: This comparison is drawn from 55 bouts tracked for Jimmy Ellis and 51 bouts tracked for Ron Lyle. Method and activity splits reflect those bouts only.

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Jimmy Ellis vs Ron Lyle — record, stats and common opponents compared

Jimmy Ellis

Ron Lyle