The late boxing referee, Mills Lane, passed away in December 6, 2022
“Let’s Get It on, C’mon!!!”
The battle cry only to be outdone by Michael Buffer’s “llllets get ready to rrruuumble!”
But no doubt Mills was the stimuli.
Back when I used to do some writing for Boxing Illustrated Magazine, I received this letter from ATG ref, Mills Lane. Not only was he an intelligent and graceful human. He absolutely knew the inner workings of what makes a fighter fight/think, the way they do.
You’d think that would be a given considering he also fought competitively, but just read through a few contrary statements i get on articles i write and you can see common sense isn’t so common. (Scully & Doubty. et al)
I always appreciated the honorable Lane for that ability, his attributes and more. Both he and Larry Hazard are standout ATG refs.
I could just as easily be entertained or attracted to a fight just from watching them… Knowing they were reffing the fight made the match more iconic.
The fight’s level of importance was greatly elevated with their names attached to the fights, just as Mencante in the 70’s.
As you can see by his parting sentence in the letter, he was a man who always believed in the human spirit… “pluck” over any other one thing.
He sensed it. And when one man lost that pluck in the ring, he knew the fight was over.
Rest In Peace Legend Lane. Never forgotten.