Lane mills

Mills Lane was born in Savannah, Georgia ( USA ). A representative of a famous and influential family: his grandfather founded the largest bank in Georgia, and his uncle (Lane's namesake) was president of Citizens & Southern National Bank . Lane himself had other interests. In 1956 , after graduating from Middlesex School , he went to the naval service ( US Marine Corps ). There he was engaged in boxing and became the champion of the eastern states in welterweight. After the army he entered the University of Nevada in the city of Reno and won the title of boxing champion among NCAA students ( National Collegiate Athletic Association ). While studying at the institute, he moved to professional boxers, having achieved some success (11 wins and 1 loss). Took part in the qualifying boxing competitions for the 1960 Summer Olympics , but lost in the semifinals to Phil Baldwin.

In 1963 he graduated from the University with a degree in commercial activities. A couple of years later I entered another university (in Utah ) at the Faculty of Law and Law. After graduation, he became a prosecutor in one of the districts of Reno. Lane judged his first championship boxing match in 1971 : Betulio Gonzalez vs Erbito Salavarria for the WBC Lightweight Championship. In 1979 , Lane was promoted to deputy sheriff.

As a referee, Lane Mills was strict, but was often accused of being unprofessional .

In April 1986, he judged a rematch of Larry Holmes against Michael Spinks . In the 10th round after the Holmes series, Spinks landed on his knee, but got up, but Mills did not consider it a knockdown. This decision was one of the most controversial in boxing.

In August 1995, Tyson vs Peter McNealy judged. At the very beginning of the 1st round, Tyson sent his opponent to the floor with a right hook to the head. McNealy jumped up and unexpectedly ran around the ring. The referee grabbed his arm and started counting down the knockdown. The fight continued. In the middle of the round, Tyson made a successful attack and sent McNealy in a knockdown with a right uppercut. Referee Mills Lane started counting. People came to the ring from the corner of McNealy. The referee asked them to leave, but they refused, after which Lane decided to disqualify McNeely. Thanks to this refereeing McNealy became the sixth boxer who lost to Tyson is not a knockout, while others lasted until the end, losing on points.

One of the most striking of his judging is the famous rematch of Mike Tyson against Evander Holyfield ( June 28, 1997 ), when Tyson bit off a piece of the ear of the opponent. Lane then disqualified Tyson, and sold his shirt - with traces of Holyfield - on the same night at an auction to an unknown collector. In this fight, Mills was accused of not fixing violations by Holyfield in the past and in this, the 3rd round.

In addition, he was disqualified in the 5th round by Oliver McCall , in a fight against Lennox Lewis, for the fact that McCall in the 4th and 5th almost did not defend himself, began to cry and walk around the ring with his hands down.

In the next match, Lane disqualified Henry Akinwande for a passive fight against Lennox Lewis .

In August 1998 , Mills Lane was dismayed by the fact that when the clinch was broken between Bernard Hopkins and Robert Allen, he inflicted the first injury, because of which the fight had to be stopped and declared invalid.

From 1998 to 2001 Lane led the show "Judge Mills Lane" ( born Judge Mills Lane ), which was broadcast by American television channels. At the same time, MTV producers from Lane received an offer to use his image and voice in the plasticine cartoon "Celebrity Deathmath" . Lane's favorite phrase, which he uttered before the start of the boxing match - "Let's get it on!" (“Let's start!” Or the full phrase in MTV translation “Honest fight, tough fight, URINE!”) Was also used in the cartoon. Lane also voiced a judge in an episode of the animated Disney series "Buzz Lightyear of Star Command" , based on the cartoon story " Toy Story ."

Mills Lane stopped judging boxing fights in 1998 . The last fight in which he acted as a referee took place on November 6th ( Thomas Hearns vs. Jay Snyder). Lane now lives in New York and can sometimes be seen on television advertising legal services.

In March 2002, Mills Lane suffered a stroke, as a result of which he remained partially paralyzed. He still hardly speaks, in connection with which his voice no longer sounds in the new series "Celebrity Deathmatch" . In 2004 , in the city of Reno, where Mills lived and worked for a long time, December 27 was officially proclaimed "Day of Mills Lane". On this day, Lane visited the new city court building, which now bears his name.

• Lane, Mills (Eng.) - statistics of professional fights on BoxRec website
• Lane, Mills (Eng.) On the Internet Movie Database
• Mills Lane Promotion Website
• Mills Lane Biography in English
• Mills Lane judges the Tyson Holyfield fight (excerpt from youtube.com)