Meet Billy Lyell, Boxing from @The Sweet Science Boxing & Fitness. He is one of several individuals being inducted into the @Curbstone Coaches Hall of Fame this Spring. Niles City School District
Born August 10, 1984, this year’s lone boxing inductee becomes the 64th pugilist to be enshrined since Tony Zill was honored during charter class ceremonies back in 1958.
A 2002 graduate of Niles McKinley High School, he earned his undergraduate degree from Youngstown State University in 2013.
He fought the best of the best during a stellar amateur and professional career with the latter producing a 25-11 overall mark.
Considered one of the most accomplished fighters to emerge from the Mahoning-Trumbull County region, his amateur career included 55 fights and resulted in a 35-20 overall ledger.
He gained recognition early when he captured the 1999 Cleveland Junior Olympics crown, advancing to Chicago where he finished as Junior Olympic Midwest Region runner-up.
His success continued as he was the National Jr. Golden Gloves runner-up (Las Vegas) in 2000, then in 2002 was both the Cleveland Golden Gloves champion and National Golden Gloves quarter-finalist.
Nicknamed the ‘Pride of Ohio,’ he was a multiple KO Drugs Boxing Tournament local champion, turning professional with his debut a rousing success when he defeated Christian Nash, that coming July 3, 2003, and on the same card as former middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik when the latter defeated Rico Cason at Cafaro Field in Niles.
He fought as a junior middleweight and middleweight, winning his first four fights and 13 of his first 15 encounters.
His nominator, Attorney Lou Scvhiavoni (Curbstone Coaches Hall of Fame, Class of 2019), noted that “Billy fought the best of the best, at any time and on anyone’s turf.”
In 2008, he won the NABC Inter-Continental middleweight championship when he defeated Chris Archer at the Caravan Club in New Castle, Pennsylvania then on April 9, 2009, upset a then undefeated John Duddy of Londonderry, Northern Ireland, UK – Duddy was 26-0 at the time – by split decision at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
That win propelled him into the Top-15 worldwide rankings and led to major championship opportunities where he challenged Sebastian Sylvester for the IBF world title and Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. for the WBC Silver championship.
Sylvester, who was 32-3 at the time, defeated Lyell at the Jahnsportforum in Neubrandenburg, Germany with Chavez, Jr., who was undefeated at 41-0-1 at the time of their fight – Lyell was 22-9 overall – the winner of the fight, which was held on January 11, 2011, at the Estadio Banorte Stadium in Culiacan, Mexico.
He won his final fight, that coming on February 13, 2012, when he defeated Rashaan Abdul Blackburn at the Boyd County Community Center in Ashland.
During his professional career, he fought locally at Cafaro Field and the Expo Center in Niles, the Byzantine Center, Chevrolet Centre-Covelli Center in Youngstown, and also nearby at Mountaineer Casino Racetrack and Resort in Chester, West Virginia.
Other top fights came against Luis Ramon Campas and James Kirkland, both of which resulted in hard-fought losses by this year’s honoree.
After pulling the plug on his professional career, he remained dedicated to the sport as a coach, mentor and business owner, shaping athletes while promoting the discipline, integrity and work ethic that defined his boxing journey.
He also helped with area boxing by refereeing the KO Drugs High School Boxing Tournament for several years.
Currently the owner-operator of four Sweet Science Boxing and Fitness gyms in Florida and North Carolina, he is also the owner-operator of a Wellness Center in Florida.
Along with his wife Jessica, they are the proud parents of four children, Susie, Danny, Elizabeth and Robert. They reside in Naples, Florida.
