How did Mills Lane die? Legendary Boxing Referee cause of death explained

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Mills Lane, a boxing referee who officiated more than 100 championship matches and was in the Hall of Fame, passed away. Let’s see How did Legendary Boxing Referee Mills Lane die and Mills Lane cause of death in detail.

How did Mills Lane die?

At the age of 85, Mills Lane, a renowned boxing referee known for saying “Let’s get it on,” passed away on November 6, 2022.

Tommy Lane, Lane’s son, informed the Reno Gazette-Journal that his father, who had a stroke 20 years prior, had spent the previous week in hospice. He passed away at a hospice near his home in Reno.

Tommy Lane said,

“He took a significant decline in his overall situation.”

“It was a quick departure. He was comfortable and he was surrounded by his family.”

“He was just this really amazing father and husband and I don’t know if people got to see that kind and sensitive side of him.

My mom took care of him since the stroke; he never spent one night in a nursing home. I don’t know if Dec. 6 is my dad’s date of death or a new life for her.”

Mills Lane Cause of death

Tommy Lane reported that his father’s health had just suffered a serious drop.

20 years ago, in April 2002, Mills had a stroke that forced him to give up his job as a referee.

Mills Lane cause of death was not disclosed yet. There are no information available about Mills Lane cause of death.

Medico topics have been trying to reach out to the family and relatives for comment on the incident. So far no responses have been received. We will update the page once enough information is available. More information on Mills Lane cause of death will be added soon.

Who was Mills Lane?

Lane was born on November 12, 1937, in Savannah, Georgia.

His grandfather established the biggest bank in Georgia, and his uncle, who bears his name, served as president of Citizens & Southern National Bank.

Mills Lane died at 85.

Image Credit : Getty Images.

Mills Bee Lane III was an American boxing referee and professional boxer. He also served two terms as a district court judge in Washoe County, Nevada, and was a well-known figure on television.

Lane was most known for both starring in the syndicated court program Judge Mills Lane and for officiating numerous important heavyweight championship boxing contests in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.

Schooling

Lane played ice hockey as a goaltender and American football as a linebacker when a student at Middlesex School in Concord, Massachusetts.

In 1956, Lane enlisted in the US Marine Corps; he was honorably discharged in 1959. He then signed up for the University of Nevada, Reno. In 1963, he earned a business degree.

Legal Career

Following his graduation from the S.J. Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah in 1970, Lane became a member of the Nevada bar.

At the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office, Lane was appointed Chief Deputy Sheriff of Investigative Services in 1979. In 1982, he was elected district attorney; in 1990, he was elected district judge.

 

Boxing Career

While serving as a Marine, Lane turned to box and rose to the position of All-Far East welterweight champion. He won the welterweight boxing championship of the National Collegiate Athletic Association in 1960.

Lane lost to Phil Baldwin in the boxing semifinals of the U.S. Olympic Trials in San Francisco for the 1960 Summer Olympics.

He started playing professionally while still in college, finally compiling a 10-1 (.909) record.

Boxing referee career

In 1971, Lane officiated his first boxing contest for a world championship when Betulio González and Erbito Salavarria fought to a fifteen-round draw for the WBC flyweight championship.

Mills Lane officiates Tyson-Holyfield II in 1997.

Image Credit :AFP via Getty Images.

On June 28, 1997, Lane officiated the second meeting between heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield and opponent Mike Tyson.

The fight was intended to be officiated by Mitch Halpern, but Tyson’s camp objected. Lane was consequently added at the last minute.

Tyson was disqualified by Lane after biting Holyfield’s ears twice. Blood from the incident appeared on Lane’s shirt, which he sold the same evening to a memorabilia collector.

Mills Lane officiated the fight in which Mike Tyson bit Evander Holyfield’s ear.

Image Credit : AFP via Getty Images

Lennox Lewis and Henry Akinwande’s match was officiated by Lane less than three weeks later.

It ended in disqualification because Akinwande employed unlawful strategies, including excessive clinching and disobeying Lane’s repeated requests to desist, much to Tyson vs. Holyfield.

Lane ended his career as a boxing referee on November 6, 1998, following the contest between Thomas Hearns and Jay Snyder.

“Let’s get it on”

The rematch between Holyfield and Tyson was far from the only significant fight that Mills was involved in.

Boxers including Muhammad Ali, Tyson, Holyfield, Lennox Lewis, Julio CĂ©sar Chávez, and Riddick Bowe competed in some of the biggest fights of the 20th century under the management of Mills, who made his pre-fight motto “Let’s get it on” famous.

“Celebrity Death Match”

In the claymation satire “Celebrity Death Match” on MTV, where he, of course, played the referee, Lane became an icon.

He resigned from his position as a judge to star in the reality TV show “Judge Mills Lane,” in which Lane served as an arbitrator. The show aired from 1998 to 2001 for three seasons.

On WWE Raw’s November 16th, 1998 broadcast, Lane made an appearance.

He made a decision about a contract issue between Stone Cold Steve Austin and the McMahon family while he was on Titantron.

In a Buzz Lightyear of Star Command episode, Lane provided a guest appearance as a judge.

Hall of Fame

Lane was chosen to join the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2013.

He was also admitted to the Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame on August 10, 2013.

Personal Life

Lane had two boys with his wife Kaye. Let’s Get It On: Tough Talk from Boxing’s Top Ref and Nevada’s Most Outspoken Judge is the title of Lane’s autobiography.

In March 2002, Lane had a crippling stroke that left him partially paralysed and unable to communicate.

With his approval, Chris Edgerly—who had provided the color commentary for Nick Diamond—became the voice of his Celebrity Deathmatch alter ego for the MTV2 resurrection.

Mills Lane Day was declared on December 27, 2004, by Lane’s chosen city of Reno.

At the dedication of a new courthouse in Reno that was named after him in May 2006, Lane made his first public appearance in years.

Tributes to Mills Lane

Many people expressed their profound sympathies to his family and expressed how much they loved him. The news of this occurrence has upset his supporters and fans.

Jim Grey tweeted,

“Mills Lane was a great guy, a super referee, and good friend. On the night of the “Bite Fight”@MikeTyson was disqualified for biting@holyfield ears Mills was the man in the middle, and did an outstanding job. May God rest his soul. We will all miss him.”

Historic Boxing tweeted,

“RIP Mills Lane”

R&B Mari tweeted,

“you had to be there. rest easy, Mills Lane.”

Charles V Payne tweeted,

“Mills Lane Best boxing ref in history RIP Ring the bell 10 times”

One of the worst things anyone can go through in life is losing a loved one. Any journey must have a destination at the end. The person’s time on earth has regrettably come to an end now that they have died.

We wish him eternal peace and send our thoughts and prayers to his loved ones, family, friends. May he rest in peace.

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