Famed boxing referee Mills Lane is being remembered as one who “gave and commanded respect” in and outside the ring.
Lane died Tuesday at his home in Reno, Nevada, surrounded by his wife Kay and sons Terry and Tommy after spending a week in hospice, according to the Reno Gazette Journal. Lane was left partially paralyzed and with limited speaking ability after a stroke in 2002.
Mills Lane was as good a man as I’ve know in #boxing…or anywhere else for that matter. A bright, passionate, ethical, and principled person, he always gave and commanded respect. His stroke was a true tragedy that left this legend a prisoner in his own body. He is free now… pic.twitter.com/gUxg0B3mxJ
— Lou DiBella (@loudibella) December 6, 2022
MILLS LANE DEAD: HALL OF FAME BOXING REFEREE FROM INFAMOUS TYSON VS HOLYFIELD FIGHT DIES AT 85
“Mills Lane was as good a man as I’ve [known] in boxing … or anywhere else for that matter,” boxing promoter Lou DiBella tweeted. “A bright, passionate, ethical, and principled person, he always gave and commanded respect. His stroke was a true tragedy that left this legend a prisoner in his own body. He is free now.”
Sports broadcaster Jim Gray, who interviewed Lane immediately after the 1997 infamous “Bite Fight” between Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield, also remembered the referee as a “great guy.”
“Mills Lane was a great guy, a super referee, and good friend,” Gray tweeted. “On the night of the ‘Bite Fight’ Mike Tyson was disqualified for biting [Evander Holyfield’s] ears, Mills was the man in the middle, and did an outstanding job. May God rest his soul. We will all miss him.”
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. https://t.co/kxueYVy7i7
— Jim Gray (@JimGrayOfficial) December 6, 2022
Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak also reacted to the news of Lane’s death, calling the referee a “cultural icon.”
“Mills Lane was a sports and cultural icon who brought tremendous pride to Nevada,” Sisolak wrote. “He was a great referee, prosecutor and judge, a loving husband and father and a loyal friend. Kathy and I send our condolences to his wife, Kay, and their sons, Terry and Tommy.”
Mills Lane was a sports and cultural icon who brought tremendous pride to Nevada. He was a great referee, prosecutor and judge, a loving husband and father and a loyal friend. Kathy and I send our condolences to his wife, Kay, and their sons, Terry and Tommy. https://t.co/ypuGDOY42d
— Governor Sisolak (@GovSisolak) December 6, 2022
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In addition to his career as a boxing referee, Lane worked as a prosecutor, beginning in 1971, before becoming a judge of Washoe County’s Second Judicial District Court in 1990.
Lane would go on to have his own daytime court show, Judge Mills Lane, which ran for three years.
