Mills Bee Lane III (November 12, 1937 – December 6, 2022) was an American boxing referee and professional boxer, a two-term Washoe County, Nevada district court judge, and television personality.
Lane became a boxer while serving as a Marine, becoming the All-Far East welterweight champ. He was a National Collegiate Athletic Association welterweight boxing champion in 1960.[5][6] In the U.S. Olympic Trials in San Francisco for the 1960 Summer Olympics, Lane was defeated by Phil Baldwin in the semifinals.[7] He turned pro while in college, eventually earning a 10–1 (.909) record as a professional.[4]
Lane refereed the second fight between WBAHeavyweight Champion Evander Holyfield and challenger Mike Tyson on June 28, 1997. Mitch Halpern was supposed to referee the fight, but Tyson's camp protested, so Lane was brought in at the last minute.[9] After Tyson bit Holyfield's ears twice, Lane disqualified him. Lane's shirt was stained with blood from the incident, and he sold it to a memorabilia collector on the same night.[10]
Less than three weeks later, Lane refereed the Lennox Lewis vs. Henry Akinwande match.[11] As in Tyson vs. Holyfield, it ended in disqualification when Akinwande used illegal tactics, these being excessive clinching and ignoring Lane's repeated orders to stop.[12] After refereeing the fight between Thomas Hearns and Jay Snyder on November 6, 1998, Lane retired as a boxing referee.[13]
Lane attended the University of Utah's S.J. Quinney College of Law, graduating with the class of 1970 and joined the bar in Nevada.[4] In 1979, Lane became Chief Deputy Sheriff of Investigative Services at the Washoe County Sheriff's Office. Lane also served as one of fourteen witnesses to Nevada's last gas chamber execution, that of Jesse Bishop that same year.[17] He was elected District Attorney in 1982 and District Judge in 1990.[8]
Television career
Lane presided over the court showJudge Mills Lane, which lasted for three seasons, from 1998 to 2001.[8] In addition to this show, the producers of MTV's Celebrity Deathmatch approached him about having his character and voice used in their show as the referee of their plasticine figure matches.[8] Lane accepted the offer and became an MTV personality. As a referee, Lane started boxing matches by declaring "Let's get it on!", which became his catchphrase. This was reproduced in Celebrity Deathmatch as his character would shout the same phrase to initiate fights.[8]
Lane's adopted city of Reno proclaimed December 27, 2004, as "Mills Lane Day'".[24] In May 2006, Lane made his first public appearance in years at the dedication of a new courthouse in Reno which is named after him.[14] The Mills B. Lane Justice Center houses the Reno Municipal Court and the Washoe County District Attorney's Office.[25]
Mills Lane died from kidney failure at his home in Reno, Nevada on December 6, 2022, at the age of 85, in Reno, Nevada.[26]
His son Terry said the cause was complications from a stroke Lane had in 2002, which left him unable to speak.
^"31 Dec 1960, Page 6". Reno Gazette-Journal. December 31, 1960. Retrieved December 6, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^"11 Jan 1961, Page 18". Reno Gazette-Journal. January 11, 1961. Retrieved December 6, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^Moe, Doug (2005). Lords of the Ring: The Triumph and Tragedy of College Boxing's Greatest Team. University of Wisconsin Press. p. 117. ISBN978-0-299-20424-2.
^ abcdeErickson, Hal (2009). Encyclopedia of television law shows: factual and fictional series about judges, lawyers and the courtroom, 1948–2008. McFarland. pp. 147–48. ISBN978-0-7864-3828-0.
^Kantowski, Ron (August 11, 2013). "Boxing royalty whip up emotions". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Reviewjournal.com. Retrieved December 9, 2022. Former boxing referee Mills Lane, seated, attends Saturday's ceremony with son Terry, rear. Lane, 76, is one of 19 members of the inaugural Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame class.