By Anthony Caruso III | Publisher
Hall of Fame referee Mills Lane has passed away. He was 85.
An official cause of death has not been announced yet. According to the Reno Gazette Journal, Lane had been in hospice care for the past week.
“He took a significant decline in his overall situation,” Tommy Lane told RGJ. “It was a quick departure. He was comfortable and he was surrounded by his family.”
He is best remembered for his catchphrase, “Let’s Get It On.” He oversaw more than 100 Championship bouts.
He is a former professional boxer. He went 10-1 with six knockouts.
Lane first officiated a match in 1971. His last match came with Tommy Hearns and Jay Snyder on November 6th, 1998.
He was also a judge on TV. In 2013, he was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
Also, in 2013, he was inducted into the Nevada Hall of Fame.
“There was no fight we wouldn’t put him in,” Marc Ratner, the former executive director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, told the Los Angeles Times in a 1991 profile on Lane. “He was as good as any referee in the world. I don’t care if it was a heavyweight fight or smaller guys, when he said, ‘Break’ and got in between guys, the fighters respected him.
“Not all referees have that. He was no-nonsense. He took control. There was an aura about him.”
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