Mills Lane, a Hall of Fame boxing referee who officiated more than 100 championship bouts, died Tuesday at a hospice near his home in Reno, his son Tommy told the Reno Gazette-Journal. He was 85 years old.
Tommy Lane said that his father’s health had significantly declined recently. Mills suffered a stroke 20 years ago, in April 2002, that led him to end his officiating career.
“He took a significant decline in his overall situation,” Tommy Lane said. “It was a quick departure. He was comfortable and he was surrounded by his family.”
Lane began his time in the boxing ring as a fighter, winning the 1960 NCAA welterweight boxing championship and competing in the U.