ken norton losses

The World Boxing Council awarded Norton the title when Spinks agreed to a rematch with the ageing Ali instead of a fight against Norton. (Ken Lambert / The Seattle Times) His track coach entered him in eight events, and Norton placed first in all of them. Forty years after rising to the top of the boxing world and outdueling Muhammad Ali, Ken Norton lost his final fight – a battle following a stroke – at a Nevada medical facility, a friend said. Kenneth Howard "Ken" Norton Sr. (August 9, 1943 – September 18, 2013) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1967 to 1981, and held the WBC heavyweight title in 1978. Foreman defended his title against challenger Ken Norton in March, but he lost the crown to Ali, who had been allowed to return to boxing after a three-year ban due to … Instead of jabbing from above like most fighters, he would put his hand down and jab up at Ali.". Another first-round stoppage, against Gerry Cooney in 1981, prompted Norton to announce his retirement from the sport. He made the usual advance of a heavyweight prospect, repelling a succession of the sport's journeymen and soon gained respect in the division. They shared the same trainer, who didn’t want them to fight each other; 3. Norton was all class, though, and went to hospital to see a wired-up Ali, who told him he never wanted to fight him again, according to Kilroy. It is a commonly held view. Three reasons. This article was updated on 20 September 2013. But the fairest of them all Ken Norton. This has been corrected. Muhammad Ali vs Ken Norton- The fall of The Greatest. Norton replied: "That's OK, Howard, you always look silly.". In the interview with R.A. he maintained it was the 12th and final round in which he broke Ali's jaw, not the second as Ali claimed. Thu 19 Sep 2013 11.52 EDT. Sports Illustrated https://www.si.com/2015/09/24/muhammad-ali-broken-jaw 2. Norton also fought a slugfest with Larry Holmes in 1978, narrowly losing … When Leon Spinks beat Ali to win the WBC title, he declined to honour his mandatory defence against Norton to give Ali a return bout, and was stripped. Kenneth Howard Norton Sr. was an American professional boxer who competed from 1967 to 1981, and held the WBC heavyweight title in 1978. As for his 1978 fight with Norton ... it was a 15 round war that Holmes won by split decision -- earning him the WBC heavyweight title. An outstanding all-round athlete, Norton won a scholarship to Northeast Missouri State College (now Truman State University) through his proficiency at basketball and American football and as a track athlete. Norton, on the other hand, had a second-round TKO loss to Foreman and a fifth-round TKO of Jerry Quarry as the key moments between his second and third fight against Ali. Despite the bitter disappointment of losing to Ali in their third fight, Norton rebounded with three wins in 1977 – including victories over the highly rated Duane Bobick and Jimmy Young – and earned himself the position of mandatory challenger for the title, which was claimed by Leon Spinks after his shock victory over Ali in February 1978. AP Photo/Jeff Robbins "Kenny was a good, good fighter. Ken Norton (L) throws a left jab to Muhammad Ali during the fight at the Sports Arena on March 31,1973 in San Diego, California. Seahawks defensive coordinator Ken Norton, Jr. talks to reporter Dec. 24, 2019 at the VMAC in Renton. Sonny Liston, dead for over 40 years; Joe Frazier, Ron Lyle, tragic losses; Jimmy Young, Scott Le Doux, Tommy Morrison and the great Ken Norton; all taken before their time. He knocked out the unbeaten Duane Bobick in a round and beat Jimmy Young over 15 rounds. Ali entered the ring in the Sports Arena in San Diego wearing a white robe given to him by Elvis Presley, embroidered with the words "People's Champion" and weighed down with sparkling rhinestones. He was 70. Ken Norton, left, on his way to becoming the second man to beat Muhammad Ali and busting his jaw in their 1973 heavyweight fight. Photograph: Brian Jones/AP, breaking his jaw when beating him on the most memorable night of his own career, on a split decision over 15 rounds to Larry Holmes in 1978. The fight against Norton started a years-long rivalry. He won a world title in Muhammad Ali's gilded era, breaking his jaw when beating him on the most memorable night of his own career, and there is no reason to doubt he would have been similarly impressive now. He was humane.". At the peak of his powers, Foreman faced Norton in Caracas, Venezuela, and floored him three times before the stoppage came in the second round, enabling Foreman to dramatically retain the title he had won by defeating Frazier in 1973. When the dust settled on the trilogy, Ali was declared the winner by unanimous decision, although Norton bullied him enough to think he should have won yet again. Why did Ken Norton never fight Joe Frazier? Norton is survived by his wife, Rose, and his children Ken (an American football linebacker who now coaches with the Seattle Seahawks), Keith, Kenejon and Kenisha. … Photograph: AP, one of the all-time classic world heavyweight fights. Norton's then manager, Gene Kilroy, told the Associated Press on Thursday: "Ali thought it would be an easy fight but Norton was unorthodox. Citations: 1. Dare we say Ken Norton Jr. just did? Bleacher Report ↑ How the spirit of Ken Norton's Marine toughness lives on in Ken Norton Jr., CBS Sports, November 10, 2015 ↑ Hypnotist Aided Norton – Confidence Key To Upset Of Ali, AP, April 2, 1973 ↑ Positive attitude key to Norton's boxing, AP, March 27, 1975 ↑ Think and Grow Rich. Yet he boxed with uncommon elasticity for someone who looked like a bodybuilder, probably never more effectively than the night in 1973 when he pounded away on Ali for 12 rounds to win the NABF title. Norton was the All-Marine heavyweight champion three times before turning professional in 1967. Ali was never able to get into his familiar rhythm, and was on the receiving end of a split points decision after 12 rounds. ABC's commentator Howard Cosell had said before the fight that it was "the worst mismatch in boxing history and a disgrace". He boosted his earnings with sparring work against the likes of Joe Frazier, with whom he shared a trainer in Eddie Futch. Norton in 1976. He was left in hospital, where his broken jaw had to be wired up. Holmes would go on to be recognised as the world No 1 until the mid-1980s, while Norton was never the same fighter again. Having arrived in the sport's big-time just behind Ali, Joe Frazier and George Foreman (who stopped him in two rounds), Norton went on to perform at a slightly less exalted level. He was 70. To even survive in the upper reaches of that time took considerable talent and Norton had all the required equipment, the most potent his left hook. The former world heavyweight boxing champion Ken Norton, who has died aged 70 after a long period of … LOS ANGELES - Former boxing champion Ken Norton, considered one of the greatest heavyweights of his era, died on Wednesday at an Arizona care facility, the LA Times reported. Six months later, Norton and Ali fought again and this time Ali prevailed by a split decision, setting up a decider in 1976 at the Yankee stadium in New York. Ali prevailed, setting up the match with Foreman. Norton vs. Ali III. By then, Ali was world champion and generating huge sums of money wherever and whenever he fought. The Ring magazine ranked Norton No22 in the list of all-time heavyweights, a fair reflection of his professional record of 42 wins, seven losses and a draw. Norton will always be remembered as a jaw-breaker and, latterly, a myth buster. Norton lost his title in his first defence as champion, again suffering the agonies of being on the wrong end of a split decision, when he took on Larry Holmes in what is now recognised as one of the all-time classic world heavyweight fights. The Ring found Ken eager, revealing and confident. And nowadays, fighters are bigger and stronger. Whichever version is true, Norton and Ali were firm friends thereafter. It was only after enlisting in the marine corps that he began boxing, quickly finding that his strength and physique – he stood 191cm (6ft 3in) and weighed about 100kg (220lb) – made him ideally suited to the sport. Seven months later, Ali scored a close decision victory of his own in the rematch. After a long period of declining health, including a succession of strokes and a heart attack, he moved into a care home. World heavyweight boxing champion in the 1970s who famously broke the jaw of Muhammad Ali in the first of their three fights, Muhammad Ali, right, winces as Ken Norton lands a punch during their second fight, won by Ali, at the Forum in Inglewood, California, in 1973. In our era, Ali was a boxer, man, very quick. The winner, meanwhile – whose $50,000 purse was $42,000 bigger than anything he had earned in 30 previous fights over six years – was regarded with a mixture of awe and resentment for slaying the 5-1-on favourite and boxing's most charismatic star, albeit a fading version of the great man. 2) March 31, 1973: 12-round split-decision loss v Ken Norton (NABF heavyweight title; Sports Arena, San Diego) Foreman would later become friends with Norton and praised him, saying: "He fought Ali through all those questionable decisions and, even though he was patriotic [Ali had famously refused to serve in the army], he never used that against Ali. Editor’s Note: This feature originally appeared in the January 1976 issue of The Ring Magazine. Could he have beaten either of the Klitschko brothers, Vitali and Wladimir, who between them own all four current versions of the championship? A loss to the big-punching Earnie Shavers in 1979, with Norton suffering a first-round knockout, suggested his time had gone. He is best known for his fight trilogy with Muhammad Ali , in which Norton won the first by split decision , lost the second by split decision, and lost the final by a controversial unanimous decision . He suffered multiple injuries, including a fractured skull and a brain injury that left him with slurred speech. I think the pain would get you.". If you are in that much pain, the mind would shut off. The judges gave a narrow points decision against Norton, with booing greeting the verdict from many in the 30,000 crowd. He left with a grotesquely swollen jaw, the result of a devastating Norton left hook – and never wore the robe again. Instead of jabbing from above like most fighters, he would put his hand down and jab up at Ali." As a result, the "Ken Norton Rule", which limits participation of an athlete to a maximum of three track and field events, was instituted in Illinois high school sports. Norton, after the loss to Foreman, rebounded with more determination, while Shavers, after his loss to Quarry, ... Ken Norton had looked his most impressive against boxers and counterpunchers. In the years following his loss to Frazier, Ali won 12 of 13 fights, losing only to Ken Norton before meeting up once again with “Smokin’ Joe” on January 28, 1974, in what most looked at as a number one contender’s bout. After graduating from high school, Norton went to Northeast Missouri Stat… "For $50,000, I'd fight the Russian army," he said. He certainly would have delivered them more grief than contenders who consistently have come up short over the past decade, and he would have been formidable opposition for everyone else in a depleted field. Gene Kilroy, who acted as Ali's business manager, said: "Ali thought it would be an easy fight. The loss did not adversely affect Norton’s fortunes; seven months later … "In the last round I hit him with a left hook and he became very defensive," Norton said. He turned pro in 1967, at the height of boxing's acknowledged golden age and contributed much to its lustre. His father, John Norton, was a fire service engineer; his mother, Ruth, was a hospital therapist. Ken Norton won the NABF heavyweight title. On March 31, 1973, unheralded heavyweight contender Ken Norton outpointed Muhammad Ali to score a huge upset. John Rawling. Ken Norton: solid all round - solid boxer, solid fists, solid character and a very solid person. Ken Norton was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1989 with an overall record of 42 wins, 7 losses, and one draw. The fighter, who has died aged 70, boxed with uncommon elasticity for someone who looked like a bodybuilder, never more so than the night he pounded away on Muhammad Ali, Ken Norton at a charity fundraiser in 2012. Norton, who has suffered several strokes in recent years, died in a care facility, in the Las Vegas suburb of Henderson, just a few miles from where boxing's modern-day superstar, Floyd Mayweather Jr, had added the young Mexican Saúl "Canelo" Alvarez to his roster of 45 victims. What a loss to all of us," Foreman wrote on his Twitter page. 1. Ken Norton died in Henderson, Nevada on September 18, 2013. They were close friends, and minus a zillion dollar offer, were not interested in hurting each other; 2. Speaking of mid-October, that was when the Atlanta Falcons fired Dan Quinn after five consecutive losses. Norton, a former US marine, had a cross-armed defensive style that troubled Ali. 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