| Ken Norton | |
|---|---|
| Statistics | |
| Real name | Kenneth Howard Norton |
| Nickname(s) |
"The Black Hercules"[1] |
| Rated at | Heavyweight |
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)[2] |
| Reach | 80 in (203 cm) |
| Nationality | American |
| Born | August 9, 1943 Jacksonville, Illinois, USA |
| Stance | Unorthodox |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 50 |
| Wins | 42 |
| Wins by KO | 33 |
| Losses | 7 |
| Draws | 1 |
| No contests | 0 |
Kenneth Howard Norton Sr. (born August 9, 1943, Jacksonville, Illinois) is a former heavyweight boxer. He is best known for his 12-round victory over a peak Muhammad Ali where he famously broke Ali's jaw, on March 31, 1973, becoming only the second man to defeat Ali as a professional (after Joe Frazier, who won a 15-round unanimous decision against Ali on March 8, 1971).
He and Ali would fight twice more in their trilogy, with Ali officially winning narrowly both returns, although many felt Norton truly deserved their 3rd fight. Norton was awarded the WBC title (by virtue of his win over Jimmy Young in a 1977 title elimination bout) when Leon Spinks declined a mandated title defense against Norton, the No. 1 contender. But Ken lost it in his first defense on a split-decision by 1 point to Larry Holmes in a great contest. (Holmes-Norton is ranked as the 10th greatest heavyweight fight of all time by Monte D. Cox, a member of the International Boxing Research Organization.)
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Norton was an outstanding athlete at Jacksonville High School. He was a member of the state championship football team and was selected to the all-state team on defense as a senior in 1960. His track coach entered him in eight events and Ken placed first in all. As a result, the "Ken Norton Rule" was instituted in Illinois high school sports which limits participation of an athlete to a maximum of three track and field events. After graduating from high school, Norton went to Northeast Missouri State University (now Truman State University) on a football scholarship and studied elementary education.[3]
Norton started boxing when he was in the United States Marine Corps from 1963–1967, compiling a 24-2 record en route to three All-Marine Heavyweight titles.[4] Following the National AAU finals in 1967, he turned professional.
Norton built up a string of steady wins, including some over fringe contenders like the giant Jack O'Halloran. But after he suffered a surprise defeat, ironically just after Ring magazine had profiled him as a prospect, at the hands of Jose Luis Garcia in 1970. Down in the first he had a surprise 5 round Knock out. It was Garcia's career peak. Norton was given the motivational book Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill,[5] which he states in his autobiography, Going the Distance, changed his life (Norton, et al., 2000, p. 46). Upon reading it he went on a fourteen fight winning streak, including a shocking victory over Muhammad Ali in 1973 to win the North American Boxing Federation Heavyweight Champion title.[6] Ken Norton once said "In boxing, and in all of life, nobody should ever stop learning!".[7]
'Name' opponents were elusive however in his early career. But his break would come when Ali agreed to a fight. Beforehand Joe Frazier, who'd sparred with Norton, presciently said, of Ali, "he'll have plenty of trouble!" Though considered top boxers in the 70s, Norton and Frazier surprisingly never fought each other.
On 3/31/1973, Norton won a 12 round split-decision over Muhammad Ali in his own home town of San Diego to win the NABF Heavyweight Title. In this bout, Norton broke Ali's jaw (he maintains in round eleven but Angelo Dundee said earlier), leading to only the second defeat for "The Greatest" in his career. (Ali's only previous loss was to Smokin' Joe Frazier, and Ali would later go on to defeat George Foreman to regain the heavyweight title in 1974).
Almost six months later, on 9/10/1973, Ali avenged the Norton loss, but only just, when he got the return by another split-decision. There were some furious exchanges in this hard fought battle. From Ali's point of view, a loss here would have seriously dented his claim of being 'The Greatest'.
In 1974, Norton fought George Foreman for the World Heavyweight Championship, but was stopped in two rounds.
In 1975, Norton regained the NABF Heavyweight Title when he impressively defeated Jerry Quarry by TKO in the fifth round. Norton then avenged his above-mentioned 1970 loss to Jose Luis Garcia by decisively knocking-out Garcia in round five.
In 1976 Norton would again fight Ali, who was now the World Heavyweight Champion since regaining the title with an eighth round knockout of George Foreman in 1974. Many observers have felt this was the beginning of Ali's decline as a boxer. In one of the most disputed fights in history, the fight was even on the judges' scorecards going into the final round, which Ali won on both the referee and judges' scorecards to retain the World Heavyweight Championship. The judges scored the bout 8-7 for Ali and the referee scored it 8-6 for Ali.
At the time of the third Ali-Norton bout, the last time a heavyweight champion lost the title by decision was Max Baer to Jim Braddock, and forty-one years later Ali-Norton III was no exception. The January 1998 issue of Boxing Monthly listed Ali-Norton as the fifth most disputed title fight decision in boxing history. The unofficial UPI scorecard was 8-7 for Norton, and the unofficial AP scorecard was 9-6 for Ali. But Ali had received a pounding. His tactics were to try to push Norton back but they had failed. He'd refused to 'dance' until the 11th in sheer desperation, although the crowd then roared its appreciation.
1977 was a top year. Norton knocked out previously unbeaten top prospect Duane Bobick in one round and after despatching European title holder Lorenzo Zannon easily he beat number 2 contender Jimmy Young in a 15-round split-decision in a WBC big mandatory title-elimination fight. Both boxers fought a smart fight, however observers thought the decision controversial. The winner was supposed to fight Ali for the world title, as some thought it was Norton's due from a year earlier. "No way we want Norton again" was an Ali camp quote in Ring Magazine.
Following the Leon Spinks upset of Muhammad Ali for the championship on February 15, 1978, Spinks elected to fight a return bout against Ali [8] rather than face the still dangerous Norton, the top contender.[9] The World Boxing Council, which had mandated a Spinks-Norton bout for their championship, withdrew its recognition of Spinks as champion. On March 18, 1978, the WBC named Norton its champion by virtue of his win over Young.[10] The WBC stated that they considered Norton's victory over Jimmy Young, which was sanctioned by the WBC as a title eliminator, a retroactive championship [11]
In his first defense of the WBC title on June 9, 1978, Norton and new #1 contender Larry Holmes met in a classic fight. After 15 brutal rounds, Holmes was awarded the title via an extremely close split decision. The three judges' cards were as follows: 143-142 for Holmes, 143-142 for Holmes and 143-142 for Norton.[12] The March 2001 edition of The Ring magazine listed the final round of the Holmes-Norton bout as the 7th most exciting round in boxing history. As noted above, Holmes-Norton is ranked as the 10th greatest heavyweight fight of all time by Monte D. Cox, a member of the International Boxing Research Organization (IBRO). Holmes went on to become the second longest reigning World Heavyweight Champion in the history of boxing, behind Joe Louis. Holmes years later wrote, in Ken's autobiography, of his experience that this was his own toughest match in over 70 contests.
"You're only as good as your last fight" was a boxing saying. Somehow a decline set in. Whilst he KO'd fringe contender Randy Stephens with a single thunderous left hook, Earnie Shavers stopped Norton in the first and went on to match Larry Holmes for the world title. The Shavers' match was a mandatory eliminator.
Only a year later Norton retired from the ring temporarily in 1979 following a draw with Scott LeDoux. Norton carried the match until sustaining an injury when he took a thumb in the eye in the eighth round, which immediately changed the bout (Norton was down in the 10th and narrowly survived being stopped).[13] Norton didn't like the way his career ended,[14] so at the advanced age of 37, he staged a comeback in 1980 and beat previously undefeated, tough if basic Randall "Tex" Cobb by a split-decision in an all-action bout.
In 1981 Norton accepted a title-eliminator bout with new top prospect Gerry Cooney. Cooney, who is rated No. 53 in The Ring Magazine's 100 Greatest Punchers, won by first round KO, 54 seconds into the fight. Norton retired from boxing after this bout. Norton's professional boxing record was 42-7-1.
Ken Norton is a 1989 inductee of the World Boxing Hall of Fame,[15] a 1992 inductee of the International Boxing Hall Of Fame,[16] a 2004 inductee into the United States Marine Corps Sports Hall of Fame,[17] and a 2008 inductee into the WBC Hall of Fame.
The 1998 holiday issue of The Ring ranked Norton #22 in "The 50 Greatest Heavyweights of All Time." Norton received the Boxing Writers Association of America J. Niel Trophy for "Fighter of the Year" in 1977.
Norton, a proponent of motivational author Napoleon Hill's writings [18] (e.g. Think and Grow Rich [19][20] as noted above and Success Through A Positive Mental Attitude [21] by Hill and W. Clement Stone) also received the "Napoleon Hill Award" for positive thinking in 1973 (Norton, et al., 2000, p. 46).
In 2001, Norton was inducted by the San Diego Hall of Champions into the Breitbard Hall of Fame honoring San Diego's finest athletes both on and off the playing surface.[1] Norton was also inducted into the California Sports Hall of Fame in 2011 [22]
Norton was a forward, pressing fighter/boxer who was distinguishable for a unusual blocking/coverup style characterised by arms held across the torso or head,with the left arm lowest and right hand sometimes up by right or left ear (reminiscent of Archie Moore). This style is referred to as a "cross-armed defense", or "crab defense". He'd then bob and weave his way in with well placed heavy punches. George Foreman later used the same guard during his comeback, as did Tim Witherspoon. It tends to look crab like. Norton was best when advancing. He'd drag or slide the right foot behind notably. Most conventional boxers have elbows in and forearms vertical alongside one another with both gloves being near the face. Most trainers believe the conventional style is a better defence and that the cross-arm leaves the user open far too often.
But Norton's style was in itself fascinating. Norton gave Ali more trouble than anyone else in history over three matches. No small feat by any standard. Ken could as they say in the trade 'box' or 'fight'. Norton was never fazed by Ali's various famous tactics like clinching or rope a dope. In fact Ali usually found rope-a-dope a particularly unpleasant experience here as Norton would get many punches through. Ali's famous clinching & holding or launching sharp shots from a distance were all for various reasons not as effective as when Ali fought Frazier, the only other man he fought three times.
Angelo Dundee wrote Ken's best punch was the left hook, many others went for the wild overhand right, whilst Norton himself in a Ring Magazine article said a right uppercut to Jerry Quarry was the hardest blow he recalled landing. So, as typical, nobody agrees all round.
Unlike many boxers, Norton would often not attempt to outstare an opponent before the match started as announcements were made. He'd often look down at the floor gathering his thoughts. He was also widely noted for his fine athletic build.
Norton has appeared in approximately twenty motion pictures. Norton additionally worked as a television and radio sports commentator and appeared in popular TV series, such as jailbird "Jackhammer" Jackson in "Pros and Cons", an early first-season episode of The A-Team (filmed 1982, broadcast 1983), and as boxer Bo Keeler in the fourth season Knight Rider episode "Redemption of a Champion" (1986). Norton also appeared on the Superstars sports competition on ABC TV (1976) and was a member of the Sports Illustrated Speakers Bureau. The character of "Apollo Creed" in Rocky was initially going to be played by Norton. However, when he pulled out, Carl Weathers was selected.
Norton continued making TV, radio and public speaking appearances until suffering injuries in a near-fatal car accident in 1986. It left him with slow or slurred speech. He was very lucky to survive.[23][24]
He appeared along with Ali, Foreman, Frazier and Holmes in a Video titled "Champions forever" discussing their best times and in 2000 he published his autobiography titled "Going the Distance". ISBN 1-58261-225-0
Ken Norton was twice voted "Father of the Year" by the Los Angeles Sentinel and the Los Angeles Times in 1977. His son, Ken Norton Jr, played football at UCLA and had a long successful career in the NFL. In tribute to his father's boxing career, Ken Jr. would strike a boxing stance in the end zone each time he scored a defensive touchdown and throw a punching combination at the goalpost pad. He is now the linebacker's coach for the Seattle franchise
Ken Norton's other son, Keith Norton, is the weekend sports anchor for KPRC in Houston, Texas.[25]
| 42 Wins (33 knockouts, 9 decisions), 7 Losses (3 knockouts, 4 decisions), 1 Draw [2] | |||||||
| Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round | Date | Location | Notes |
| Loss | 42-7-1 | Gerry Cooney | TKO | 1 (10) | 11/05/1981 | Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, United States | |
| Win | 42-6-1 | Randall Cobb | SD | 10 | 07/11/1980 | HemisFair Arena, San Antonio, Texas, United States | Prior the Norton-Cobb matchup, Cobb beat Earnie Shavers by TKO in 8ht on August 2, 1980. Incidentally, Ken Norton was the Color Analyst for the TV broadcast of the Cobb-Shavers fight. |
| Draw | 41-6-1 | Scott LeDoux | PTS | 10 | 19/08/1979 | Metropolitan Sports Center, Bloomington, Minnesota, United States | Norton was knocked down twice in round 10. |
| Loss | 41–6 | Earnie Shavers | KO | 1 (12) | 23/03/1979 | Hilton Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 41–5 | Randy Stephens | KO | 3 (10) | 10/11/1978 | Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Norton hit Stephens with a good shot in the 3rd round that staggered him. |
| Loss | 40–5 | Larry Holmes | SD | 15 | 09/06/1978 | Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Lost WBC Heavyweight title. Norton was late in his prime for his first title defense vs. Holmes, who was early in his peak. |
| Win | 40–4 | Jimmy Young | SD | 15 | 05/11/1977 | Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Eliminator for WBC Heavyweight title. Shortly after this fight, Norton was awarded the WBC title as Leon Spinks signed to fight Muhammad Ali in a rematch instead of WBC #1 ranked Norton. |
| Win | 39–4 | Lorenzo Zanon | KO | 5 (10) | 14/09/1977 | Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 38–4 | Duane Bobick | TKO | 1 (12) | 11/05/1977 | Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, United States | |
| Loss | 37–4 | Muhammad Ali | UD | 15 | 28/09/1976 | Yankee Stadium, Bronx, New York, United States | For WBC & WBA Heavyweight titles. At the time of the 3rd Ali-Norton bout, the last time a heavyweight champion lost the title by decision was Max Baer to Jim Braddock and thirty-one years later Ali-Norton III was no exception. |
| Win | 37–3 | Larry Middleton | TKO | 10 (10) | 10/07/1976 | Sports Arena, San Diego, California, United States | This fight was billed as "The Battle of the Jaw Breakers" as Middleton had broken Joe Bugner's jaw and Norton had broken Muhammed Ali's jaw. |
| Win | 36–3 | Ron Stander | TKO | 5 (12) | 30/04/1976 | Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland, United States | |
| Win | 35–3 | Pedro Lovell | TKO | 5 (10) | 10/01/1976 | Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 34–3 | Jose Luis Garcia | KO | 5 (10) | 14/08/1975 | Civic Center, Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States | Garcia was knocked down once in the 3rd, 4th, and 5th rounds. |
| Win | 33–3 | Jerry Quarry | TKO | 5 (12) | 24/03/1975 | Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, United States | Won vacant NABF Heavyweight title. Title had been vacated by Muhammad Ali. |
| Win | 32–3 | Rico Brooks | KO | 1 (10) | 04/03/1975 | Red Carpet Inn, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States | |
| Win | 31–3 | Boone Kirkman | RTD | 7 (10) | 25/06/1974 | Seattle Center Coliseum, Seattle, Washington, Washington, United States | Kirkman was knocked down in the 7th, and did not answer the bell for the 8th round. |
| Loss | 30–3 | George Foreman | TKO | 2 (15) | 26/03/1974 | El Poliedro, Caracas, Venezuela | For WBC & WBA Heavyweight titles. Norton down 3 times. |
| Loss | 30–2 | Muhammad Ali | SD | 12 | 10/09/1973 | Forum, Inglewood, California, United States | Lost NABF Heavyweight title. Fight known as "The Caracas Caper". Norton down three times. |
| Win | 30–1 | Muhammad Ali | SD | 12 | 31/03/1973 | Sports Arena, San Diego, California, United States | Won NABF Heavyweight title. Ali suffered a broken jaw during this bout. There were no knockdowns. |
| Win | 29–1 | Charlie Reno | UD | 10 | 13/12/1972 | San Diego, California, United States | |
| Win | 28–1 | Henry Clark | KO | 9 (10) | 21/11/1972 | Sahara Tahoe Hotel, Stateline, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 27–1 | James J. Woody | TKO | 8 (10) | 30/06/1972 | San Diego, California, United States | |
| Win | 26–1 | Herschel Jacobs | UD | 10 | 05/06/1972 | San Diego, California, United States | |
| Win | 25–1 | Jack O'Halloran | UD | 10 | 17/03/1972 | Coliseum, San Diego, California, United States | |
| Win | 24–1 | Charlie Harris | KO | 3 (?) | 17/02/1972 | San Diego, California, United States | |
| Win | 23–1 | James J. Woody | UD | 10 | 29/09/1971 | Coliseum, San Diego, California, United States | |
| Win | 22–1 | Chuck Haynes | KO | 7 (10) | 07/08/1971 | Civic Auditorium, Santa Monica, California, United States | |
| Win | 21–1 | Vic Brown | KO | 5 (10) | 12/06/1971 | Civic Auditorium, Santa Monica, California, United States | |
| Win | 20–1 | Steve Carter | TKO | 3 (10) | 12/06/1971 | Valley Music Theatre, Woodland Hills, California, United States | |
| Win | 19–1 | Robie Harris | KO | 2 (?) | 16/10/1970 | Coliseum, San Diego, California, United States | |
| Win | 18–1 | Chuck Leslie | UD | 10 | 26/09/1970 | Valley Music Theatre, Woodland Hills, California, United States | |
| Win | 17–1 | Roy Wallace | KO | 4 (?) | 29/08/1970 | Coliseum, San Diego, California, United States | |
| Loss | 16–1 | Jose Luis Garcia | KO | 8 (10) | 02/07/1970 | Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, United States | Norton knocked down in 1st and 8th rounds. |
| Win | 16–0 | Ray Junior Ellis | KO | 2 (?) | 08/05/1970 | San Diego, California, United States | |
| Win | 15–0 | Bob Mashburn | KO | 4 (10) | 07/04/1970 | Arena, Cleveland, Ohio, United States | |
| Win | 14–0 | Stamford Harris | TKO | 3 (10) | 13/03/1970 | Coliseum, Arena, San Diego, California, United States | |
| Win | 13–0 | Aaron Eastling | KO | 2 (10) | 04/02/1970 | Coliseum, Silver Slipper, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 12–0 | Julius Garcia | KO | 3 (10) | 21/10/1969 | San Diego, California, United States | |
| Win | 11–0 | Gary Bates | KO | 8 (10) | 25/07/1969 | San Diego, California, United States | |
| Win | 10–0 | Bill McMurray | TKO | 7 (10) | 25/07/1969 | Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, United States | A cut over McMurray's left eye, ended the bout. |
| Win | 9–0 | Pedro Sanchez | TKO | 2 (10) | 31/03/1969 | Sports Arena, San Diego, California, United States | |
| Win | 8–0 | Wayne Kindred | TKO | 9 (10) | 20/02/1969 | Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, United States | |
| Win | 7–0 | Joe Hemphill | TKO | 3 (10) | 11/02/1969 | Valley Music Theatre, Woodland Hills, California, United States | |
| Win | 6–0 | Cornell Nolan | KO | 6 (10) | 08/12/1968 | Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, United States | |
| Win | 5–0 | Wayne Kindred | TKO | 6 (10) | 23/07/1968 | Circle Arts Theater, San Diego, California, United States | |
| Win | 4–0 | Jimmy Gilmore | KO | 7 (8) | 26/03/1968 | Community Concourse, San Diego, California, United States | |
| Win | 3–0 | Harold Dutra | KO | 3 (6) | 06/02/1968 | Memorial Auditorium, Sacramento, California, United States | Norton knocked down in the 2nd round. |
| Win | 2–0 | Sam Wyatt | PTS | 6 | 16/01/1968 | Community Concourse, San Diego, California, United States | |
| Win | 1–0 | Grady Brazell | KO | 5 (6) | 14/11/1967 | Community Concourse, San Diego, California, United States | |
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Leon Spinks Stripped |
WBC Heavyweight Champion 1978 |
Succeeded by Larry Holmes |