Ali VS Norton III

I just watched the 30 for 30 short from espn on this. They had one of the judges on there saying Norton landed all the good blows but he would throw enough or put them together and while he was in between shots Ali was constantly sticking out a jab and touching him the whole fight, Norton had the good work Ali had the more work

I disagree I felt Norton won but it was close

 

I feel Norton won the third by approximately three rounds or points.

Muhammad Ali has always been my favourite but I must be honest here. Norton was at his best in this fight while Ali was declining signifigantly. Their second fight has been mentioned in this thread which I see Muhammad as winning.


Ken would always have been a tough opponent for any version of Muhammad.

 

I would have liked to have seen at least ONE fight between the two of them when Ali was actually "prime" before making that assertion.

 

True .... and he still refuses to die. Incredible fighting spirit !
Joe and Ken are gone now, may they RIP.

 

I see it the same way give or take and I also thought Young edged Ali.

Funny thing back then a NO head shake from Ali and fake leg buckle and he had everyone convinced he was playing when he was losing and the Judges and Ref's were in AWE of him

 

Also keep in mind Ali is extremely wealthy he can afford the best doctors, and is closely monitored for medications etc...

When you are rich you can afford the best medical care, case in point Magic Johnson:deal..

 

Those judges were basically fan boys regarding Ali....or just incompetent (or worse...on the take)

 

That's if he really is sick, which has varying opinions.

 

I always felt Ken won the 3rd,very close but won.

 

? :huh Could you quote anyone who feels Ali is NOT sick ? Would be very interesting to hear their rationale.

 

After watching it on closed-circuit television, I thought that Ken Norton should have received the decision in his third bout with Muhammad Ali.

- Chuck Johnston

 

I think there's been enough verification over the years to confirm that he really IS sick.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhF8edtY1ZY

 

Let me just list some comments; I've got too much to do today to 'pen' an insightful response.

1) IMO Ali was the greatest HW of all-time (we never saw him summer 67 - summer 70)
2) Styles make fights; to be fair a prime late 60's Norton would have given Ali trouble but Muhammad still cops a clean decision or stops him late.
3) Ali won the 2nd Norton fight...but...he needed that 12th round imposing his will to win effort. (wasn't it a split-decision)?
4) Norton won the 3rd fight...seeing Ali's head hanging low after the final bell sounded spoke a thousand words to me.
5) You'de basically have to give Ali the decision against Young. The ol' mantra that you have to take the fight to the champ to win bodes heavy here. Jimmy did his duck out of the ring ploy (I always thought that was pretty cool given there were no rules against it) but...IMO his final few rounds dominance simply wasn't enough to warrant a change of title.
6) I had Young beating Norton in a close decision. Scoring fights is always difficult and their s**** was a give and take chess match. The key IMO was that they rewarded straightforward aggressiveness over counter-punching slickness and punch count.
Jeez Jimmy, you made it so hard in your fights to call it your way given your style in the 'big-ones'!
In closing, I'll always remember my friend commenting to a Young hater at a sports bar in the 70's saying Young was a ***** who couldn't bang. My friend said: "Yeah, he can't hit with any real power but he hits hard enough to keep the big bangers off of him!" In his short wheel house of prime, that alone made him able to pull off a win against anyone at that time. My $0.02

 

As one of the New York papers said after Ali-Norton III..."If Ali won that fight last night...then the Japanese won WWII"...Norton won the fight that night...Ali was given the decision ...not for what he did...but for who he was...

 

If Jimmy had been given the nod in the Norton fight life may well have panned out very differently for him. For starters,he would n't have had that terrible dip in form that was very apparent the following year. Beating Foreman and running Norton to a photofinish then losing to Ossie Ocasio who was a class below the two I've mentioned.

I'm going to watch Norton-Young again in the near future so I can make my mind up about the decision. Very close one.