Ken Norton: "my normal weight is 225-230 and i train down to 206"

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"I train down to about 206 for each fight".

"You drop 20-25 lbs? Just by working out?"

"I run 6-7 miles a day, train in the gym, and by starving"

Very interesting statement that caught my attention. Now it all makes sense, i wondered how kenny was so damn shredded and bulky with big shoulders at such a low weight. Foreman also used to weight in the 230 range as an amateur and between fights. Apparently their understanding was that you needed to come in light to be prepared for a 15 round fight and it shows in their training and conditioning. Is this what they mean by "drying out"...?

At 14:00 Ali says a few weeks ago he was around 225 and now with 5 days left till the fight he's 207. Did a lot of running and chopping trees.

Maybe some of the 70's heavyweights were bigger than we thought...?

 

I do recall hearing something about that. During his ww2 days I heard Louis was 220 and still looked buff and was able to spar several rounds in exhibitions without gassing. Clearly 205 was low for someone of his frame. Never understood why people act as though Louis was "tiny" when he didnt even lift weights and was still a well conditioned and shredded athlete.

 

I dont get it either. These guys were 6'3, 6'4 with an 80' wingspan and walked around at 230 with hardly any fat and looking like billboard models. I get that many of their opponents were fast and elusive and they needed the cardio to keep up, but it goes to show how old fashioned and set in their ways the boxing establishment can be.

Especially in the case of Norton and Foreman (Zaire) we see just how disastrous drying out for them was at pivotal moments of their careers. Or Ali during his ill advised come back against Holmes. Obviously he was past his prime, im not saying hed beat holmes but his desperate attempts to cut weight led to him taking thyroid pills and made him a sitting duck and a lethargic zombie. The fight might have at least been competitive had he been properly hydrated and wasnt trying so hard to follow archaic customs for being extremely lean in his late 30's.

 

Good point about Tyson, he threw a ******-wrench in the division as far as how to approach strength and conditioning. I think that was a huge part of what made him succesful in addition to his unorthodox style.

If a hw showed up who was fast and lean and relied on speed and stamina, I doubt we'd see so many flabby guys on the top 10 like takam and miller. Ditto for muscle heads like Joshua, he'd probably drop down to 235 or lower to avoid gassing.

 

Norton was always highly athletic since high school (competed in 5 sports), Marines, etc. He was always in great shape and although he had decent hand speed he wasnt a speed demon who zipped around his opponent--his style literally involved dragging his rear foot and stalking his opppnent with a high guard. If anything starving and overtraining down to below 210 was hurting him, especially since with bigger muscles you need all the energy you can spare. And at 215-220 in some of his later fights he didnt look sluggish at all.

Imagine if anthony joshua kept his bulky frame but starved himself down to 225. He'd look horrible and would be gasping for air. Of course you could counter that by saying Joshua doesnt need to look like hercules to box and he only gets that size through artificial weight training but thay isnt the point. Its not normal or healthy for a big man over 6 feet and over 200 lbs competing in an explosive sport to dry out and barely eat. Maybe if theyve gained too much fat after a layoff but even then, from a diet/nutrition point of view, i wouldnt want my fighter doing that as it's way healthier to slowly trim the weight gradually instead of rushing a jam packed intense 6 week camp.

Do you think Ken Norton's durability would improve if he was closer to his natural weight and ate properly? I know part of it was psychological in that he couldn't fight backing up and he'd freeze when caught by a huge punch, but do you see a correlation between excessive cardio/lack of food and an inability to take a good shot?