I don't believe that Quarry KO'd Norton in sparring

It is largely forgotten that Jerry Quarry was a fine commentator on boxing telecasts. He knew what was taking place in the ring and could articulate what he was seeing very well.

- Chuck Johnston

 

Jerry Quarry routinely beat up his own brother in sparring.
If you are a professional fighter sparring with other professional fighters, conduct yourself accordingly. Some guys will work with a less experienced guy, some won't. He owes you absolutely nothing so defend yourself at all times.

 

When Ken Norton was active, the big punchers in the heavyweight division were George Foreman, Joe Frazier, Earnie Shavers, Ron Lyle, Gerry Cooney and Jerry Quarry. Norton was stopped in short order by Foreman, Shavers and Cooney. For one reason or another, Norton did not fight Frazier or Lyle. He did stop Quarry, who was on the downside of his career at the time. In other words, Norton' simply could not cope with big punchers and had to be matched carefully.

- Chuck Johnston

 

Totally agree Chuck. Jerry also seemed to have great personal insight on quite a few fighters also - including Earnie Shavers who Jerry beat. Commenting on Shavers fights, Jerry’s knowledge and interest in Shavers came across as closer than just arms length. In fact, during one fight Jerry revealed the lesser known fact that Ernie did lift weights and that it was considered a no no (at least as at that time).

 

I get that to a degree Grey and not disagreeing outright, but some sparring partners are instructed to adopt a certain style for the development and honing of the seasoned pro.

So, maybe there are instances in which unfair advantage is being taken. Basically, one way to look at it is that Jerry killed the duration of his own valuable sparring session by coming out to specifically take Norton out in short order.

Personally, I don’t like the sound of Jerry routinely beating up on his own brother but I know their upbringing lent to that.

I note the anecdote described Quarry’s mood - apparently somewhat volatile so perhaps not exactly a professional approach on that occasion.

Being even handed - a puncher has to punch in order to drill and hone that particular feature to his game. Certainly, if you got into the ring to spar with a guy like Earnie Shavers, you’d have to know there would be a “no prisoners” guy coming at you.

I guess boxer types have broader scope to adequately train themselves whilst not going balls to the wall or necessarily trying to hurt their spar mate.

As a sidebar - apparently, another ex sparring partner, Larry Holmes sparred numerous rounds (more than ever before) and pointedly beat the bejesus out of his sparring partners in the lead up to the Ali fight.

That’s just one reference point that makes me believe that Holmes did not hold back (as Larry claimed) for the most part of his fight vs Muhammad.

Of course Larry wasn’t obligated to hold back -but I think he was being false when he claimed that he did.

 

Look as stated here Quarry was ahead of Norton career wise when they sparred he was the far more experienced fighter and a good puncher .. Norton was never a guy with a great chin ... even before he was flattened by Garcia he was dropped several times and badly wobbled in fights on his way up .. its clearly possible Quarry hurt him in sparring but is it true, who knows?

 

Hmm…so Quary may have hit harder than Ali and Holmes.

 

Gift Dec over young ( seriously ) ? Norton won that fight as he did Ali 3rd fight

 

What happens in sparring usually stays in sparring, and if it doesn't, then there are typically multiple versions.

Things much stranger than fiction happen in sparring however!

 

Quarry knocking Norton out during sparring is likely some rumor Quarry's camp started around the time Quarry was complaining about being ducked by Norton, Foreman, and Ali.

 

I agree.

Ray Patterson sparking Liston.
Cleveland Williams knocking Bob Baker out cold.
Blackburn breaking Johnson's nose

This is relatively minor in comparison.

 

Really, Williams knocking out Baker is not that hard to believe. If they had fight, I would have expected the same thing. Besides, knocking out Baker is no massively glorious feat i.e. Mac Foster knocking out Liston.

 

No.

 

If you wanna change my mind you're gonna have to a say a lot more than that.

 

I have been wasting my life in boxing gyms since 1974. I have never seen or heard of anybody being told to fight in some other style for the benefit of another fighter. I know that line of thought is common, and you may try to find a guy similar to an upcoming opponent- a guy that moves well, is very tall or very short, or left handed- but there is no value in telling a guy to fight in a way that he isn't accustomed to. It would be like fighting a novice, wouldn't it? This is especially true when you are talking about 'seasoned pros'. They want hard rounds to get sharp- once they are sharp and prepared to do what they do to the best of their ability, let the other guy adapt.
When you are talking about Quarry and Norton, you are talking about guys that are both professional fighters and they are going to go hard. You don't get better otherwise. When you are young and starting out, there is value in working easy and getting used to all the hands in the air, how to avoid them, etc...But when you are a pro sparring another pro, you should be prepared to go hard. You can't get sharp working easy.
This misconception grew out of the slow motion sparring you sometimes see from the guys in the 20s or 30s. But those guys fought so often that they were sharp. If they were preparing for a significant fight and had a couple weeks to promote a fight, they weren't sparring to get sharp, but to stay sharp. And you can do that with relatively light sparring, especially if you have had a ton of fights.
Back to Quarry and Norton. At that point in time Norton stood to gain more from the sparring than Quarry, but he was a professional fighter and bigger than Quarry so Jerry was under no obligation to take it easy on him. I would wager any amount of money that Kenny wasn't pulling his punches; why would he? Why would Quarry? They were there to work and you don't get sharp if you don't work sharp.
Two final things.
First, I have never heard anybody say that Norton was a likeable guy in the gym. I first heard the story from a guy I knew 35 years ago. He had been a pro light heavyweight with 16 pro fights in the 70s and he went to the Main St gym for sparring and that was what I took from it. Second, it isn't a big deal. Everybody has been hurt or dropped or stopped in sparring. The purpose of sparring is to practice and get better. The whole idea is to make your mistakes, and pay for them, in the gym and, hopefully, not make the same mistake when it matters.