Hot off the presses - Ken Norton Doc by Rich The Fight Historian whose reputation for high quality treatments well precede him. Solid doco too, about an 1 hr 20 + mins. I can’t wait to sit back and have a good watch. This content is protected
Sometimes i am having a very bad day and feeling down... Then, I remember how my man Kenny shut Ali's loudmouth and put him into a liquid diet, and I feel much better already.
Very true. Ali himself didn’t participate in any other sports. He lived and breathed only boxing since the age of 12. Of course Ali was appreciably the greater fighter in all round terms and he didn’t encounter Norton until his second career - but their second fight did show Ali off in the best shape of his second career. It seems Norton could possibly have turned pro for a number of sporting endeavours. If I was Ali, I would’ve been more than miffed that this multi applied athlete, highly successful across several sports, chooses boxing from a number of options and then gives Ali, an elite boxing savant, hell over three fights. I’ve read also, while both were in the foyer of the hotel they were staying for their first fight (?), Ken even stole the attention of the ladies away from Ali. So, Ken humbled Ali outside the also. Lol. Ken of course said that he and Ali were ultimately good friends - but boy did Ken give Ali a gob full during their fights - he wanted to out talk The Greatest also and he clearly did get Ali’s goat at times with whatever he said/screamed at Ali. Too bad there isn’t more footage of Ken sparring with Joe Frazier - that would’ve been a great learning experience at every level for Norton -
Most boxers eventually bury the hatchet…..Marvin Hagler is the only I can think of that never did ( Sugar Ray Leonard)
Yeah, it doesn’t anymore raw than going head to head in ring - any more superficial smack talk or holding of grudges thereafter is pointless - often, engagements where neither guy leaves anything in the ring, gives rise to a deep respect that average folk might not enjoy or experience.
Ken was definitely one of my favourites even though i was upset on the night he beat my all time favourite,Muhammad Ali. I like the way he and Muhammad had no personal animosity between them - quite fond of each other by all accounts.
A few earlier pics of a young Ken Norton included in the doco. Not the perfect visual evidence to base judgment - but does anyone see some or any measure of weight work loaded onto Norton’s physique? Imo, sensibly viewed, someone could still say they didn’t do weight work (expressly) even if they did pick up a weight from time to time (no athlete wouldn’t have literally not touched a weight in their lives). You can see young Norton already had the natural cut and definition - and he also would’ve filled out more naturally. Also, genetics can see a far more beneficial trade than average between weight work investment and the results gained. Even when he was hitting the 220 lb odd mark in later career, Norton carried the weight very well with his musculature still looking natural enough. The man never looked out of shape during his whole career unlike some other fighters who really let themselves go between fights.
Little family anecdote: Growing during the 70s it was a regular feature at home the clashing between my Dad (a big boxing fan) and my Mom (who disliked boxing). Every time a fight was on TV or a boxing magazine arrived home my Mom complained. Thus, imagine how pleasantly surprised Dad was when my Mom took suddenly an interest in boxing ... and his changrim when he realized the only part of boxing Mom cared about was Kenny's physique
