Ali's 5 last title defences

If you take it as granted the Spinks fights were on the level, that is.

 

Money needs and wants kept Muhammad Ali fighting on until HE became totally convinced he could not really compete well anymore. That, and the fact that every great boxer has heard: "You can't do that, or you can't do this." Then they build their careers on doing those things that many said they could not do. Often they stop listening to nay-sayers, including at the end of their roads. I am sure many around him told Muhammad Ali he was done. He refused to listen to them. Money talks very loudly!

 

Interesting you bring that point up about nay-sayers. I was watching a short on YT with Ali addressing this very point with I think Michael Parkinson, you may have seen it. Paraphrased…

“Some people can see farther than others. So when I’m up high on the tight rope, people are looking up & calling out to me, ‘Ali, don’t do it! It’s dangerous!’ But it’s not that dangerous really from where I’m looking.”

This holds true for a long time, of course, until the day it doesn’t.

 

An interesting fact about the Shavers fight is that the actual judges scorecards were broadcast on TV live after each round. Shavers’ corner didn’t know the running score, but Ali’s corner had a runner relaying the scores to them. Ali knew he was ahead going into the last few rounds, so didn’t need to go for it. Shavers thought he was ahead, but wasn’t.
There was some controversy about the paying audience getting a worse deal than the TV audience with the live scoring updates.

 

Norton definitely won the 3rd fight, which was held in a near riot in the Bronx at Yankee Stadium.
He was robbed, clearly robbed. But in those days a guy would have to literally kill Ali to win against him.

 

Norton was not well served by his corner’s advice not to take any chances in the last round because they thought he was ahead. For the reasons you cited, he needed to go out and fight the round of his life.