I got Quarry by TKO. Quarry was simply not the same fighter he was against shavers or bodell. This version would've used his power and speed to overwhelm norton.
Two tough contenders but I don't think any version of Quarry can put Norton on his heels all night. It would be more competitive though. [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EggV1Hktvgg&feature=related[/ame] Prime Quarry [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SoIWuKSV1E[/ame]
Spencer had his right foot in the bucket just like Norton, and Thad paid for it in getting badly outmaneuvered. In 1970, Jerry weathered and overcame the sustained assault of the deadly hitting Mac Foster, despite Mac putting on one of his most impressive displays of power and skill. Gives some pause for thought.
Quarry did not have the crippling power to really dent Norton's chin although Kenny said Quarry did get his attention a couple of times. Norton still decisions Quarry or even stops him late if Jerry was at his best.
I'll always say that Norton would win a prime for prime battle. As someone had said,Quarry could n't have consistently forced Norton backwards. It would be a lot more competitive than their 1975 battle,though.
A buddy of mine from So. Cal. used to watch Quarry school Norton on a regular basis in the Main Street Gym. Once even, watching him knock Norton out cold. Getting these two prime for prime would likely be the '68-'70 Quarry against the '73-'75 Norton. Quarry was far more athletic and faster than the paunchy version that fought Norton for pay. I like his quick counters to take the measure of Norton, but I do believe there would be nothing easy about this. A damn good fight and far better than the one we saw and the sparring sessions my buddy saw. Scartissue
it would be much harder for Norton. Not only is he facing somebody faster then him, but Quarry also is a harder hitter and would easily counter the much slower Norton. Also, Norton was open for the right lead.. a Punch that Quarry would be able to sling at him all night. I think Quarry beats Norton. but it would be a good fight.
Thanks for sharing that... I think it would have been interesting to see some of those sparring sessions. Of course, I'm guessing that Quarry was a prime contender, while Norton was a rising prospect, but I don't know the time frames of their working together... I suppose anything could have happened when both at their best. Quarry was an excellent counter puncher, which is a bad thing for an opponent like Norton who is a come forward type of guy with a shaky chin... On the otherhand, the only men who ever really beat a prime Norton, were either world class punchers like Foreman or all time great boxers like Ali.... Quarry did not fall into either of these categories..
So then what about Cobb or Garcia? Cobb might have beaten Norton, I'm not sure, it was a very close fight. You can even go as far as Jimmy Young who beat Norton IMO. If he didn't, then it was very very close, and I think it could've gone either way.
I don't want to sound like I'm making convenient excuses, but Norton was totally shot by the time he fought Tex Cobb.. He was 38 years of age, had been recently dipatched in one round by an equally aged Shavers, and decked twice by Scott Ledoux... He was also one fight away fromt he end of his career.. The Garcia fight came in his first 16 fights and was a stamina issue. He rematched Garcia a few years later and pummeled him. He may have been gifted a decision against Young, but Jimmy was nothing like Jerry.. Norton's prime was probably from about 1973-1976, while Quarry's ran from perhaps 1968-1973. I think 1973 would have been a great year for these two to square off. By 1975, Jerry was going down hill, and Ken though still in his prime was coming to the end of it...
He was not totally shot. He looked pretty good against Cobb actually. I'm just saying that you don't have to be those two styles to beat Norton. True, Young was nothing like Jerry, I'm not saying Jerry would outbox Norton like Young did. But, Jerry can box, and he can slug. I imagine that right lead would land, it's the punch that Cooney stunned Norton with. The right lead. And Ali and Holmes found the right lead against Norton too. Heck, even in the rematch against Garcia, I remember a good right hand getting through. I think Norton is just too slow for Jerry. Jerry would counter him at will and outspeed him.
I think that if we were to ask for a concencus around here, most would agree that Ken was finished by 1980. Let's revisit what I said earlier in the quote below. Taking the above statement into consideration, some of the other men who beat Ken were Larry Holmes ( all time great boxer ), Gerry Cooney ( big puncher, fought him past his best. ) And Earnie Shavers ( possibly the hardest hitter ever, also fought Ken past his best. ) I will also ad that Young was a great boxer and I'm not sure who deserved the decision. Fair enough. Norton was completely over the hill when he fought Cooney, who charged Ken down, got him into a corner and clobbered him with a barage of hooks and crosses. Quarry was not this type of fighter. He did not have Cooney's size or power, and nor would he have the advantage of catching Norton at 38 years of age and in the last fight of his career. Ali and Holmes were leagues better than Jerry Quarry.. Both men fought life and death with Norton on a combined 4 occasions, with one of them even losing to him once. If you're going to draw comparisons using Muhammad Ali, then why not mention the fact that Quary was stopped on cuts in only 3 rounds against Muhammad who was in the first fight back after a 3 year abscence? Never saw the fight, so I'll take your word for it. You're entitled to your opinion, but I can't see Quarry just landing shots at will, while keeping Ken safely at bay. Neither Ali, Young nor Holmes could keep the man off of them, and these were guys with far better boxing skills, a longer wingspan and superior speed to Quarry. They also had far more proven durability which is something that no one seems to address. Jerry had the tendency to cut and bleed. Norton could crack, had a good workrate and could keep it up for many rounds. I think Jerry gets worn down and stopped late.