Just How Great a Heavyweight Was Ken Norton?

Norton was a great natural athlete. Norton said one of the biggest regret in boxing was never lifting weights. A fighter who definitely would have benefited from modern sports science.

 

I read the same book. However Norton said this post career.

 

Norton was a late starter to boxing and only had 20 odd AM fights. He did extremely well in his era considering the AM background of Ali , Frazier and Foreman all Olympic Gold Medalists.

 

If anyone could be a great fighter with a major train flaw it was Norton. He has size, speed, reach, conditioning, athleticism, defense, a terrific jab, very good two handed power .. he gave three amazing fighters, Ali, Holmes and a prime Jimmy Young, the fights of their lives .. that said , we all know that Norton was suspect able to freezing up when backed up by a big puncher and it resulted in losses to Garcia, Foreman and Shavers in decisive fashion .. it is not just that Norton lost to those men but the way he lost .. fast, decisively, showing a severe deficit in his skill set that to me kenos him from being an all time great ... the flaw was significant ...

 

Is this the Al Bernstein book on how to Box that used pics of Norton throughout?

 

What does it matter that Quarry was ONLY 29. He started boxing when he was 7. When his Dad controlled camp he instructed full 100% sparring fights with no headgear.
Zannon was kicking the crap out of a fat Quarry with nothing left but a punch. That punch finally caught Zannon in what the 9th? and Zannon chose not to continue. Quarry retired again if memory serves me correct until he needed money again.
The brain disease was most likely taking form by the Norton fight.
Just a bad example to use here on your part. That's all I'm trying to say.

 

Quarry knocked Norton out cold in sparring in the Main Street gym in 1970 while Norton was preparing for Garcia. Later two different LA promoters tried hard to match Norton and Quarry several times and it was always Norton who avoided that fight. The idea that Norton should get credit for beating a fat out of shape coked up Quarry years later is laughable when we can use Norton's age as an excuse for his later losses. Its similarly laughable to claim that Norton was robbed in the third Ali fight (or even worse the second) yet state with absolute confidence that Norton beat Young. Give me a break. Young beat Norton more convincingly than Norton beat Ali in either of their last two fights. Lets talk about how old Norton was against Cooney and Shavers and ignore that when Norton fought Ali their third time Ali had WAY more miles on his odometer against WAY more threatening competition WAY more consistently than Norton ever did. Of course Norton's KO losses are brushed aside as saying everyone could lose to those punchers but its ignored that Norton was dropped and hurt badly several times throughout his career or in sparring and not by legendary punchers. Look, the facts dont lie, the guy had a glass jaw and thats why he froze against bangers. There seems to be a bizarre double standard for Norton.

 

I didnt know about the sparring session. Learned something new today!!!
I just dont like when people no matter who they are give credit to Norton for beating this version of Quarry. Quarry by this point was done and should not have been in a ring. The people he trusted to look out for him ....well I wont even go there.

 

Id say you could definitely make a case for him being top 25 if not 20.

H2h as long as its not a brutal savage iron chinned puncher he can give a lot of guys problems. Easily top 15 if it becomes a technical boxing match.