Norton LeDoux War - Accurately Gaging Ken Norton

It was an entertaining competetive fight that I enjoyed watching.

 

I thought it was good. but I never remember being a war tho. Hopefully, you're not exaggerating that fight

 

Cobb’s KO loss to Collier, though shocking, at least reads as legit in the description.

Cobb arising again and again, pleading to the ref to give him one more chance. That description reads as above and beyond the call of duty for a dive.

Maybe it wasn’t so much the fight appearing dubious in its complexion as it was Tex’s rep for being impervious to any punch - a rep. too heavily relied upon..

In the very proof of that chin - taking enormous shots and punishment throughout his career - it’s feasible that his resilience had finally been reduced, perhaps dramatically so.

I believe Tex was dropped for the first time in a fight not long prior to. Looked like a hard KD to me - some observed that Tex might’ve been a bit off balance - even if so, I think it was far more about the punch taking his legs.

No film of the Collier fight on hand it seems - which is a bummer but it also better allows for floating a possible tank job.

Maybe if the film ever turned up it might be viewed as irrefutably legit, cut and dried - all question marks put to bed - as a number of purported fixes have been once they have been properly viewed.

Then again, maybe the vision, if ever it becomes available, feeds into the doubts we’ve read about.

 

I remember scoring the final round 10-6 for LeDoux when it happened. It should have been stopped.

I wasn’t very experienced scoring fights but basically even though he had a few spurts, Norton was out on his feet (or down or hanging over the ropes) for nearly the entire round. Maybe I would make it 10-7 today if I watched it again.

 

Most people thought it was a tko stoppage for Scott. Especially in his backyard. Norton had his hands full with Ledoux. think about that---how many other guys can Scott drag into a highly competitive bout?

Lots of folks had not watched Kenny's later efforts after the holmes fight. And even some of his stay busy fights before the young bout even. But he was no longer the same guy in there. If he was, a guy like Ledoux is made to order for him. And just exactly who did Ledoux ever beat? his best effort was what--the Spinks bout?
Back to norton--very few people watched anything but his big profile bouts. They thought the guy that fought Ali in yankee stadium was going to beat Cooney. Incredible. Similar to the folks picking Lyle--how many saw the Lynn Ball fight?

 

In general I'm only quoting Ken here.

 

No excuse!!

 

LeDoux landed lots of good left hooks to Norton body. The one at the end of the 8th or 9th took everything out of Norton.
Scott got jobbed out of a TKO victory.

 

LeDoux was a useful gatekeeper type who had a very competitive run late in his career — draw with Spinks (who shortly after became champ), split decision loss to Ron Lyle where he knocked Lyle down, draw with Norton, decision loss to Mike Weaver (somewhat competitive), win over unbeaten Marty Monroe and then the shot at Holmes.

If Norton doesn’t fade late in this fight and get basically stopped, if you look through six or seven rounds at Kenny he looks pretty good and does about what you’d expect. Then it unraveled.

But Kenny bounced back from this fight to beat Tex Cobb, which is a good win, and then Cooney came and wrecked him for good. I suspect Gerry does this to any version of Norton because he’s a big, strong puncher who is going to put Kenny on his back foot and we know that recipe.

 

The only reason Ledoux was so dominant was because he'd blatantly thumbed Norton in the 8th round which turned the fight in his favor.

 

That’s a full five years after Norton beat Cobb.

When Kenny beat Cobb, Tex was coming off a stoppage of Earnie Shavers.

 

Kenny gassed in the later rounds. Both him and Scott said as much. Still a good watch.

 

It isnt offered as one, it's just a fact.

 

Yes, that's the one. Thanks. Reasonably hard KD in my book, Cobb very tired but the right hand a legit leg taker....however, a punch Cobb would've taken years prior, no problem - so the KD was a sign of deterioration in Cobb's previously upheld resilience IMO.