Ken Norton : 'Ten Count'

Was the Norton vs Shavers fight suppose to be in the above list also?

1979-03-23 : Ken Norton 225 lbs lost to Earnie Shavers 210 lbs by KO at 1:58 in round 1 of 12

• Location: Las Vegas Hilton, Las Vegas Hilton Pavilion, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
• Referee: Mills Lane

• Video image

Notes

• The fight was televised by ABC in prime time.
• A crowd of 5,376 paid a gross gate of $375,000.
• Norton's purse was $750,000 and Shavers' was $250,000.
• The WBC ranked
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  heavyweight contender and
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• Norton was a 9-5 betting favorite.
• In the main event, Larry Holmes stopped Ossie Ocasio in seven rounds to defend the WBC heavyweight title for the second time.
• The 1998 Holiday Issue of The Ring Magazine ranked Norton #22 and Shavers #33 on the list The 50 Greatest Heavyweights of All-Time.
• The Ring Yearbook 2003 ranked Shavers #10 on the list The 100 Greatest Punchers of All-Time.

From Sports Illustrated:

Norton's plan was not to go to war, at least not early. In winning 56 of 64 fights, Shavers had scored 54 knockouts. No one questioned his power, only his stamina. "He has a tendency to get tight, and when he gets tight, he gets wild," said Bill Slayton, Norton's trainer. "We have to either fight him at a distance or in very close. Kenny has to move in quick and meet him, and make him work inside. The closer Kenny is to a man, the better he is and the better I feel."

The strategy seemed sound. But early in the first round—with Shavers punching at an incredible pace—Norton improvised. First he elected to lie against the ropes and catch and counter. When that didn't work, he then decided to just cover up and let Shavers punch himself out. It was a fatal decision.

Shavers has always had a tendency to loop his punches. But with Norton standing dead still in front of him, Shavers began to punch with newfound discipline. He kept his punches short and tight, and whatever part of his upper anatomy Norton failed to protect with his curious peekaboo defense, Shavers blasted.

In the first minute, Shavers hooked Norton wickedly to the liver and then hooked him to the head, slamming the thunderous punch against the temple. Norton didn't go down, but he was hurt, and the fight was as good as over.

As Norton tried to escape, Shavers chased him, firing at full bore. The 30th punch, a hook, caught Norton flush on the head and he started to fall. The 31st, a right, nailed him as he fell. Rolling over, Norton got up at eight and staggered back against the ropes. He nearly fell again.

Referee Lane wiped off Norton's gloves and stepped back. Shavers stepped in. Once more Norton, like a man sleepwalking, tried to escape. No chance. Shavers hooked him to the head and then jolted him with a tremendous right uppercut that sent Norton tumbling down. The onetime WBC champion rolled over and crawled to the ropes. On instinct alone, he pulled himself up. Slayton leaped up the steps. Lane waved him away. Slayton signaled he wanted the fight ended. Nodding, Lane stopped it.

Common opponents

 

Ok....no problem compadre.

 

Very good, what about Norton vs Cobb? I checked Cobb was the 9th-ranked heavyweight contender with a record of 17-0 with 16 knockouts.

 

Ring had Cobb at #21 in the ratings immediately prior to the Shavers fight.

Going into the Norton - Cobb fight, Ring ranked Cobb #13 and Norton #15. Immediately afterward Norton moved up to #10 and Cobb dropped to #15.

BTW, when I say "immediately prior" I mean the "ratings as of" date printed on the ratings page, not the issue that was on the stands or the issue date. In those days we had to wait a couple months for the magazine ratings to reflect what happened in a given fight, and by then more stuff happened...