Jose Luis Garcia KO 8 Ken Norton...did this really happen?

But I post all the time....

 

Norton's vulnerability to big punchers is probably somewhat overstated ,he took some very good shots from Garcia in their rematch and did not fall,one right hand in particular was a real bomb. Similarly versus Bobick.
Norton's problem was, if you could back him up you had him ,he was only effective going forward, dragging his right foot behind him,reverse directions and he was in trouble ,ala ,Shavers and Foreman.
Ali and Holmes, not big hitters, but hit hard enough to get your attention ,never dropped him once.

 

Anyone know if their first fight is in circulation? I know a tape exists because Norton made reference to it in the pre-fight interview with Tom Brookshier prior to their rematch.

Any help in locating this fight would be appreciated.

 

I only can remember the article in Ring or Boxing Illustrated,(I was an avid fan in the 60's and 70's)I remember Garcia due to his physique was refered to as the "fightin fishin pole",for Garcia,it was a great win over a decent fighter.

 

Seems to me the next time Garcia had a write up in one of those magazines,it was when he was stopped by Ernie Terrell on the come back trail.Think the win got Terrell fighter of the month,and put him back in the rankings.

 

It's true, Garcia really weighed 188 lbs. The only "myth" about this fight -- which persisted for years -- is that Norton dominated until walking into a fluke punch. Supposedly the truth is that Garcia put a beating on Norton and the kayo was no fluke.

Remember also that in 1970, Norton was not yet world-class. He was still just a prospect, raw and inexperienced. Norton didn't really mature until 1972, when he kayoed tough Henry Clark.

 

Just before this fight International/World Boxing did a report on what a great prospect Norton was. Foreman, Bugner, and Mike Quarry were mentioned in the same article as excellent up-and-coming heavyweights (even though Quarry was just a lightheavyweight, and would remain so for his career).

I know this because in the late '70s I mail-ordered a lot of old boxing magazines. It's possible that Ring Magazine did a Norton story at this time too, but I can't remember.

 

True. I agree that it was oversimplifying matters to say that Norton could n't take a punch per se. It was,as you say,a case of a big puncher coming forward and backing him up,that had the beating of Ken.

 

Very true. And pretty sad. :|

And since the heyday of giant-killer Sam Langford and Dempsey's destruction of tough Jess Willard, it is an established tenet that a world-class 188-pound puncher can lay out any heavyweight, no matter how big, with the right shot.

 

It's actually 188 Kilograms... That's right, Garcia was actually 414Lbs. He was very fit for a guy over 400Lbs. As a matter of fact he didn't even look like he weighed that much, his bones were very dense. Knowing that he was over 400Lbs... it's no wonder he stopped Norton.

Props to Norton for stopping the 400Lber in the rematch though!

 

You're ****ing crazy dude!!! What, just because he went the distance with Marciano you try to convince people that he should have won??? I know you really don't believe your own bull**** though.

Lowry went 67-67-10 (43) in 144 fights as a pro. He was only stopped 3 times!

Marion Wilson went the distance vs. McCall, Sam Peter, Rahman, Maskaev, Page, Ibeabuchi, Golota, Briggs, and others but don't dare say he was ripped off vs. any of them or even gave any of them problems. The only problems he may have given them is sore knuckles.

Lowry was stopped by Lee Q. Murray (LTKOby4, didn't come out for the 5th), Rusty Payne (LKOby7), and Harry "Kid" Matthews (LKOby5).

Roland LaStarza gave Marciano trouble in their first, so did Ezzard Charles. Marciano stopped both of these men when he fought them again.

Marciano fought Lowry again as well but could not stop him. Lowry fought to survive. He just wanted to go the distance. LaStarza and Charles wanted to win and took chances in order to do so. Lowry tried to win vs. Murray, Payne, and Matthews and left himself open for more punishment than he did vs. Marciano.