Ali-Norton 3 revisited

I think Ali got too much credit for his flicking jabs and breezy combinations, punches that look good but often aren't even connecting. That's the thing: do the punches make clean contact or do they just look flashy? When Norton landed, you knew it. I gave the fight to Ken at 9-6.

 

First things first I must 'fess up that I am a Norton fan - but I have always ensured that I never let my support for a fighter cloud my judgement of the scoring of a fight.

I haven't watched this fight for years but when I did watch it I thought that Kenny won it. One of the things that is sometimes very revealing to me about who has won a distance fight is the reaction of the 2 fighters of the final bell. Usually you get the bull**** where both fighters raise their arms. Sometimes the final bell reaction is more truthful, , more revealing, one fighter raises his hands/starts to celebrate while the other's body language gives away the truth that he feels he has lost. A good example of this is Lewis - Holyfield 1 - Lewis is raising his arm BEFORE the final bell, at the final bell Holy taps Lewis's body and trudges back to his corner, clearly thinking he has lost.

If I remember correctly, the reaction of Ali and Norton at the conclusion of the Yankee Stadium was very revealing - Norton said something to Ali and celebrated, but Ali looked every inch the defeated man - most unlike the extrovert Ali.

Anybody here remember this/have a view on this?

 

I'm digging up the official scorecards,,,,,,,,scoring.

Fasthands,,,,,,,,,,,being from New York, and seeing this fight,
the decision, when announced, made a resounding 'thud'.

The first words spoken, 'another rematch'.
Muhammad Ali stated, 'I can't spend my whole life in the ring fighting Ken Norton'

That pretty much summed it up.
The general consensus in New York,,,,,,,,Ken Norton won it 9-6-0

 

Il Duce, thanks for your reply.

Let me tell you, that resounding thud echoed all the way across the Atlantic!

I really feel for Kenny, I really do. He gets a lot of negative opinion these days, firstly for his 3 main KO losses (2 when past his peak imo), but worse (imo) is known as the only champ never to win a title fight - but, again imo, if justice was done, he should have been crowned undisputed champion in Yankee Stadium that night.

I believe that Norton deserved the 4th fight, I believe it's a strike against Ali that the fight didn't occur. Louis gave JJW a rematch, Ali should have granted Norton the same courtesy.

 

There was alot of controversy surrounding the promotion of this fight.

I'll get into later,,,,
But as far as newspaper accounts.
The Philadelphia Daily News,,,,,,10-5-0 Ken Norton
The New York Daily News,,,,,,,,,,9-6-0 Ken Norton
The New York Times,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,8-6-1 Ken Norton
The London Daily Mirror,,,,,,,,,,,,6-6-3 Even

My old scorecard;

A,,N,,A,,N,,N,,,,,,,,N,,N,,N,,A,,A,,,,,,,,,A,,N,,A..N,,N = 9-6-0,,,, Ken Norton

 

Bob Arum handled the promotion for this fight..
Don King was trying to put together an Ali vs. Norton IV fight.

Did review it, and Ken Norton did stagger Ali near the end of Round 15.
Ali did peck away in Round 15, and won the first 2:15 of the round with
light jabs.
Depends on what you like,,,,,,,,, light and busy,,,,,,,,or hard and short.

 

I was there at ringside.
It wasnt a great fight.
Ali did what he had to to win.
Norton didnt impress at all.

 

I had tickets, but didn't go.
A cold night, and the NYC Police were on strike.
Saw the fight at the Westchester County Center.

Like you said, it wasn't exciting.
Kept waiting for Kenny to take Ali out of their, which seemed like he
could do it anytime he wanted.
But for some 'odd reason',,,,,,,,,,,:huh

 

Norton won 9 - 6 giving Ali every benefit of the doubt. Ali threw bull**** jabs with little power, slapped a right hand that could not crack an egg and held on for his life. Notron was the more effective aggressor through out and hurt Ali badly to the body in the middle rounds. Ali and his whole corner looked like losers at the bell. They knew their man get beat. He got a gift decision because his name was Ali.

There is a reason why Ali begged on public television after his loss to Spinks for an immediate rematch instead of Leon fighting the number one contender , Norton, as previous contracts dictated and it was because Ali knew he got a gift in 76 and had no shot against Ken again.

I feel Norton won the first fight, at least deserved a draw in the second since he won the entire second half of the fight, and he won the third.

 

he grant,

Another great quote by Mickey Mantle on this fight.

On Ali,,,,,'it was like going to a game and waiting for Babe Ruth, and when he finally gets up to the plate, what does he do,,,,,,,,,,,bunts'

 

Every opportunity

 

Funnily enough, i remember clearly at the end of the 2nd fight, the reaction of the 2 couldnt have been more different. Ali appeared to me to think he lost the fight as i think it was bundini brown he flicked his glove at in his corner at the end. Certainly gave me the impression he thought he lost

 

Some verdicts from this side of the pond (from 3 of Ali's biggest fans too);

Reg Gutteridge: Norton by 2 rounds
Mickey Duff: "All Ali has to do is throw one flurry and they give him the round, even if he does nothing for 3 minutes".

Harry Carpenter commentating on BBC:

"We have a new heavyweight champion there can't be any conceivable doubt"

 

MY Conteh,

There were some great quotes, in reaction to this decision,,,,,,,,,,

Dick Young,,,,,,'looks like Ali got his Christmas present in the fall, right here on the
infield of Yankee Stadium,,,,,,this was no Fall Classic'

'If Muhammad Ali was the Green Bay Packers, Vince Lombardi would have pulled them
off the field in the 6th Round'.

'They told me the East River smells,,,,,,,,it's not even close to this decision'

 

Some other funnies:

NY Post: "If Ali won this fight then Arthur Murray is the heavyweight champion of the world" (when i first heard that, I had to look Murray up, he was a famous dancer or something).

Dick Young again: "After 12 rounds Ali was trailing but then the judges rallied strongly and, with true grit, retained the title for Muhammad". :yep