Donovan "Razor" Ruddock vs. Ken Norton

Who wins and why?

It's a tough pick but I'm going with Norton by decision. Norton was the better boxer overall. Norton had a good jab and bob and weave/cross arm defense/peek-a-boo type style. He had a good jab, hook, and overhand right. He was the more athletic of the two. Norton also had good stamina and was used to going 15 hard rounds.

Chin? I'd lean toward Ruddock but not by a mile like many of you think.

Power? Again it's Ruddock but not by a mile. Norton had good power and a steady pace. Norton had the misfortune of fighting guys with great chins like Ali x3, Young, and Holmes. Foreman had a great chin and awesome power!

I think Ruddock would drop Norton at least once but I think Norton would outbox Ruddock for the most part and win about 7 or 8 rounds. Factor in 1 or 2 KDs for Ruddock and it is a very close fight on the cards. I think Norton would have most of his success in the late rounds.

Maybe the scores would read 114-112 ,114-112, and 113-113 for a MD win for Ken Norton.

 

Norton was a good fighter but he is an interesting case. He is a Hall of Famer but some people don't think he deserves to be. He was the WBC HW champ but he went 0-3 in HW World Title fights.

Look closer though...

He went 1-2 vs. Ali but he could just as easily be 3-0 vs. him. Only the 3rd fight was for the HW World Title (1976, most felt Norton won the fight).

He was Leon Spinks mandatory in '78 but Spinks fought a rematch with Ali instead... this resulted in Norton being proclaimed WBC Champ. He lost the title in his first defense (LSD15 Holmes).

He lost a SD to Holmes that could have went either way.

1-3 vs. Ali (x3) and Holmes but just imagine if he had went 4-0 vs. them!!! It could have happened. Like it or not this is part of the reason Norton gets the respect that he gets from many people.

 

Norton is pretty underrated. People disregard him because he failed against the bigger punchers. But sdo has Ruddock. I think Norton has better skills and works harder than Ruddock, getting a UD.

 

Both were flawed, but a prime Ruddock was bigger and tougher than Norton......... Ruddock KO8 Norton........ BUT! This match proves nothing......

MR.BILL:bart

 

What is it supposed to prove except who would win between the two (prime vs. prime)?

 

Bigger? not by much

Tougher? based off of what? Sure... Ruddock took some good shots from Tyson (in 2 fights vs. Tyson he was stopped once, went down 3 times (almost 4) and got his jaw broke) but what other big puncher did he stand up to?

The only other people who tested his chin were Lewis (LKOby2) and Morrison (LKOby6).

I think Norton is being grossly underrated these days. Ruddock never lived up to the hype following the Tyson fights.

 

Mike Weaver, Bonecrusher Smith, Mike Tyson x2

It's no coincidence his jaw failed him post-Tyson II.

 

Weaver was washed up. Bonecrusher was just about washed up. Dokes was never known as a huge puncher but rocked Ruddock a few times prior to being stopped (despite being past prime).

 

So when a fighter loses a few steps they lose their power too? ...That's a new one.

 

Sure, even at that point Weaver and Smith had decent power but they were never able to test Ruddock's chin.

 

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFb13F5K8Pw[/ame]
4.47min

 

Shavers had awesome power but if he couldn't hit a guy enough times cleanly he was pretty ineffective. Just ask Bob Stallings.

 

So how was Ruddock able to stand up to Tyson's best shots in two fights? You envision Norton seeing 12?

 

It wasn't a shot to the chin that put Ruddock down BTW. The video proved my point, Ruddock wasn't hit on the chin very often in this fight but when he was he held on for dear life. It's not like he was walking thru bombs.

Smith was far from prime in this fight. Like I said, Smith still had power but he wasn't able to land as often or as cleanly as he had in the past. Smith wasn't the finisher he once was... had he been Ruddock may not have seen the 3rd round.

So, how on earth did Ruddock last vs. Tyson? Maybe a 1991 Tyson is a little overrated? Also, it's not like Ruddock didn't get stopped in teh first fight. It's not like Ruddock didn't go down or get hurt. Tyson put some hurting on Ruddock but Tyson was a head hunter by this time.

Had Tyson mixed in more body punching in the rematch and used his bob and weave defense a little more... I doubt Ruddock would have went the distance.

 

I don't see Norton lasting the distance vs. Tyson... I just see Norton beating Ruddock by the skin of his teeth