How close was Jimmy Young to being champion in the 70s?

He wouldn't of won a rematch vs Norton because for whatever reason Young fell off badly after the Norton fight.

He came in grossly out of shape vs Ocasio and lost that fight. And then he was just happy being an opponent for upcoming prospects for the remainder of his career rather than being a top contender.

Could Young have beaten Ali in a rematch ? Possibly.

But Ali was also in the worst shape of his career vs Young so Ali in a rematch would've been in better shape for a rematch.

The issue is though this was the late 70s and Ali was starting to fade badly so who knows. But i wasn't that impressed with Young against Ali who fought very ugly and didn't really try and separate himself from an under par Ali.

But maybe if Ali fought better against Young and was in better shape you'd see Ali maybe push Young harder to make him fight better.

Overall I'd say an Ali/Young rematch at that point in Ali's career would be a toss up.

But Young wouldn't win a rematch vs Norton.

 

If he had won either the Ali or Norton fight he would have been champ. He barely lost both. But so far as afterwards Young was one of those quick guys who started declining fast when they hit 30. In his prime he beats Larry Holmes most times. By 1979 he probably loses. Young was at the very end of his window there was no time to circle back at all. Because the HW division was going to be horrible if he'd beaten Norton and Holmes he might have been able to luck into another defense or two if he picked the right matchups. But he was going down fast.

Young should beat Ali regardless. Young might have aged much quicker then Ali but theres never a point in the timeline Youngs further from his peak then Ali. The problem with picking Young>Ali for certain is that Young is a defensive point fighter and Ali at this point was a beloved icon. If theres a dull round where not a lot happened or theres any interpretations to be had Alis getting every benefit of the doubt. And the way Jimmy Young fought both those things are going to happen.

I think Young was the NABF champ after beating Foreman but he got stripped quickly so he doesn't show up on a lot of lists. Young wasn't replaced until after Holmes v Norton. It was not a world title but at the time it was the 2nd most prestigious title having been held by Ali, Norton and Foreman throughout the 70s.

 

He was robbed against Ali and robbed against Norton. Ali was the champ and Norton was handed a title off of his gift over Young so Young was about as close as you can come without actually getting it.