Ingemar Johansen vs Ken Norton

i would pick norton , johansen has not got the fire to go straight at norton like a shavers or foreman say.so any weakness that norton may or may not have early on against big punchers is not a factor here in my humble opinion.norton establishes his jab and starts to land his booming right often enough to force a tko around the 8th.

 

I like Ingo to catch him eventually. Norton would likely be dominating the fight but all it would take is one right hand and it's over, I think the chances of Ingo landing his bingo are better than even.

There are several kinks in this fight though that may lead to a Norton victory. One interesting thing to point out is that Norton was hurt by wide, clubbing shots by Foreman, Cooney. His crossarmed defense was excellent against straight shots (most of the reason why Holmes and Ali struggled so much against him), but it made him vulnerable to looping shots.
Frazier had a somewhat similar style and the same problem, he was super, super good at defending against straight jabs and rights, but when the opponent threw wider shots ala Foreman/Bonavena he was in trouble.
Also, with regards to Norton, it wasn't just the freakish power that got him out of there, it was the physical strength that Foreman/Shavers possessed that sent Norton to the backfoot where he was terrible.

Ingo is neither a fighter who throws wide, looping shots to take advantage of Norton's crossarmed defense or a physical behemoth that can physically overpower Ken and force him to the backfoot. This is an interesting fight that I can see going either way, although I'd lean towards Ingo.

 

i was not saying his right hand was not very powerful but more suggesting that mentally he would not come out as aggresive as say foreman did.so giving norton time to fight his fight

 

Johansson could throw some looping punches if it got the job done. You would think that it's his technique that gave him his power, but he just had heavy hands.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MecEKGw6LTc[/ame]

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBa8w5tzEm8[/ame]

 

If Ken went at him early in a shootout or somehow avoided the Bombs early he could do it but the odds are against him if INGO goes right at him, it could still be a do or Die fight for both and who ever lands the hard blow 1st

 

I have chosen Ken Norton to be the victor in this matchup. Though Johansson possesed a powerful right, he was not a puncher on the level of a George Foreman or an Earnie Shavers, one of whom fought Norton when he was past it, while the other had to hit him multiple times before it was over. Additionally, Norton's skills were well tested against some of the greatest heavyweights of all time, along with having greater size and better conditioning than Johansson...

I'm thinking Norton wins by a stoppage somewhere towards the mid rounds.

 

johansson was a big puncher! and norton weak chin! johansson by ko before five!

 

I honestly don't think that he can be placed in that fraternity Janitor. While the man certainly hit hard, 17 KO's in 26 wins is not exactly what I would call knockout artistry. Especially when many of those KO's were the result of multiple punches against sub-200 lb men. I think that Foreman and Shaver's power was more proven and Norton's chin was not as weak as some make it out to be either.

 

You might know this already but that is Ingo himself commentating on the Richardson fight...

 

I'll go with Norton.

 

So who ever gave Ingo even the lip service of being the hardest hitter they ever faced?

Patterson commented once in an interview that Liston hit him harder. He initially said Ingo hit harder but then clarified because he thought he was being asked who hit him hardest among everyone he had beaten.