I thought Norton vs Young was a good heavyweight fight. It was tactical but there was enough spurts of actions and changes of momentum to make it an interesting fight. Both fighters fought well. It was worthy of a heavyweight championship fight.
Word! Unfortunately, it seems that most people focus on Kenny's signature losses and his supposed glass jaw, instead of making a more fair and balanced analysis of his boxing career. Sometimes win-loss statistics are just that: numbers, and can be misleading, because they don't tell you the whole story. Kenny should have won at least the third bout, making him 2-1 vs. Ali. That alone would put Kenny alone in an unique category: How many boxers out there can claim a winning record in a serie of fights against the ATG? Furthermore, you could make a case that Kenny deserved a win or at least a draw againts LH. Even if we admit that Norton lost against LH, we need to consider this: How many boxers could face a prime Larry and be able to last the full bout giving him a real fight?
Thanks. While I disagree with your very first comment--there is only ONE iconic, defining '70s heavyweight, and it certainly wasn't Kenny--your tribute is informative coming from someone who was there at the time. I enjoyed your info on "Think and Grow Rich", the book that, after the Bible and along with Carnegie's and Stephen Covey's classics, has formed a bedrock for my own success in life. It is fascinating how self-help--training the mind as well as the body--has propelled some great fighters: Clay/Ali feeding from NOI philosophy; young Tyson internalizing D'Amato's wisdom; Tommy Loughran and his basement-mirror training and practical Catholicism; old Foreman reconfiguring himself from a religious experience to elevate his all-time status. It is not the time or place to delve into college-attendee Kenny Norton's basic lack of desperation--cotton-picking mother's son Larry Holmes stashing away cash in secret places even as champion, for instance. I believe just a little more primal hunger might have fueled Kenny to put Ali away indisputably at Yankee Stadium. It also might have imbued him so as not to succumb so meekly when facing huge punchers. On the other hand, Kenny's inclination for study and mental improvement certainly made him a better competitor. All things considered, Ken Norton will go down in history as a heavyweight champion who gave top all-time greats Ali and Holmes all they could handle, and, as just one more amid the masses, a man who transcended anonymity to achieve world-class success and live dreams of a lifetime.
This is a tribute thread to an excellent boxer who has just passed - why put a dampener on the one of the thread with churlish comments like this? There is a time and a place for certain comments imo...I don't think this is in keeping with the tone of the thread...
I was a big fan of Norton so there is no disrespect. Just stating facts. You can't be the champion when there is already a champion unless you beat the champion.
Fair dos that you respect Norton...let's leave it at that, I wouldn't want to enter into the Ali-Norton 3 debate on this thread...
There was a time when Ken Norton was considered "The People's Champion" by a lot of people. Following his loss to George Foreman in early 1974 thru the end of 1978 Norton went 11-2 (10) overall and 0-2 in HW World Title fights. Let's look a little closer- After Foreman he knocked out 7 opponents in a row including Boone Kirkman KO7, Jerry Quarry KO5, Jose Luis Garcia KO5, Pedro Lovell KO5, Ron Stander KO5, and Larry Middleton KO10. Next up he fought Ali for the 3rd time... most agree Norton should have won this fight which was for the HW World Title in September of 1976. In 1977 Norton knocked out Duane Bobick in 1 round and Lorenzo Zanon in the 5th round. In late 1977 Norton beat Jimmy Young. Let's look at Jimmy Young a bit- most agree that Young should have beat Ali in April of 1976 for the HW World Title. Young went on to beat Ron Lyle and George Foreman (he even dropped Foreman) prior to fighting Norton in a HW World Title elimination fight. Meanwhile, Ali lost the HW World Title to Leon Spinks in 1978... Ali should have fought Norton a 4th time instead of facing Spinks. Anyway, Spinks wanted no parts of Norton and instead fought Ali in a rematch for a lot of money. The WBC proclaimed Norton it's Champion and Spinks lost his title to Ali in September of 1978 Ali probably should have defended vs. Norton in early 1979 but he retired as Champion, which was fine (he should have stayed retired). Yes, Norton lost the WBC World Title to Larry Holmes by close decision in June of 1978 but Norton deserved either a rematch with Holmes or a shot at Ali. Norton instead fought Randy Stephens in November of 1978. Norton was 35 at this point. From 1974-1978 a lot of people felt the only fighter who could have beat Norton was George Foreman.
When asked to describe his boxing career in the "Champions Forever" video from the late 80's Norton stated: "Although I was very competitive I never wanted to injure anyone." After the Quarry fight in 1975, Ken made sure to visit Quarry in his dressing room to make sure he was okay. I think he sometimes misconstrued as being arrogant. Ken Norton was really a down to earth, peaceful, articulate, gentle man. He even admitted in his bio: "Going The Distance," that he was terrified when that maniac Tex Cobb saw him relaxing in the hotel lounge after Norton had outpointed Cobb in a 1980 bout and wanted them to continue their bout right there. Cobb was intoxicated. A terrific fighter and fine man. RIP Kenny Norton.