Ken Norton vs Big Cat Williams

I'm using Nortons history for the uninformed. It was well understood during Nortons career that he had massive issues when in the ring with top bangers. Of course his first round ko loss to ****ey was Norton way past his prime but those in the know understood the same outcome would have occurred 5 years earlier with Norton at his best. Williams was by all accounts one of boxings great punchers and this is cemented by the comments of Liston and Foreman. Norton had no lateral movement or at least could not move well side to side. His cross arm defense made him open to the left hook which was Williams best weapon whereas Williams generally fought straight up with hands high naturally better able to block Nortons left and right hooks. Against a puncher like Williams Norton would soon find himself against the ropes and hurt. The ko would come soon after. Bottom line is knowing Nortons history against huge punchers and understanding the technical reasons why Ken had issues with huge punchers the odds greatly favor any top notch puncher in the ring with Norton.

 

By all accounts yet not by record. Did Williams ever KO someone as good as Norton? With the likes of Foreman, Tyson, Louis, Marciano etc you can actually point to their KOs against elite level fighters as a demonstration of their power. Ingemar Johansson KO'd an iron chinned #1 contender and followed up by KO'ing the reigning heavyweight champion. Williams never came close to matching that.

The best fighter Williams ever KO'd was Ernie Terrell, a decent win in hindsight but at the time Terrell was just a young prospect who was yet to beat a single ranked contender. Every other time Williams fought someone who was either a champion, like Liston, or had a long spell in the top ten, like Machen, his power came up short. He couldn't KO an older and more experienced Terrell. Take away Terrell and his best KOs were against the likes of Roger Rischer and Alex Miteff.

 

The facts are that Norton froze in the ring with heavy punchers. No lateral movement made him a sitting duck. When everyone aside from 2-3 posters on eastside boxing claim Williams was an all time puncher....akin to Liston in power....the majority wins. Norton at his best gets koed quickly by Williams just like he was koed by Foreman and Shavers. 2-3 rounds max. Norton was the better technical fighter but his style, inability to move laterally and mental state in the ring with a big puncher made him a sitting duck. All this is common thought by the experts of the time.

 

This is well reasoned and basically adheres to the old adage styles make fights and Williams style (hooks with power) is a problem for Norton. I agree. Although I feel Williams is massively overrated I would not pick Ken in this fight.

 

Daniels missed as many as he landed vs Williams. Norton was no great puncher by the way. He would often slap with his punches via open or partially open gloves. Again this is something many understood who were close to the game in the 70s. Norton had huge issues with punchers...technically and mentally. He was koed by the three biggest punchers he faced in brutal fashion. He is not avoiding getting koed by the fourth biggest puncher he would face in Williams.

 

Which heavyweights did Williams KO who were as good as Norton?

 

You can ask that question of many fighters. Norton could not handle huge punchers and Williams as per Liston and Foreman as well as many experts was one huge puncher. Norton would more than likely be koed by not only Williams but most all huge punchers in boxing history.

 

Liston and Foreman both demonstrated their KO power against elite level opposition. Williams never showed he was in that class. His reputation as a monster puncher is based solely on his reputation as a monster puncher, rather than, say, an impressive list of KO victims. He never knocked out a top heavyweight, which is why I have my doubts that he could KO Norton.

 

The crab gait is what I was getting at in an earlier post.when you are boxing against that style you have to go over your front foot to connect and that's when the problem starts.
I like the big cat and think the man's physique must have looked scary in 1960 but I can't see him beating Norton

 

Again.....no one with any credibility living through that time would argue the point. Norton could not handle real power punchers. He seemed to freeze when hit hard and not recover. Williams was a terrific power puncher. He kos Norton as did all the other power punchers Norton faced. Norton was a strong guy but no great puncher. Slapped a lot with his punches and typically threw both his left hook and right as swings rather than with proper technique. Norton was not a hard fighter to beat if you could punch.