Ken Norton vs Evander Holyfield

I went with Evander by decision but in truth this would have been a war. Two comparably sized guys who were in excellent shape with a lot of skill. Holyfield had the power to hurt Norton but I don’t think he could have done to him what men like Foreman or Shavers did. Close fight

 

If you can't make Kenny back up you're in for a long night

 

Holyfield by close decision.

 

Two great warriors, but one has a glass jaw, and the other one has one made of marble.

 

Holyfield likely by KO? Did we ever really see Ken Norton do well in a “fight”? EH would be right there slinging back at KN and contest him inside (which we never saw) the whole time… EH 100% had the power to stop him too… Norton would be smaller, weaker, less skilled and in one gear as long as the bout lasted… very good fight long as it lasts, his best chance is if Evander comes in with the wrong plan and doesn’t have the energy left to rally for a stoppage… If EH comes to fight not box… More I think about it, it might be a bit of a mismatch.

 

Really close fight. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that Holyfield may stop Norton, though I don’t think he will. Can he outwork him? Would be damn close if it goes to the cards, as I suspect it would.

 

I would emphatically disagree with you on the point of Norton's jaw. He got stopped only four times in his career and those stoppages were against two of the hardest punching heavies of all time,one who was n't too far below those two in terms of power and one who was Ken's first defeat when he was up and coming learning his trade. Ken stood up to Muhammad Ali's and Larry Holmes' best shots over a total of 54 rounds very well indeed. Muhammad and Larry may not have been powerful punchers but hardly of the powder puff variety either. Both guys hit solidly enough when sitting down on their punches. And Jerry Quarry hit pretty hard too. He may have been past his best in their fight but hit Ken quite a bit in the early going.

 

Norton-Holyfield would have been a classic. Very close bout. I'm thinking about it and will post later.

 

Holyfield wins by decision (head).

 

Holyfield's punch was on par with Larry Holmes and Muhammad Ali, neither of whom could get Kenny out of there. He's no George Foreman or Ernie Shavers.

 

This would have been a close quarters war! Holyfield however was the superior fighters, better power and chin. Kenny would have been there every step of the way though but I think Holyfield edges a tight one.

 

Holyfield decision … close fight but close doesn’t always translate into exciting … and Holyfield was by far the superior fighter in the grand scheme of things but I don’t think he could take Kenny out and I could see him like Ali being thrown by Kenny’s clumsiness.