I don't know. Norton was the more skilled of the two in my opinion, but Weaver had the punch and the ability to go in an all out war of attrition with other guys who could hit, something that Norton really couldn't. My heart says Norton, my brain says Weaver...
Norton more skilled; Weaver bigger hitter...... Both owned shaky jaws..... As long as Norton keeps at bay and boxes, he wins...... If Norton gets ballsy and trades, he gets KO'd...... MR.BILL
This is probably a better assesment than the one I posted. Weaver did manage to go many rounds and beat a decent hitter in Coetzee.. Duplooy also hit him with some hard shots, and Dokes was no slouch either.. Mercado could bang too. I think Weaver has a better chin, and could deal with guys who boxed as well... Norton will always rate higher, but something makes me inclined to lean towards Hercules.
Yes, Norton could win a decision or by late stoppage. But then, Weaver had the ability to turn it into a war and change things. Difficult to say, but I would go with Norton to win 2 times out of 3.
Weaver had a better than likely "puncher's chance" in this one. He wasn't too bad for a guy who lost to Duane Bobick by ko.
Good fight for sure. Very little fat content in this match-up! Norton has 2" in height and reach, Their weight is close. I think both get rocked thruout the fight. Weaver does his best to stay close and turn it into a war. Norton does his best to outbox Weaver from the outside but stands and trades every once in a while as well. When Norton does stand and trade he rocks Weaver from time to time but he also gets rocked. I see both men going down at least once. In the end I see Norton winning 9 out of 15 rounds. I see Norton going down once around the 4th or 5th round. I see Weaver going down twice in the later rounds. 143-139 Norton
One thing about Weaver I always wondered... after his rematch with Dokes (D15) for the WBA World Title that Dokes won from Weaver (WTKO1) what happened to Weaver? The fight was close, some felt Weaver was ripped off. There was no 3rd fight and Weaver waited a little over 2 years for another World Title Fight (LTKOby8 Pinklon Thomas for the WBC HW belt). During those 2 years Weaver fought no notable fighters (which is often the case when a fighter is playing the waiting game)... he beat Stan Ward KO9, Billy Joe Thomas KO7, and Tony Anthony WDQ1. IMO, he faded during this time and gained nothing from these fights. This period should have been his time to shine once again. He did come back with a nice win over Carl Williams after the loss to Thomas though (KO2). After the Williams win he didn't do much.
Hookie: after winning the title, Weaver was inactive at the best of times. He didn't seem to like fighting on a regular basis, especially after such suffering from two bad decisions.
