Ali obviously a lot faster speed s in and out against Norton. But ken ,given the chance still dangerous But I don't see Norton being given the chance here much .It still goes the full rounds but Muhammad gets a clear cut decision.
Ali used his legs a lot more back then. It was not uncommon to see him circling for the whole round. He'd turn Kenny and make him look like a plodder.
If u look at the 2nd fight ali frustrated norton a lot with his movement. He moved more in this fight than the other two and if u notice, this was the one fight where ali clearly had an advantage and won the decision without too much controversey. Consider the fact he could only keep up that pace in spurts and still had to stop and duke it out in many rounds. Despite all that he made norton look like a slow plodder at times. Im not saying 60's ali would "easily" win, but if hes in shape i dont see him losing. Unless of course he starts to goof off showboating or norton breaks his jaw...
Like their second fight but a bit more daylight between them. Maybe 9 - 6 in rounds to Muhammad. Norton would still be a tough cookie,though. He would be tougher for Ali than Liston.
I think Norton always would be tough for Ali. A bit more comfortable win than in the rematch, but still some difficult moments for Ali.
The only argument for Norton I can produce is that what Ali lacked in physical tools, he made up for in experience in the 70s. I'm not sure how convincing that is to other people, but I'm struggling to entertain it myself. It's pretty much impossible to pick against 60s Ali in any mythical matchup, unless you put him against the very elite of the division and although styles do make fights and Norton would always trouble Ali, he was a few shades shy of elite. Ali in a competitive decision would be my pick. Probably in more convincing fashion than Norton beat Ali in their first fight.
