This probably has been discussed before but I couldn't find it. I recently watched the first Ali / Norton fight. I saw it years ago when I was a kid but it was a lousy ESPN Superbouts copy. The image was bad & the commentary wasn't real. Today I watched the a decent copy with the original Cosell commentary. What round was Ali's jaw broken. I'd always read it was either the 2nd round or the last round. Watching the fight today, Cosell mentions in the 8th that maybe Ali broke a tooth by the way he held his mouth. He does seem extremely sluggish after about round 5 or so. He put nothing on his punches which makes sense if his jaw was hurt. I can't imagine it was really broken in the 2nd but think it was earlier than the 12th. Thoughts?
Norton believes it was in the last round if I remember correctly. He might be the best source. The Ali camp might have had an agenda saying it was in round 2.
The 2nd round is crazy but I can imagine it being damaged in the middle of the fight & gradually got worse.
Norton was adamant both right after the bout as well as in later years that he broke Ali's jaw in round 12. He judged this by Ali's reaction as he was hit in that final round. If you watch the bout there is indication from Ali's corner that something was wrong early on. My conclusion always was that some damage was done early but his jaw was not fully broken until the final round.
I've never bought that crap urban legend that Norton broke Ali's jaw in the 1st round and that Ali fought the rest of the fight with it broken....bull****....Norton landed his biggest shots in that 12th and final round...and that's when he broke Ali's jaw.
Some time imo late in the fight when ali was weary and fatigue had set in more. Less able to stop the offending punch /s catching him flush. It could have happened in the first but my money s on 11 th or 12 th.
Even Muhammad admitted in later years that it did n't happen as early on as originally claimed. When asked if he thought it occured in the first couple of rounds and he'd fought for at least nine rounds in that condition,he replied "Do you think I'm a fool" ? I'm guessing it was sometime between the fifth and twelfth round.
Whatever the truth, taking Norton's word for it makes no sense. Firstly, he had no way of knowing when it happened. Secondly, he had an obvious interest in having everyone believe that he was facing the best possible version of Ali for the majority of the fight.
Well it certainly doesn't detract from Norton's performance if he broke Ali's jaw in the first or second round ! If anything, that would be bragging rights, to go out there and smash his jaw early on.
I too recently rewatched this fight for the first time since '73 and I too listened to Cosell in the 8th saying there was something wrong with Ali's mouth and he surmised a possible broken tooth. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say it probably happened mid-fight, around the 6th. I wouldn't put too much credence in what Ali said and what Norton said. Ali is going to say the 1st round (I fought for 11 rounds with a busted jaw) and Norton will say the 12th (I beat him all the way at his best and only then broke his jaw in the last). That's like interviewing 2 fighters after a fight that was stopped on a cut. Fighter A will say it was from a left hook and Fighter B (who sustained the cut) will say it was from a butt. Incidentally, I scored it 7-5 Norton.
