Quarry 1970 vrs. Norton 1975

Probably something like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6gqdwVBcCY

 

Yes..... Quarry was not the type of dude who'd make Norton **** his pants in the dressing room................. Norton hammers Quarry any time and any place.........

MR.BILL

 

One only has to look at the Quarry of '73-'75 and compare him to the guy that was duking it out with Spencer, Patterson and Frazier in the late '60s to realize he was getting a bit paunchy and herein lies the issue. Watch those earlier bouts to realize by the mid-'70s Jerry had lost his athleticism and explosiveness. He was still a world class counter-puncher as one could see in the Lyle fight, but the guy who could take out Spencer and Bodell with the explosive counter had matured/evolved body-wise. He simply had built up too much mass to get his shots off like he once did. Norton, I feel, is very underrated, but his problem always was his chin. I don't see Norton handling those fast, counter bombs that Quarry was not able to get off in '75. And if you need a little more proof in the mix, don't forget where these fighters fought out of. They met many times in the ring and it was well known in L.A. that Quarry consistently schooled Norton at the Main St. Gym. In fact, a buddy of mine was present when he saw Jerry knock Ken COLD. Suffice to say it would be a great fight in their primes. Jerry in his prime was eating up a greener Ken in the gyms. A prime Ken schooled a worn out Jerry in '75. Food for thought.

Scartissue

 

Agreed,

While Quarry certainly looked like a good candidate to beat Norton on paper with his wins over Lyle, Shavers, etc... Ken was the type of fighter who typically broke Jerry down and stopped him in the mid rounds. Jerry might have landed a few more shots, taken a few rounds away from him, and maybe even had him hurt at one point. At the end of the day though, Quarry did not have boxing ability like Holmes or Ali and nor did he have power like Foreaman or Shavers. You had to have one or the other to beat a prime Norton in my opinion...

 

walcott defence was very bad in that clip. in punching range with both hands kept low - no head guard at all and stuck against the ropes. easy target for rocky but great punch ofcourse.

 

I don't think Quarry had neither the skill nor punching power/physical presence to get by a prime Norton. I just don't see it. And Norton was not someone you easily countered, either. He was skilled, strong and had good power and great stamina.

 

While I agree that Jerry Quarry was definately declining by 1975, I'm not sure that I concur with the notion that he was " totally shot. " He was still 29 years of age, and recently had what was possibly the best run of his career. He had just gotten 10 rounds worth of exercise in a tuneup match 4 weeks prior to meeting Norton. Ken Norton was actually older at 32, and still on the rebound from the Foreman KO. As for Jerry's conditioning, he was getting up there at 207 lbs, but if we look at what his best fight weight was for most of his bigger victories, it was usually somewhere between 197-202. I wouldn't say that he was some fat out of shape bum when the Norton fight occurred. Now, apparently Quarry had some drug use issues and of course had taken a fair amount of long term punishment by the time the Norton fight came off. I'll give these factors some merit, but how much and how badly they effected him, and weather or not it would have made the difference in beating Norton years earlier, remains in question.

 

A fair observation.

But, how exactly do we know to what degree he was brain damaged nor how it effected his ability to be competitive. For me, a shot fighter is someone who's abilities have drastically declined from when he was at his best, and in most cases, can no longer hold his own against the elite of the division. Quarry's performances in the 17-18 months leading up to the Norton fight did not reflect a great deal of deterioration to me. He was still well capable of going many rounds and beating some of the best young contenders during an era that was packed with talent. His conditioning was not the greatest anymore, but at 207 Lbs, was not far off the mark from his better fight weights that typically ranged from about 197-202 or thereabouts...

 

Alas you have only narrowed the gap with me.

 

Absolutely,

Taking on a world class opponent on the fly, is always going to have a bearing on the outcome. We should consider though that Norton was probably just as surprised.

 

The Quarry that fought Norton was a shell of the man in his prime. Friends of mine far more knowledgable with Quarry's career tell me that they used to spar years earlier and that Jerry ko'ed Ken in the gym. They also swear he'd of owned Ken in their primes. Norton was in his prime against Jerry. In fact, outside of Ali it is his most impressive win.

It's a tough call for me to pick who would win in their primes . I am a huge Norton believer in general, far more than many here. However his chin is a concern. I can excuse the Foreman loss but he did get beaten decisively by Garcia. In addition, the fact that he got blown out by Shavers as he did while still at close to the top of his game remains a decisive loss to to me. He should have survived the early rounds by jabbing and moving and stopped a less talented Shavers who he was clearly aware of ... he simply froze and that is a fact.

I really do not know. Jerry was inconsistant and clearly flopped against Ali and Frazier and Norton was suspectable to a ko loss ... I really feel that these guys could split a series down the middle ... both would win and both would lose ... this is a position I do not take too often but believe it here ...