Why was norton so difficult for Ali?

He had Eddie Futch in his corner.

 

Because Ali was never as good as people consider him .
But better tactical explanations were given above , and I don't mean d post prime 1 because we all saw that a 1975 Ali was favored 2 stop d Doug Jones that beat him in 1963

 

piranhas are **** and overrated

 

Piranhas >> Ali . At least p4p they r

 

I disagree. Pirahnas are beneath Siamese Fighting fish p4p, Ali has proven his underwater capabilities time and time again. The footage is on youtube and needs not be discussed.

 

maybe janitor can recommend a book where Ali's underwater fighting abilities r discussed .
Probably it went unmentioned because it happened during his exile ?

 

1. Norton is underrated; Norton was awkward
2. 1973: Ali was past his prime

 

Because Ken was PRIME in the first Ali fight and Ali was past it.

 

Alot of valid points brought up as to why Norton was tough for Ali. Ken was a well conditioned strong athlete who was in his prime when he fought Ali plus his style was tough for boxers like Ali and later, Holmes. If you didn't have the power to get Ken outta there ala Foreman and Shavers then you were in for a long night. Futch schooled Norton well as to how to deal with Ali and Kenny followed his instructions. Norton didn't have stamina issues like Foreman did so he wasn't going to run out of gas either. Norton's style was good against boxers but problematic against big punchers as Kenny couldn't fight backing up. Ali couldn't back Norton up so he had to fight him all night long.

 

Prime for Prime Ali makes Ken look like Liston
Ken you can charge forward as much as you like but you just gonna catch alotta hell from a heavyweight will o wisp who'll be gone by the time you get there.

 

Norton was physically stronger than Ali, and he did a lot of things not great, but well enough. He was fast enough to keep up with Ali, hit hard enough to make Ali wary, and his weird defense was something Ali wasn't really used to. And Ali's lack of a serious punch helped Kenny a lot.

 

This !

 

Ali paid a price for his early Louisville boxing lessons.

 

Ah....but Ali was only SLIGHTLY past it. Look at what legacy bouts still lay ahead of him.

As has been said,Norton was a pressurising fighter with a good jab. Plus at the time ogf going into the ring,Ken was probably the division's best kept secret.

 

can i ask if norton woulda beat frazier without startin another thread?