Would Ken Norton be a champ today?

mr. magoo · May 18, 2020

Unforgiven said: ↑

In that case : All heavyweights can hit. Norton could hit. Most of the men Norton beat could hit.
No one ever doubted Norton could hit.
You want to elevate Ortiz to have "tremendous" power. I'm not arguing but it seems strange you disregard Norton's power.

But stopping people isn't just about power. It's about landing the right punches, consistently.

You're obviously a big fan of this era.
When all is said and done, we'll see if Wilder's record really justifies the high estimation of him.
I respect Wilder as a dangerous puncher but the facts as I see them are that he's got one of the worst padded records of a top-flight heavyweight, he's unskilled and he's a tall skinny 220 pounder rather than a new breed of super-giant.
He needs more than wins over Ortiz and Stiverne (!) to be elevated to a high level.

Admittedly he's surpassed the likes of Duane Bobick with his resume but shockingly he hasn't surpassed it by much.
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Fair enough. I’m not a huge fan of this era as you suggest but it HAS gotten more interesting than in recent years.

dmt · May 18, 2020

mr. magoo said: ↑

With all due respect to Ken Norton ( and lord knows I’ve praised him in many fantasy fights over the years ) he was not the type of fighter you’re describing. Wilder wouldn’t need to “ cut off the ring “ as Foreman did because Norton wasn’t the type to use the ring to his advantage. He was a come forward boxer-puncher and one who couldn’t fight very well off the back foot. He wouldn’t have the luxury of pushing forward the way he did with boxer types against today’s elite heavys with the sort of height, reach and power they possessed over him. And with his shaky chin ??? Oh boy... you also mentioned that if Norton landed his left hook on wilder that Deontay would be in trouble. Do you really think Norton hit harder than Luis Ortiz who’s punches wilder took for many rounds and still ended up stopping ? Sorry but I don’t see Ken beating this breed of heavyweight.
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I respect your opinion too. I only made Norton a slight favourite over Wilder (60-40 in favour of Norton)

I am not sure if Norton hit harder than Ortiz but I think he was a more precise puncher.

Norton will need his crab defense to avoid Wilders right. If he can do that, he can push Wilder back and wear him down.

However, an early ko by Wilder wouldn't shock me.

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Would Ken Norton be a champ today?

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Would Ken Norton be a champ today?

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