Would Norton Have Stopped Ali In Their 1st Meeting Had It Been 15 Rounds ?

Discussion in 'Classic Boxing Forum' started by Dynamicpuncher, Apr 4, 2022.


  1. Dynamicpuncher

    Dynamicpuncher Boxing Junkie Full Member

    14,396
    29,280
    Jan 14, 2022
    So i just watched this fight again, i had it 116-112 in favour of Norton. The last round Norton punished Ali who's broken jaw seemed to be really bothering him and he was fading, could Norton have stopped him with 3 extra rounds ?
     
    Last edited: Apr 4, 2022
  2. djanders

    djanders Boxing Addict Full Member

    5,065
    6,877
    Feb 21, 2009
    I highly doubt it, unless his corner threw in the towel.
     
  3. ETM

    ETM I thought I did enough to win. Full Member

    13,127
    11,359
    Mar 19, 2012
    Depends on when it was broke. Ali's team said it was as early as the 3rd round. Norton along with Futch were certain it happened in the 11th.
    That's alot of pain to endure for a non title fight.
     
  4. Dynamicpuncher

    Dynamicpuncher Boxing Junkie Full Member

    14,396
    29,280
    Jan 14, 2022
    Just for reference early in fight, the commentator noticed something with Ali's jaw.

    He then asked Ferdie Pacheco what was the matter with Ali's jaw, Ferdie claimed it wasn't a broken jaw. And this his tooth was loose or something, so make of that what you will.
     
  5. ThatOne

    ThatOne Boxing Addict Full Member

    5,381
    7,633
    Jan 13, 2022
    Imagine fighting ten rounds with a broken jaw.
     
  6. michael mullen

    michael mullen Active Member Full Member

    778
    986
    Oct 28, 2021
    Great question...and yes, I think he would have. Contrary to what the Ali worshipper have always said and believed, Norton didn't break Ali's jaw in round 1,...more likely in round 12....it was the round that Norton landed his hardest blows on Ali.
     
  7. michael mullen

    michael mullen Active Member Full Member

    778
    986
    Oct 28, 2021
    He didn't.
     
  8. RulesMakeItInteresting

    RulesMakeItInteresting Boxing Junkie Full Member

    8,592
    11,378
    Mar 23, 2019
    He wouldn't have stopped him, but each successive round would have been potentially cringe-inducing.
     
  9. JohnThomas1

    JohnThomas1 VIP Member

    51,743
    42,110
    Apr 27, 2005
    Trouble is it's not necessarily the hardest blows that cause such an injury. Marty Marshall broke Liston's jaw yet that same jaw survived much harder punches than Marty could ever conjure up.

    It may have happened early, it may have happened later. Norton and Futch are obviously going to claim it happened late so as to make the victory look sounder.

    The commentators were certainly onto something very early and a broken jaw was confirmed. I've seldom if ever seen commentators claiming such things yet they were validated.
     
    Flash24, Fergy, cross_trainer and 6 others like this.
  10. swagdelfadeel

    swagdelfadeel Obsessed with Boxing

    18,465
    19,378
    Jul 30, 2014
    Honestly, Norton would never stop Ali in a million years.
     
  11. Pugguy

    Pugguy Ingo, The Thinking Man’s GOAT Full Member

    15,643
    25,600
    Aug 22, 2021
    Excellent point. Rather co-incidental for that not to be related to the later confirmation of a broken jaw - it HURTS just saying it. Anybody here had a broken jaw? - not to dredge up previous trauma but if there’s anyone eligible, would they care to describe what it felt like?
     
  12. JohnThomas1

    JohnThomas1 VIP Member

    51,743
    42,110
    Apr 27, 2005
    Ain't that the truth. Even with a broken jaw there's just no quit in Ali.
     
  13. Richard M Murrieta

    Richard M Murrieta Now Deceased 2/4/25 Full Member

    22,635
    30,361
    Jul 16, 2019
    I saw that fight live on ABC's Wide World Of Sports on Saturday, March 31 1973. I scored the fight for Ken Norton as much as I admire Muhammad Ali. As posted before, a friend of mine tried to get my Goad, he called and said your idol lost, then began to laugh, I plainly told him the better man won. There was dead silence, he said his mother or father was calling him, then hung up. But Ali himself said he did not train, I believe he ballooned up to 221 lbs, claimed he twisted his ankle swinging a golf club days prior to the fight, which was supposed to be a cakewalk, it certainly was not. In my own opinion, I think the jaw was broken in round 12, even Howard Cosell speculated that during the last round of the broadcast. Norton sure fought a very intelligent fight, deserved the victory. It was not Norton's fault that Ali did not train properly, Ali in his heyday of the 1960's as champion usually weighed 210 lbs. The only fight where he was bigger was against George Chuvalo on March 29 1966, he weighed 214 lbs. Carrying extra weight works against your stamina, is also very hard on the heart. That right hand that Norton struck Ali's jaw in round 12 was devastating, he then began to punch Ali around the ring. I know Dr. Willian Landeen, the physician who wired Ali's jaw said round 1, but I believe he was parroting several others. None the less, Ken Norton earned the victory in what would turn out to be a trilogy.
     
    Last edited: Apr 4, 2022
  14. Entaowed

    Entaowed Boxing Addict banned Full Member

    6,837
    4,167
    Dec 16, 2012
    That is a good story!
    However Ali weighed a bit more than 210 in several fights in the 1960's, but mainly his weight against Norton was not "ballooning". He was heavier in several comeback fights even before facing Norton--including 4 months before vs. Bob Foster. Almost th same weight later vs. Foreman, heavier still in Manilla-it was that he was untrained, softer, You can see his weights here... [url]https://boxrec.com/en/proboxer/180[/url]
     
    djanders and White Bomber like this.
  15. ETM

    ETM I thought I did enough to win. Full Member

    13,127
    11,359
    Mar 19, 2012
    That could be. By the same token Dundee and Co would say that it happened early so that Ali would get praise for fighting 10+ rounds with a broken jaw..rather than the fact that he lost.

    Looking at it Ali took alot of clean shots throughout that fight. If it was broken early it's insane that his corner didn't stop it. He would have gotten a rematch anyway.
     
    White Bomber and Dynamicpuncher like this.