Ken Norton is a boxer from the United States who was born on August 9, 1943 in the Illinois city of Jacksonville, and passed away on September 18, 2013 in Henderson, Nevada. He became famous for his battles with Mohammed Ali. In 1978, he won the world heavyweight title.
Ken Norton was twice recognized as the "Father of the Year" by the Los Angeles Sentinel and Los Angeles Times in 1977. His son, Ken Norton, Jr., played American football for the University of California team in Los Angeles and had a long successful career in the NFL. He later became a midfielder coach for the Seattle Seahawks team, and currently works as a defense coordinator for Oakland Raiders. Ken Norton's other son, Keith Norton, followed in his father's footsteps, enlisting in the Marine Corps. Norton's wife is called Rose Conant, they also have a daughter Kenisha and another son, Brandon.
Success in amateur sports
Norton, who played football in college, graduated in 1963 and was called up to the United States Marine Corps. He began to act as a boxer to avoid being sent to Vietnam. His track record in the army sports team over the next four years consists of 24 victories, two defeats and three titles won in the heavyweights category.
The beginning of a professional career
On November 14, 1967, Ken Norton first participated in the fight as a professional boxer. In the late 1960s, he won 12 victories, 11 of which ahead of schedule. All fights were held in California, most of them took place in the city of San Diego. The boxer was distinguished by its flexibility, speed and excellent technique. Most opponents were afraid of his hooks, very fast and accurate. At one time, his sparring partner was Joe Fraser.
On July 2, 1970, after four knockout victories in the same year, Norton entered the battle against Venezuelan boxer Jose Luis García. Thanks to his reputation, Ken Norton, whose biography before that was filled with victories only, was considered a clear favorite with a betting ratio of 5 to 1, but Garcia was not going to give up and in the 8th round twice sent the enemy to the floor. Norton, who then suffered his first defeat, was able to get together and complete a new series of 13 victories until the end of 1972. At the end of the same year, he defeated former California champion Henry Clark by round 9.
Ken Norton - Mohammed Ali. First fight
Impressive results allowed Norton to fight Mohammed Ali for the NABF North American Championship title. The battle will take place March 31, 1973 in San Diego, a city that has become Norton's almost native. Ali, who at that time was listed on the list of this federation as No. 1, defended his title for the 6th time and was considered a clear favorite. But he missed a lot of training and by the time he entered the ring weighed about 105 kg.
Ken Norton, whose height, weight and physique was slightly smaller than that of the opponent (191 cm / 100 kg), had the same arm length and was much easier and more technical. In addition, he studied the style of Mohammed Ali and received a lot of advice from Fraser. In the 2nd round, Norton with a right hook broke Ali's jaw. Despite this, the battle continued until the last 12 rounds. In the end, the victory was given to Norton by a decision of the judges, and two of them were against it.
Second fight with Mohammed Ali
Ali took revenge on September 10, 1973, this time the battle took place in Inglewood. Both boxers were much better prepared and lost weight. This fight also lasted until the last round, and the judges had to decide. However, this time all the judges, except for two, gave the victory to Mohammed Ali. After the fight, he said that Norton is the best fighter he met, with the possible exception of Joe Fraser.
Norton vs Foreman
Becoming the first contender for the championship title, on March 26, 1974, Norton fought WBA and WBC world champion George Foreman at the Poliedro de Caracas Arena in Venezuela. Foreman won 39 battles, never losing, and a year before the match with Norman, he won by JO Fraser in the second round. In the second round, Foreman's wide hooks and uppercuts sent Norton to the ground. He fell, but was able to continue the fight. After a new combination of punches, Norman is again on the floor. He hardly rises, but obviously can not continue, so the judge stops the fight.
The next two years, Ken Norton did not try to fight for the world title, but won several major victories, although he was not as easy as before (his weight exceeded 100 kilograms). Among other things, he wins the NABF title by defeating Jerry Quarry on March 24, 1975 by technical knockout. On August 14 of the same year, Norton took revenge against Jose Luis García, performing a series of punches leading to a technical knockout in the fifth round of an exciting fight. After three victories in 1976, he again got the opportunity to challenge Mohammed Ali.
The battle for the world title was held in New York on September 28, 1976. Mohammed Ali at that time owned the WBA and WBC belts. The fight was very tough: Ali won on points, although not all judges supported this decision.
Norton won the next three matches in 1977: he defeated the invincible Dwayne Bobik, former Italian champion Lorenzo Zanon and world challenger Jimmy Young, who had won the battle against George Foreman shortly before. After that, he became the first contender for the WBC championship title. In March 1978, reigning world champion Leon Spinks abandoned the fight and lost his title. After that, the right to be called the champion according to the federation version went to Norton.
Larry Holmes - Ken Norton
Norton had to defend his title in a fight against Larry Holmes. This boxer did not lose a single fight, in addition, he was six years younger. The fight was scheduled for June 9, 1978 in Las Vegas. Holmes won most of the rounds in the first half of the fight, Norton was rarely active. From the 8th round, Norton began to respond to Holmes attacks with powerful hooks, at the end of the 11th round he managed to break through the enemy’s defense. In response, Holmes inflicted a significant number of hits in round 13.
However, Norton still returned to the battle and won the 14th round. During the 15th and last round, which is considered one of the best final rounds of all time, the fight was especially fierce, and all the people present in the hall got to their feet. The outcome of the duel between the two fighters was determined by three judges. Two of them gave the victory to Holmes, and Norton lost his title just three months after receiving it.
Retirement
After this defeat, Ken Norton, who was already 35 years old, slowed down a little, but did not stop speaking. Having defeated former Texas champion Randy Stevens, Norton defeated Ernie Shavers in the first round on March 23, 1979. On August 19 of the same year, a fight with Scott Ledoux took place. After this fight, Norton decided to announce the end of his career.
However, the following year he returned and beat Randall Cobb, who was considered invincible, who is 10 years younger than him. The last fight of our hero took place on May 11, 1981, where he was faced with a promising boxer Jerry Cooney. The young athlete knocked out Norton in the first round.
Life after the ring
Norton, who has 42 wins (33 of them by knockout), 7 losses and 1 draw, is one of the best heavyweights of the 1970s. The boxer, who became world champion in 1978, has remained in history as the most stubborn opponent of Mohammed Ali after Joe Frazier.
In 1986, he got into a serious car accident, after which doctors hardly managed to save his life. Norton survived, but the aftermath of the accident will resemble himself for the rest of his life. In 1989, he, along with Mohammed Ali, Joe Fraser, George Foreman and Larry Holmes, appears in the film Champions Forever, in which five champions talk about their careers.
In 1992, he became a member of the international boxing Hall of Fame, and in 2000 published his autobiography called Going the distance.
Norton has starred in several films, including Mandingo (1975), Delta Pi (1985), Champions Forever (1989), and Dirty Work (1998). He was also assigned to the role of Apollo Creed in the films "Rocky" and "Rocky-2", but refused to participate and was replaced by Karl Weathers.
Death
Norton died in Las Vegas on September 18, 2013 in a specialized institution for the care of seriously ill patients. He was 70 years old, and in the last years of his life he suffered a series of strokes. Boxers from around the world gathered to pay homage to him. George Foreman called him "the best of all," and Larry Holmes said that "he will be missed both in the boxing world and among the rest of mankind."