Ken Norton Remembered As One Of The Best Heavyweights Of All Time

Ken Norton will be best remembered for facing down Muhammad Ali three times in the 1970s, breaking Ali’s jaw and earning a stunning upset in the first bout.

But after the death of the 70-year-old Norton this week, boxing historians taking a larger look at his career are recognizing Norton as possibly one of the best heavyweight champions of all time.

Norton died in the Las Vegas suburb of Henderson, and had been in poor health in the last several years after suffering a number of strokes.

Ken Norton took the North American Boxing Federation heavyweight title in 1973 after an upset of Muhammad Ali. Norton bloodied Ali during the fight, breaking his jaw and ultimately winning in a 12-round split decision.

“Ali thought it would be an easy fight,” Norton’s former manager, Gene Kilroy, told The Associated Press. “But Norton was unorthodox. Instead of jabbing from above like most fighters, he would put his hand down and jab up at Ali.”

The fight was so rough on Ali that when Norton went to visit him in the hospital afterward, Ali said he never wanted to fight again.

That sentiment didn’t last long, and within six month Ali and Norton met again in the ring. This time Ali won in a split decision.

The two fought for a third time in 1976 at Yankee Stadium. Though Ken Norton lost on a unanimous decision, the more than 30,000 people in the crowd booed the decision.

“I was never the same fighter after that,” Norton told Red Smith of The New York Times in October 1979. “I never trained so hard again, never could put the same feeling into it. I was at my best that night, in the best shape I ever was.”

The fight, and the strength of his entire career, has placed Norton among the best fighters of all time.

Ken Norton ended with a career record of 42-7-1, including 33 knockouts. Aside from his bouts with Ali, Norton also battled George Forman, Larry Holmes, and Earnie Shavers during his career.

Ken Norton was a gifted all-around athlete, playing football at Northeast Missouri State University and picking up boxing when he joined hte Marine Corps in 1963.