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Ken Norton DEAD: DEATH of Former Heavyweight Champion Saddens Boxing World – Boxing News

By Geno McGahee

The boxing world lost another champion today. Former WBC heavyweight king, Ken Norton, 42-7-1, 33 KO’s, passed away at the age of 70, leaving a legacy behind. In the golden era of heavyweights, he shined, presenting an intimidating and muscular force in the ring and had great success.

In 1973, Norton would take a 29-1 record into the ring to take on Muhammad Ali whose only defeat had been to Joe Frazier at the time. Ali was the easy favorite, but Norton would prove to have his number, breaking his jaw and winning the fight via split decision. It was evident, despite the split decision that he was in control of the fight. They would rematch six months later and Ali would eke by with a split and controversial decision win. The public was divided and it helped keep Norton on the map and in contention for the heavyweight title.

Norton would get that shot in his very next fight, but would not do well. George Foreman, the heavyweight champion at the time, had the style that would always do well against Norton. He kept throwing and eventually dropped the challenger and finished him brutally in the second round.

After the loss, Norton would string together seven straight knockout victories, including one over Jerry Quarry. This would lead to a third encounter with Ali, but, once again, the fight would be controversial. Ali would take the victory on the cards with a close unanimous decision, but there are still many that consider Norton 3-0 against the self-proclaimed “greatest.”

In 1977, Norton was awarded the WBC heavyweight title after Leon Spinks, the then champion, opted to rematch Muhammad Ali instead of defending it against him. This would lead to a defense against Larry Holmes and possibly the crown jewel in the Norton fight collection. It was a war and a dead even fight with Larry Holmes doing just a bit more in the end to take away the title. It was a battle of two gladiators and despite the defeat, Norton – Holmes is a fight that is still spoken of today. Many consider it to be one of the best fights of all time.

After losing the title, the career of Norton was never the same. He was stopped in one round by Earnie Shavers, barely pulled a draw with Scott LeDoux and was pitted against rising contender, Gerry Cooney, as a final effort to launch him back into the title hunt. After 54 seconds, Norton was out, and his career as a fighter was called to an end.

RSR says goodbye to Ken Norton, a great champion that accomplished some major things in the ring. He may have gotten somewhat lost in the multitude of talent in the division in the 70s, but he beat Ali, the man that many consider to be the best of the time, and he, arguably, beat him three out of three times. R.I.P. Ken Norton.

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