The Passing of the Torch: Larry Holmes Vs Ken Norton

By Kevin “The Voice” Kincade

When one thinks about heavyweight boxing in the 1970’s, four names inevitably come to mind: Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, George Foreman, and Ken Norton. They were the four horsemen of the apocalypse, the ultimate class of heavyweights, defeating all rivals and establishing their dominance among each other, ultimately with Muhammad Ali coming out on top because he had defeated all of the other three. Foreman would have come in a close second because of his destruction of both Frazier and Norton. Frazier can lay claim over dominating the division in the early 70’s, just as Norton can lay claim over the second half of the decade. After his defeat at the hands of Foreman, who would later retire Frazier in their second encounter, it could be argued that Norton went undefeated until his clash with Holmes.

The only blemish on Norton’s record after his failed title challenge in 1974 was a highly controversial loss to Muhammad Ali in 1976, a fight which not only encouraged Ali to talk of retirement; but moved announcers to introduced Ken as the “uncrowned heavyweight champion”. After defeating Jimmy Young, who had vanquished Foreman to a life of evangelism, the only man left in his path to dominance was Ali, who unexpectedly fell to 1976 Olympian, Leon Spinks. From the Class of the 1970’s, Ken Norton was the last man standing.

Norton had waited a long time to wear the gold and while he surely felt he deserved the belt the WBC had placed around his waist in March of ’78, as he stated to Howard Cosell during the Holmes-Shavers clash, he, ultimately, felt having a split championship was bad for boxing and wanted to meet up with Spinks to unify the crown. There is one world, there should only be one “World Champion”, or so the saying goes. Still, with Spinks preoccupied with an upcoming rematch with Ali, Norton had a title to defend; and the man in front of him on June 9th, 1978 was Larry Holmes.

Both Norton and Holmes knew what it meant to pay their dues. Nobody outside of boxing circles had any idea who Kenny Norton was until he broke Muhammad Ali’s jaw in March of 1973. He was known as a decent fighter whom Joe Frazier, among others, employed occasionally as a sparring partner; but when opportunity knocked, he kicked down the door. Then, in the rematch, six months later, when the “real” Muhammad Ali was supposed to erase the memory of their first encounter, Ken Norton showed up again and made an extremely close fight of it, leaving the decision in doubt, showing that their first meeting was no fluke. He did deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as the former champion. He was a bonafied contender to the throne.

Larry Holmes had done essentially the same thing, though not on the same level. Earnie Shavers was a respected fighter; but considered nowhere near the level Muhammad Ali was in 1973. Ken Norton was Holmes’ big chance to prove that he belonged at the top of the list. While the Shavers win introduced him to the casual boxing fan and proved he was a top flight contender, a win over Ken Norton, who had befuddled Ali all three times they met, would not only be a huge feather in his cap; but would also make him the WBC Heavyweight Champion of the World.

With Joe Frazier and George Foreman retired and Muhammad Ali in serious decline, having lost to a virtual amateur, Ken Norton was all that was left from the heavyweight fab four. He’d been ringside when Holmes schooled Shavers. He knew how good Larry Holmes “could be”, for boxing insiders all knew of Holmes’ talent, his skill, his ability, and his hunger. He knew Larry Holmes was no pushover and that he was going to have to bring his “A” game in order to get the win.

Nobody had beaten Holmes, as a pro. He was 27-0 and had been brought along smartly, facing just the right opponents at just the right time. He’d sparred with the best and learned from Ali, Frazier, Shavers, and Young, soaking all of that boxing knowledge up like a sponge. Now, thanks to his management, promotion, and his success in the ring, he was finally in position to win the biggest prize in all of sports, or at least half of it; but rumors began to circulate in the week before the bout that Larry had broken his hand. Another whisper was that something was wrong with his eye. Hearsay always circulates before a big fight, especially in Vegas. Larry dissuaded the speculation by showing reporters that his hand wasn’t broken and that his eyes were fine. What he didn’t reveal was the pain he felt in his left arm. Usually, where there’s smoke, there’s fire; and Larry Holmes would reveal, years later, that he had, in fact, pulled a muscle in his left arm, his primary weapon. On the eve of the biggest fight of his life, Larry Holmes was injured; but dare not tell anybody for fear of the fight being called off.

Ken Norton had a secret too, though not close kept and not so potentially threatening. He was listed at 32 years old; but in fact, had been born on August 9th, 1943. He was two months shy of his 35th birthday. While in the post-George Foreman comeback years, 35 seems young, for a professional athlete, especially one who’d been as active as Norton, with a record of 40-4, 35 is not considered “prime”. Against Ali, it didn’t matter, because Ali was older still. Against Duane Bobick it didn’t matter, because Bobick came right to you and was there to be hit.

Against Lorenzo Zanon, it didn’t matter, because he wasn’t in the same class. Against Young, in his last fight, some could have argued it mattered because not all felt Norton won that bout; but Jimmy, also, was not an aggressive fighter and it was Norton’s aggressiveness which got him the nod. But, against Larry Holmes? Against a 28 year old, mobile, prime of his sporting life athlete who was both quick of hand and foot? The world would soon see.

The night of the fight, Ken Norton appeared the part of a finely tuned athlete, tipping the scales at 220 lbs. to Holmes’ trim and ready 209. Larry had the look of a caged tiger, pacing, waiting for the bell to ring, while Norton wore the temperament of an accountant about to go to work; he had a very serious, business-like look on his face. There was a job to be done, a merit to be proven.

In the history of boxing, only a handful of heavyweight championship matches truly fit into the category, “epic”. While battles in the lower weight divisions litter the archives of fistic lore for their intensity, their drama, and their rivalries, very few from the heavyweight class cross the threshold into mythology in the same manner simply because of physics.

By nature, bigger men are not supposed to be able to be as active as smaller men, nor throw and catch punches with abandon. Bigger men are slower; but punch much harder, therefore the action in most heavyweight confrontations is sparse and, under the best of circumstances, explosive. This is part of the mystique of the heavyweight division: the power. However, when you match two big men who are equally conditioned, equally skilled, equally driven to win, who have the ability to take each other’s punch and put the biggest title in sports on the line, what you have is the makings of a classic. What you have is a gem, a rarity, an epic battle of wills to be the best in the world with all the drama of a three act Shakespearean play.

That is what happened on June 9th, 1978, as Ken Norton and Larry Holmes chiseled their names into boxing history.

The bout started off with Larry’s mobility and piston-like jab telling the tale. Somehow, despite the pain he must have been feeling with every release, again and again he fired that missile into Ken Norton’s face. Norton’s style, by design, though not intention, had one obvious flaw: mobility. He could move to his right with relative ease; but because of the way he lagged his right foot behind him, he was essentially crippled, moving to his left. Holmes took great advantage of this in the early going, when he was fresh. For the first five to six rounds of the fight, Larry pretty much did what he wanted. He’d move left, move right, firing his jab at Norton, mixed in with rights, uppercuts, hooks and occasionally a right hand lead, which landed surprisingly well. Midway through the fight, you could already see Norton’s left cheekbone swelling noticeably. Larry’s crisp punching was taking its toll.

Occasionally, Norton would connect a wide hook and some body work whenever Larry slowed down; but his patented overhand right rarely found the mark. He attempted to throw Larry’s timing off with his own jab, the same way he had Ali’s; but Larry’s jab was a different animal. It didn’t’ just snap out there, it was a real punch, knocking Kenny off balance, if ever so slightly. This is not to say Ken wasn’t landing any punches, he was; but Larry was dominating the action. That is, until Ken straightened up that right and put it behind a jab, late in the seventh.

The punch knocked Larry into the ropes, where Kenny took advantage of the situation to pound on Larry’s body some more. Holmes seemed a bit stunned and surprised; but not hurt. Ken pressed the moment, landing a few more looping rights before the bell sounded ending the round.
The Norton rally succeeded in reigniting a fire within Holmes. For the last couple of rounds, he’d seemed to have lost his focus and was just going through the motions. He jumped out on Kenny in the 8th with three rapid succession right hands, all of which landed flush, snapping Norton’s head around and bringing the crowd to its feet. The younger man was intent on putting the vet in his place. This was to be his night.

What young Holmes would find out after his opening rally was what made the old guard great. Norton was not going down without a fight. The sudden burst awakened the competitiveness within Larry’s rival, while expending some of his own precious energy. Now it was Norton in the role of aggressor, pursuing Holmes with more vigor, nailing him with the harder shots, trapping him along the ropes and unleashing fistic fury upon his opponent’s ribs and midsection.

For the next five rounds, it was virtually all Norton. Larry was obviously on the defense, fleeing his foe while flicking out the jab with less power than before in a vain attempt to slow his pursuer. The tide had turned. As the fight entered into the championship rounds, unknown territory for Larry Holmes, Ken Norton pressed his advantage even further. Whether it was fatigue or soreness in his jab arm or a combination of both, Larry had lost his edge, as he searched for his second wind. Round 12 saw Norton have his best round of the fight, to that point, as Larry appeared to have nothing but survival and lasting the distance in mind; but the older man spend much of his own energy in pursuit of his cagey opponent, as he jumped the gun too soon.

When the 13th began, all who had presumed Larry was finished were proven dreadfully wrong as the young man came out afresh and nailed Norton with the stoutest stuff he’d put on him so far. After a right hand, the Champion appeared rocked and Holmes went in for the kill. Only Norton’s heart, desire, and competitive spirt, his pride, kept him upright. Howls from the Vegas crowd rained down upon the ring as the challenger roared back on the older champion, who seemed more vulnerable than at any time since his loss to George Foreman four years prior. Holmes’ punches flowed effortlessly and with ill intent, freezing his quarry in place.

At the close of the round, Bill Slayton met Norton with a sponge, spraying water on his charge as he returned to the corner, reminiscent of Angelo Dundee dousing Ali after the 11th round in his first clash with Frazier. “You’re getting lazy and sloppy. You can’t let him be hitting you with shots like that! You’re the Champion!”

Unbelievably, the tide in the fight turned again as this time it was Norton, on unsteady legs, who, once again put the straight right behind the jab and nailed Holmes. Now it was the challenger battling for his right to be in the ring. Exhaustedly, Norton gave chase, trapping Holmes on the ropes and working his way from the body up, rocking the younger man and putting him once again on the defense. Somehow, as weary as he must have been after 13 rounds of pursuit and punishment, he had found the will to go out and win the round, bringing the fight back to even. It was going to have to be decided in the 15th and final round.

What followed is three of the most action-filled, life and death minutes ever in the history of the sport. Two men, each seeking the respect and championship credentials which can only be earned in the land where brave men fear to tread, marched to war. Each man walked out of his corner, willing to be carried out his proverbial shield rather than submit to the other, neither willing to take “no” for an answer. It is a rare, rare thing to witness, such bravery, such will, such desire, such fearlessness. With both on the verge of collapse, they waded into the waters of hell where every motion is beset in ache and every breath is fire, where only the human will can make the body do what it knows it cannot.

Norton started off the round as he had ended the last, pursuing, punching, punishing his opponent. Holmes began evading, moving, sliding, blocking, biding his time, letting the other man shoot his shot. The first half of the round was all Norton; and then it turned. Somewhere deep within Larry Holmes a voice cried out, a primal scream. It began in the depths of his very soul, grew through his battle-fatigued frame, and exploded all over Ken Norton in a fusillade of fistic fury.

Both men forgot all they’d ever learned of defense in the dark, dank smell of the gymnasiums where they’d honed their craft, as they stood toe to toe, within arm’s reach, unloading one punch, one combination after another on the other. One-twos, back and forth as the Caesar’s Palace Sports Pavilion erupted in a cavalcade of sound, drowning out announcers at ringside who were desperately trying to put into words what was transpiring before their very eyes. Then, in the midst of the short combos, Larry mixed in a perfectly timed left uppercut which Ken never saw. He’s eyes rolled, his legs buckled; they could no longer hold him upright. Fighting for his balance, his very survival, the champion fell forward into the ropes. With nothing but heart, Norton successfully fended off the follow-up; but by the time the bell rang, the damage was done, the final impression was made.

Harold Buck scored it 143-142 Holmes, Lou Tabet scored it 143-142 Norton, and Joe Swessel scored it 143-142 for the winner and New WBC Heavyweight Champion of the World, from Easton Pennsylvania, “The Easton Assassin,” Larry Holmes.

In one fight, Larry Holmes erased the criticism which had bedeviled him since his loss to Bobick in the amateurs. It was only the beginning of his championship reign and there would be many more roads to cross in an era besmirched with confusion; but the image of the man was engraved in stone on this night. Only when one is baptized by fire is one’s championship merit truly known. Regardless of what was to come for Larry Holmes, he had gone to war against one of the legendary fighters from the past decade and proven himself worthy, just as a young Ken Norton had done so many moons ago against another, who was about to write the last chapter of his fistic legacy three months hence.

Though it was not known at the time, the torch had been passed from the old generation of heavyweight greats to the new. The Larry Holmes Era had begun.

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