It was the rubber match and Norton always said it broke his fighting heart when he was robbed...
-- Modified on 9/20/2013 10:00:01 AM
When the heavy weghts reigned supreme in boxing, Ken Norton was as tough as anyone in the division. Three classic fights with Muhammad Ali and even broke Ali's jaw in of them. In the third fight many say Norton was robbed.
but based on what everyone says, he would rule boxing today. always sad when legends pass on.
It was the rubber match and Norton always said it broke his fighting heart when he was robbed...
-- Modified on 9/20/2013 10:00:01 AM
Your "tale of the tape" is pretty meaningless the way they scored the fight. All three judges agreed that Ali won 8 rounds.
Norton may have won some rounds by a big margin, this would explain the disparity. When you can't knock the other guy out, you put yourself at the mercy of the rules and the judges.
Awfully close fight, taken as a continuous battle Norton sure looks like he got the best of Ali.
Remember (for those of you that can) Ali was the master at producing a flurry of punches near the end of the round, that seemed to effect the judges scoring. He was the master!
I also think Norton's style hurt him. He was quite unorthodox and I don't think that he got the respect he deserved because of it. The powers that were in charge of boxing ALWAYS loved Ali's style, he got more than a few decisions that were questioned.
Overall I believe Ali was the greatest of all time! At least the prettiest
That sentiment has actually gotten me into bar fights.
But, it's true.
I saw most of his fights and have watched many of them again on youtube, he had an indestructible stomach, at some point in all of his fights the announcer invariably said "those body shots will hurt Ali later in the fight" but they didn't. Not to mention the "rope a dope" where he got hit a lot, but again, not hurt.
Meanwhile he would jab the crap out of his opponent, often not really hurting him, but usually causing visible swelling around the eyes. You may call that "taking a beating", I call it being smarter and tougher than most of his opponents.
Oh yes, he was a better boxer than they were too.
But, it's true.
He won lots of fights and he did it in an incredibly painful and long-term damaging way.
In his own way he was impossibly brave. The beatings he withstood in his career are beyond belief. Mentally tough doesn't even half way describe him.
He had the hand speed of a middleweight and the power of a light heavyweight and the greatest belly and chin ever.
I think Sonny Liston was quite possibly the greatest heavyweight of all time. Better even than Tyson at his peak. Honestly, I think he could have knocked out Lennox Lewis even though Lewis is what 6 foot 7?
No one will ever convince me Sonny didn't throw those fights.