Editing Ken Norton (section)

==Professional career==
Norton built up a steady string of wins, some against journeyman fighters and others over fringe contenders like the giant [[Jack O'Halloran]]. He suffered a surprise defeat in 1970  just after ''The Ring'' magazine had profiled him as a prospect, to heavy-hitting Venezuelan boxer Jose Luis Garcia, who was unknown at the time. Garcia floored Norton five times, before Norton was eventually knocked out. Norton overpowered and avenged his loss to Garcia in their rematch five years later, when both were rated contenders.

Norton was given the motivational book ''[[Think and Grow Rich]]'' by [[Napoleon Hill]],<ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=R89OAAAAIBAJ&sjid=-gEEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5103%2C2240102 Hypnotist Aided Norton – Confidence Key To Upset Of Ali], AP, April 2, 1973</ref><ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2512&dat=19750327&id=f6RHAAAAIBAJ&sjid=kP8MAAAAIBAJ&pg=1908,3609127 Positive attitude key to Norton's boxing], AP, March 27, 1975</ref><ref>[http://lifetrainingonline.com/blog/think-and-grow-rich.htm Think and Grow Rich] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220717195829/http://lifetrainingonline.com/blog/think-and-grow-rich.htm |date=July 17, 2022 }}. Life Training (Discusses that Ken Norton attributed his win over Muhammad Ali to the principles he learned in Think and Grow Rich.)</ref> which he said "changed my life dramatically. I was going to fight [[Muhammad Ali]]. I was a green fighter, but yet I won, all through reading this book."<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7OirsJwk2E Ken Norton about Napoleon Hill's "Think and Grow Rich"]. youtube.com</ref> Upon reading ''Think and Grow Rich'', he went on a 14-fight winning streak, including the shock victory over Muhammad Ali in 1973 to win the [[North American Boxing Federation]] heavyweight champion title.<ref name="news.google">Murray, Jim (August 7, 1973) [https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=omoQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=3YsDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5142%2C814605 Ken the conqueror]. The Free Lance-Star</ref> Norton said, "These words [from Napoleon Hill's ''Think and Grow Rich''] were the final inspiration in my victory over Ali: 'Life's battles don't always go to the stronger or faster man, but sooner or later the man who wins is the man who thinks he can'."<ref>[[#Norton|Norton]], p. 60</ref> Norton also took a complete course by Hill on gaining wealth and peace of mind. "It can be related to anybody, to be the best in a career, to think positive", said Norton.<ref>Lewiston Morning Tribune, July 28, 1973</ref>{{page needed|date=May 2021}}

In an article which appeared in ''The Southeast Missourian''<ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=sXIpAAAAIBAJ&sjid=rNUEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3458,1401872&dq=ken+norton+napoleon+hill&hl=en The Southeast Missourian]. March 12, 1976</ref> Norton said, "One thing I do is only watch films of the fights in which I've done well or in which my opponent has done poorly." He also said, "In boxing, and in all of life, nobody should ever stop learning!"<ref>''The Ring'' Magazine, September 1976, p. 43</ref>

=== Rise to prominence ===
====Norton vs. Ali I, II====
{{Main|Muhammad Ali vs. Ken Norton}}
Norton’s opponents were elusive in his early career. His first big break came with a clear win over respected contender Henry Clark, which helped him gain world recognition. His big break was when Ali agreed to a match. [[Joe Frazier]], who'd sparred with Norton and defeated Ali, presciently said of Ali, "He'll have plenty of trouble!" Though both were top boxers in the mid-1970s, Norton and Frazier never fought each other, in part because they shared the same trainer, [[Eddie Futch]], and also because they were good friends and didn't want to fight each other.<ref>Norton autoBiography Going the Distance</ref>{{page needed|date=May 2021}}

For the first match, on March 31, 1973, Muhammad Ali entered the ring at the [[San Diego Sports Arena]]<ref name="sut130706">{{cite news |first=John |last=Maffei |work=[[U-T San Diego]] |title=Sports site No. 3: San Diego Sports Arena |url=http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/jul/06/travel-top-50-sites-sports-arena-john-ooden/ |date=July 6, 2013 |access-date=July 8, 2013}}</ref> wearing a robe given to him by [[Elvis Presley]], as a 5-1 favorite versus Norton, then rated a number 6 world contender<ref>YouTube videos with Howard Coselle commentating</ref>{{better|date=July 2024}} in a bout televised by ABC's ''Wide World of Sports''.<ref>[http://mettachronicles.com/today-in-sports-history-elvis-and-ali/ Today in Sports History: Elvis and Ali]. Mettachronicles.com (January 2, 2013). Retrieved on June 21, 2014.</ref> Norton won a 12-round split decision over Ali in his adopted hometown of [[San Diego]] to win the NABF heavyweight title.{{citation needed|date=May 2021}} In this bout, Norton broke Ali's jaw in the second round causing Ali to fight defensively for the remaining 10 rounds.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojM50OQn_YQ | title=Muhammed Ali Talks About Getting His Jaw Broken by Ken Norton - Carson Tonight Show - 05/17/1973 | website=[[YouTube]] | date=June 2021 }}</ref> This led to only the second defeat for "The Greatest" in his career. (Ali's only previous loss was to Frazier, and Ali would later go on to defeat [[George Foreman]] to regain the heavyweight title in 1974.)

Almost six months later at The Forum in [[Inglewood, California]], on September 10, 1973, Ali won a close split decision.<ref name="ESPN">[https://www.espn.com/boxing/story/_/id/7202235/celebrating-trilogies-muhammad-ali-ken-norton Pacquiao-Marquez III: Celebrating the trilogies (Muhammad Ali–Ken Norton)]. Espn.go.com (November 7, 2011). Retrieved on June 21, 2014.</ref> Norton weighed in at 206&nbsp;lbs (5 pounds lighter than his first match with Ali) and some{{who|date=January 2022}} boxing writers suggested that his preparation was too intense and that perhaps he had overtrained. There were some furious exchanges in this hard-fought battle. From Ali's point of view, a loss here would have seriously dented his claim of ever being "The Greatest". During the ABC broadcast of the fight, broadcaster (and Ali confidant and friend) [[Howard Cosell]] repeatedly told viewers a dancing and jabbing Ali was dominating the action despite Norton's constant offense and Ali's inability to penetrate Norton's awkward [[Crab Defense (boxing style)|crab-like]] cross-armed defensive style. The close scoring and decision favoring Ali were both controversial.{{citation needed|date=October 2021}}

====Norton vs. Foreman====
{{main|George Foreman vs. Ken Norton}}
In 1974, Norton fought Foreman for the [[World heavyweight boxing championship|world heavyweight championship]] at the [[Poliedro de Caracas]] in [[Caracas]], [[Venezuela]], suffering a second-round knockout. After an even first round, Foreman staggered Norton with an uppercut a minute into round two, pushing him into the ropes.  Norton did not hit the canvas, but continued on wobbly legs, clearly not having recovered. He shortly went down a further two times in quick succession, with the referee intervening and stopping the fight.{{citation needed|date=May 2021}}

=== Career peak ===
====Norton vs. Quarry====
In 1975, Norton regained the NABF heavyweight title when he impressively defeated [[Jerry Quarry]] by [[technical knockout|TKO]] in the fifth round, although being hurt by a left-hook to the body in the second round. Norton would go on to dominate Quarry for the remainder of the fight, until the referee stopped the fight in the Fifth Round. Norton then avenged his 1970 loss to Jose Luis Garcia by decisively knocking out Garcia in round five, flooring Garcia five times with shots to the mid-section before Garcia was counted out.{{citation needed|date=May 2021}}

====Norton vs. Ali III====
[[File:Ken Norton 1976b.jpg|thumb|Norton in 1976]]
{{Main|Muhammad Ali vs. Ken Norton III|}}
On September 28, 1976, Norton fought his third and final bout against Ali at [[Yankee Stadium]] in [[New York City]].<ref name="ESPN"/> Since their last meeting Ali had regained the world heavyweight championship title with an eighth-round knockout of George Foreman in 1974. Many observers have felt this fight marked the beginning of Ali's decline as a boxer. The Norton bout was a tough bruising battle for Ali. In one of the most disputed fights in history,{{citation needed|date=October 2021}} the contest was even on the judges' scorecards going into the final round, which Ali won on both the referee's and judges' scorecards to retain the championship. The two judges, [[Harold Lederman]] and Barney Smith, scored the bout 8–7 for Ali, while referee Arthur Mercante scored it 8–6-1 for Ali. At the end of the last round, the commentator announced he would be "very surprised" if Norton had not won the fight.<ref>{{YouTube|Atzy49nQoNM}}</ref>

At the time of the bout, the last time a heavyweight champion had lost the title by decision was [[Max Baer (boxer)|Max Baer]] to [[James J. Braddock|Jimmy Braddock]], 41&nbsp;years earlier. The January 1998 issue of ''Boxing Monthly'' listed Ali-Norton as the fifth most disputed title fight decision in boxing history. The unofficial [[United Press International]] scorecard was 8–7 for Norton, and the unofficial [[Associated Press]] scorecards were 9–6 for Ali (Ed Schuyler), and 8–7 Norton (Wick Temple).{{citation needed|date=May 2021}}

Despite earning a victory, Ali received a pounding. His tactics were to try to push Norton back, but they had failed. He'd refused to 'dance' until the 9th. Norton has said the third fight with Ali was the last boxing match for which he was fully motivated, owing to his disappointment at having lost a fight he believed he had clearly won.{{citation needed|date=May 2021}}

=== WBC heavyweight champion ===
====Norton vs. Young====
In 1977,  Norton knocked out previously unbeaten top prospect [[Duane Bobick]] in one round. The fight had an interesting narrative to it, as Norton's previous trainer, Eddie Futch, opted to train Bobick instead of Norton. Norton then dispatched European title holder, Lorenzo Zanon in a 'tune-up' fight. Light-hitting but fast, Zanon was ahead on the scorecards until a barrage of right-overhands and looping-body shots put him down and out.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Snowden |first=Jonathan |title=One Punch: How Ken Norton Became a Boxing Legend in a Single Night |url=https://bleacherreport.com/articles/1779469-one-punch-how-ken-norton-became-a-boxing-legend-in-a-single-night |access-date=2022-09-09 |website=Bleacher Report |language=en}}</ref>

Norton then defeated polished number two contender [[Jimmy Young (boxer)|Jimmy Young]] (who had beaten Foreman for the former champion's second loss, as well as twice top heavyweight contender  [[Ron Lyle]]) via 15-round split decision in a WBC title-elimination bout, with the winner to face reigning WBC champion Ali. (However, Ali's camp told ''The Ring'' they did not want to fight Norton for a fourth time.) Both boxers fought a smart fight, with Norton using a heavy body attack whilst Young moved well and countered. The decision was controversial, with many observers thinking Young had done enough to win.{{citation needed|date=May 2021}}

Although Norton was expected to face Ali for a fourth time, to fight for the WBC heavyweight championship, plans changed due to Ali's loss of his title to [[Leon Spinks]] on February 15, 1978. The WBC then ordered a match between the new champion and Norton, its number one contender. Spinks however, chose to face Ali in his first title defence, instead of facing Norton.<ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=wZQKAAAAIBAJ&sjid=NkwDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4835,5436403&hl=en Spinks Snub Miffs Norton], AP via ''Ludington Daily News'', March 11, 1978</ref><ref name="news.google_a">Anderson, Dave (March 9, 1978) [https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ZewVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=KhMEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2403,1808741&hl=en No. 1 Contender – Norton only boxer behaving like a champion], ''The New York Times'' via ''Star-News''</ref> The WBC responded on March 18, 1978, by retroactively giving title fight status to Norton's victory over Young the year before and awarding Norton their championship, which split the heavyweight championship for the first time since [[Jimmy Ellis (boxer)|Jimmy Ellis]] and Joe Frazier were both recognized as champions in the early 1970s.<ref name="usmc-mccs"/><ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=XuAjAAAAIBAJ&sjid=fykEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2358%2C2878012 "Norton-Young Bout May Be for the Title"], ''Milwaukee Journal'', November 5, 1977</ref>

====Norton vs. Holmes====
{{main|Ken Norton vs. Larry Holmes}}
In his first defense of the WBC title on June 9, 1978, Norton and new number one contender [[Larry Holmes]] met in a brutal 15-round fight. Holmes was awarded the title via an extremely close split decision. Two of the three judges scored the fight 143–142 for Holmes while the third scored the bout 143–142 for Norton.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://boxrec.com/media/index.php/Ken_Norton_vs._Larry_Holmes
|title=The judges' cards for Holmes vs. Norton |publisher=boxrec.com |date= June 9, 1978|access-date=March 17, 2011}}</ref> The Associated Press scored it 143–142 for Norton.<ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=1gcdAAAAIBAJ&sjid=-J0EAAAAIBAJ&pg=2555,2232253 Holmes get boxing title]. Associated Press via ''The Tuscaloosa News'', June 10, 1978</ref> The March 2001 edition of ''The Ring'' listed the final round of the Holmes–Norton bout as the seventh most exciting round in boxing history and International Boxing Research Organization (IBRO) member Monte D. Cox ranked the bout as the tenth greatest heavyweight fight of all time. Holmes went on to become the third-longest reigning world heavyweight champion in the history of boxing, behind [[Joe Louis]] and [[Wladimir Klitschko]]. Years later, Holmes wrote that the bout was his toughest fight of all his seventy-five contests.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gray |first=Tom |date=2018-06-19 |title=Larry Holmes: 'After Ken Norton my 20 title defenses were playground stuff' |url=https://www.ringtv.com/537941-larry-holmes-after-ken-norton-my-20-title-defenses-were-playground-stuff/ |access-date=2023-12-15 |website=The Ring}}</ref>

=== Post-title career ===
====Norton vs. Shavers====
After losing to Holmes, Norton won his next fight by knockout over sixth-ranked Randy Stephens in 1978<ref>[http://community.artofmanliness.com/profiles/blogs/on-the-marine-corps-birthday-a-lesson-in-manliness-from-usmc-hall A Lesson in Manliness From the Ex-Marine: Ken Norton], ''The Art of Manliness'', November 12, 2012</ref> before taking on legendary puncher [[Earnie Shavers]] in another compulsory WBC title eliminator fight in Las Vegas on March 23, 1979. Shavers took the former champion out in the first round. underscoring Norton's difficulty with  hard hitters such as Foreman, Shavers and later Cooney. However Norton himself always denied this, saying that he was past his prime when he was stopped by Shavers and Cooney.<ref>Norton's biography ''Going the distance''</ref><ref name="boxrec">[http://boxrec.com/media/index.php/Julian_Compton Julian Compton]. boxrec.com</ref>

====Scott LeDoux====
In his next fight, he fought to a split draw with unheralded but durable lower ranked contender [[Scott LeDoux]] at the [[Met Center]] in [[Minneapolis]]. Norton dominated until sustaining an injury when he took a thumb in the eye in the eighth round, which immediately changed the bout. LeDoux rallied from that point and Norton became decidedly fatigued. Norton was down two times in the final round, resulting in the draw; Norton fell behind on one scorecard, kept his lead on the second, and dropped to even on the third (the unofficial AP scorecard was 5–3–2 Norton).<ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=q6NPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=tlEDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4540%2C5165358 LeDoux, Norton draw], UPI via ''The Bryan Times'', August 20, 1979</ref>

====Tex Cobb====
After the fight, Norton decided that at 37 it was time to retire from boxing.<ref>[[#Norton|Norton]], p. 164</ref> However, not satisfied with the way he had gone out, Norton returned to the ring to face the undefeated [[Randall "Tex" Cobb]] in Cobb's home state of Texas on November 7, 1980. In an all action back-and-forth fight, Norton escaped with a split decision, with referee [[Tony Perez (referee)|Tony Perez]] and judge Chuck Hassett voting in his favor and judge Arlen Bynum giving the fight to Cobb. In the March 1981 issue of ''The Ring'', Norton was still one of the world's top ten ranked heavyweights.<ref>[https://boxrec.com/media/index.php/The_Ring_Magazine%27s_Annual_Ratings:_1980 The Ring Magazine's Annual Ratings: 1980].</ref>

===Final bout===
====Gerry Cooney====
The win over the title-contending Cobb gave Norton another shot at a potential title-fight, and on May 11, 1981, at [[Madison Square Garden]] he stepped into the ring with top contender [[Gerry Cooney]], who, like Cobb, was undefeated entering the fight. Very early in the fight Norton was buckled by Cooney's punches. Norton took a series of big punches from Cooney in his corner before Tony Perez stepped in to stop the 54 seconds into the first round, with Norton slumped against the ropes, leaving Cooney the victor by first-round technical knockout. Norton retired after the fight and turned to charitable pursuits.<ref>Grimsley, Will (November 10, 1979) [https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ScFaAAAAIBAJ&sjid=GFkDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6604%2C2886928 "Ken Norton: Now He's Fighting For Children"], AP via ''The Evening Independent''</ref>