Editing Ken Norton (section)

=== 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}}