Ken Norton

2.1. Childhood and Education

Born in Jacksonville, Illinois, Norton was an exceptional athlete during his time at Jacksonville High School. In 1960, as a senior, he earned selection to the all-state football team on defense. His versatility extended to track and field, where his coach entered him in eight events, and Norton secured first place in an impressive seven of them. This extraordinary performance led to the establishment of the "Ken Norton Rule" in Illinois high school sports, which limits an athlete's participation to a maximum of four track and field events. After graduating from high school, Norton received a football scholarship to Northeast Missouri State University (now Truman State University), where he pursued studies in elementary education. He once stated in an interview that if he hadn't chosen boxing, he would have become a teacher or a policeman.

2.2. Military Service and Amateur Career

Following his time at university, Norton enlisted in the United States Marine Corps, serving from 1963 to 1967. During his military service, specifically as a manual morse intercept (MOS 2621) graduate from NCTC Corry Station, Pensacola, Florida, he began to develop his boxing skills. He quickly excelled, compiling an amateur record of 24 wins and 2 losses, and earning three all-Marine heavyweight titles. He was regarded as the best boxer to ever fight for the Corps. Norton also secured prestigious amateur titles including the North Carolina AAU Golden Gloves, International AAU, and Pan American championships. It was during this period that he earned the moniker "The Fighting Marine." After competing in the National AAU finals in 1967, he transitioned to professional boxing.

3.1. Early Bouts and Rise to Prominence

Norton made his professional debut on November 14, 1967. He steadily amassed a string of victories, some against journeyman fighters and others against up-and-coming contenders like the formidable Jack O'Halloran. A surprising early defeat occurred in 1970 against the then-unknown Venezuelan boxer Jose Luis Garcia, who knocked Norton down five times before securing a knockout. This loss came just after The Ring magazine had featured Norton as a promising prospect. Five years later, when both fighters were rated contenders, Norton avenged this loss decisively.

A pivotal moment in Norton's early career involved the motivational book Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. Norton credited the book with dramatically changing his life, stating, "I was going to fight Muhammad Ali. I was a green fighter, but yet I won, all through reading this book." He embarked on a 14-fight winning streak after reading it, including his shock victory over Muhammad Ali in 1973. Norton notably quoted Hill: "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," attributing this as his final inspiration before defeating Ali. He also took a complete course by Hill focused on achieving wealth and peace of mind. Norton believed these principles could apply to anyone striving for excellence in their career through positive thinking. When preparing for fights, Norton would only review films of his own successful performances or his opponents' poor ones, emphasizing that in boxing and life, one should "never stop learning!" His first significant breakthrough came with a clear victory over Henry Clark, a respected contender, which garnered him international recognition. 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.

3.2. Trilogy with Muhammad Ali

Norton's most famous fights were his three encounters with Muhammad Ali, defining a significant period in the heavyweight division.

The first bout took place on March 31, 1973, at the San Diego Sports Arena. Ali, wearing a robe given by Elvis Presley, was a 5-1 favorite against Norton, then ranked number 6 worldwide. Norton secured a 12-round split decision victory over Ali in San Diego, capturing the NABF heavyweight title. Crucially, Norton broke Ali's jaw in the second round, forcing Ali to fight defensively for the remainder of the contest. This marked only the second defeat in Ali's career.

Almost six months later, on September 10, 1973, at The Forum in Inglewood, California, Ali won their close rematch by a split decision. Norton, weighing 206 lb ^{(206 lb)} (5 lb ^{(5 lb)} lighter than their first encounter), was suggested by some boxing writers to have overtrained. The fight featured furious exchanges. Broadcaster Howard Cosell, an Ali confidant, repeatedly claimed Ali was dominating, despite Norton's constant offense and Ali's struggle to penetrate Norton's unusual crab-like cross-armed defensive style. The scoring and decision in favor of Ali were controversial.

Their third and final encounter was on September 28, 1976, at Yankee Stadium in New York City. By this time, Ali had regained the world heavyweight championship from George Foreman in 1974. Many observers believe this fight heralded the beginning of Ali's decline. It was a tough, bruising battle for Ali. The contest was even on the judges' scorecards entering the final round, which Ali won to retain the championship. Judges Harold Lederman and Barney Smith scored the bout 8-7 for Ali, while referee Arthur Mercante scored it 8-6-1 for Ali. The decision was highly disputed, with an unofficial United Press International scorecard showing 8-7 for Norton, and Associated Press scorecards split (9-6 for Ali, 8-7 for Norton). At the time, losing a heavyweight title by decision was rare, having last happened 41 years prior when Max Baer lost to Jimmy Braddock. A 1998 Boxing Monthly issue listed Ali-Norton III as the fifth most disputed title fight decision in boxing history. Despite the victory, Ali took significant punishment, as his tactic of pushing Norton back failed, and he largely refused to "dance" until the ninth round. Norton later stated that this fight was the last for which he was fully motivated, due to his disappointment over losing a fight he felt he had clearly won.

3.3. World Championship Challenge and WBC Title Reign

In 1974, Norton challenged George Foreman for the world heavyweight championship at the Poliedro de Caracas in Caracas, Venezuela. After an even first round, Foreman staggered Norton with an uppercut in the second minute of round two, pushing him into the ropes. Norton, clearly not recovered, went down twice more in quick succession, leading the referee to stop the fight, resulting in a second-round knockout loss for Norton.

Norton regained the NABF heavyweight title in 1975 by impressively defeating Jerry Quarry via technical knockout in the fifth round, despite being hurt by a body shot in the second. He subsequently dominated Quarry. Norton then avenged his 1970 loss to Jose Luis Garcia, knocking him out decisively in the fifth round after flooring him five times with body shots.

In 1977, Norton swiftly knocked out the previously unbeaten top prospect Duane Bobick in the first round. This fight had a notable subplot as Norton's former trainer, Eddie Futch, chose to train Bobick. Norton then defeated European title holder Lorenzo Zanon by knockout in the fifth round. Norton then defeated polished number two contender Jimmy Young (who had previously beaten Foreman and Ron Lyle) via a 15-round split decision in a WBC title-elimination bout. While Norton used a heavy body attack and Young moved well and countered, the decision was controversial, with many observers believing Young had done enough to win.

Although Norton was expected to face Ali for a fourth time for the WBC heavyweight championship, plans changed when Ali lost 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 a rematch for his first title defense instead of fighting Norton. In response, on March 18, 1978, the WBC retroactively elevated Norton's victory over Young to title fight status and awarded Norton their championship, thus splitting the heavyweight championship for the first time since the early 1970s when Jimmy Ellis and Joe Frazier were both recognized as champions. This made Norton the only professional boxer in history to be recognized as a world champion without winning a world title match.

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. The Associated Press scored the fight 143-142 for Norton. 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 the International Boxing Research Organization (IBRO) ranked the bout as the tenth greatest heavyweight fight of all time. Holmes later wrote that this bout was his toughest fight of all his seventy-five professional contests.

3.4. Post-Championship Fights and Retirement

After losing the WBC title to Holmes, Norton secured a knockout victory over Randy Stephens in 1978. He then faced legendary puncher Earnie Shavers in a compulsory WBC title eliminator fight in Las Vegas on March 23, 1979. Shavers knocked Norton out in the first round. This fight, along with subsequent losses to other hard hitters like Foreman and later Gerry Cooney, highlighted Norton's difficulty against powerful punchers. However, Norton himself always maintained that he was past his prime when he was stopped by Shavers and Cooney.

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 knocked 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 Associated Press scorecard was 5-3-2 Norton).

Initially, Norton decided that at 37 it was time to retire from boxing after the fight with LeDoux. However, not satisfied with the way he had gone out, Norton returned to the ring to face the undefeated Randall 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 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.

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 in New York City, 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.

5.1. Acting and Media Activities

In 1975, at the peak of his boxing career, Norton made his acting debut starring in the Dino De Laurentiis blaxploitation film Mandingo, about a pre-American Civil War slave purchased to fight other slaves for their master's entertainment. After starring in the 1976 sequel, Drum, Norton went on to play bit parts in a dozen other productions, including The All-American Boy (1973), Oceans of Fire (1986), and The Man Who Came Back (2008).

Norton was initially cast for the role of Apollo Creed in the film Rocky but was replaced by Carl Weathers due to scheduling conflicts. Following his retirement from boxing, Norton transitioned into a career as an actor and a television boxing commentator. He also was a member of the Sports Illustrated Speakers Bureau and started the Ken Norton Management Co., which focused on representing athletes in contract negotiations. Norton continued making TV, radio and public speaking appearances until suffering injuries in a near-fatal car accident in 1986 which left him with slow and slurred speech.

5.2. Accident and Health Impact

In 1986, Norton was involved in a near-fatal car accident that resulted in severe injuries, including a skull fracture. The accident left him with significant long-term health consequences, specifically slow and slurred speech, and difficulties with walking. He also experienced memory loss for several years following the incident. Despite these challenges, he made efforts to regain his speech and mobility. Norton appeared along with Muhammad Ali, George Foreman, Joe Frazier and Larry Holmes in the video Champions Forever, discussing their best times, and in 2000 he published his autobiography, Going the Distance.