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Kenneth Howard Norton is a former world champion heavyweight boxer from Jacksonville, Illinois, USA. Ken Norton is one of the few to beat Muhammed Ali. He was born on August 9, 1943. Ken was an outstanding athlete at Jacksonville High School. His track coach entered Ken in eight events and Ken placed first in five events, and second in three. As a result, the "Ken Norton Rule" was instituted in Illinois high school sports which limits participation of an athlete to a maximum of three track and field events. After graduating from high school, Norton went to Northeast Missouri State University (now Truman State University) on a football scholarship.

Ken Norton started boxing when he was in the United States Marine Corps (Norton was inducted into the USMC Sports Hall of Fame in 2004.) He turned professional in 1967. In 1973, Norton fought Muhammad Ali. Norton broke Ali's jaw and went on to win by a split decision. Norton's victory over Ali made him the NABF Heavyweight Champion and it was the second defeat for "The Greatest" in his career. Six months later, Ali avenged the defeat when he beat Norton by a split decision. However, some felt Norton did enough to win the rematch.

In 1974, Norton fought George Foreman for the World Heavyweight Championship, and was stopped in two rounds. Two years later, Norton received another title shot against Ali in their third fight. Many have felt this was the beginning of Ali's decline as a boxer and he should have not accepted the fight. The scorecards had Norton winning six of the first eight rounds and comfortably ahead. Ali won the ninth and tenth rounds, lost the eleventh and took the next three. In one of the closest fights in history, the fight was even going into the final frame. Famed referee Arthur Mercante, who was the third man in the ring, felt Norton was the victim of bad advice from his corner who told him to "take it easy" the last round while Ali's trainer told him to go out and fight like hell. The January 1998 issue of Boxing Monthly listed Ali-Norton as the fifth most disputed title fight decision in boxing history.

Following the Leon Spinks upset of Muhammad Ali for the championship in February 1978, Spinks elected to fight a return bout against Ali rather than face Norton, the top contender. The World Boxing Council, which had mandated a Spinks-Norton bout for their championship, withdrew its recognition of Spinks as champion.

On March 18, 1978, the WBC made history by naming Norton its champion without benefit of a title match. The WBC stated that they considered Norton's victory over Jimmy Young, which was sanctioned by the WBC as a title eliminator, a retroactive championship match. Norton wouldn't hold onto the title for very long.

In his first defense of the WBC title, Norton and new #1 contender Larry Holmes met in a classic fight. After 15 brutal rounds, Holmes was awarded the title via an extremely close split decision. The September 1998 edition of The Ring magazine listed the final round of the Holmes-Norton bout as one of "The 12 Greatest Finishes of All Time".

Norton remains unique among all heavyweight champions, as he is still the only holder of a World Heavyweight Championship to have never won a single world title fight.

The character of "Apollo Creed" in the Rocky movie was initially going to be played by Norton, however when he pulled out, Carl Weathers was selected.

In 1981 when Ken Norton was past his prime, he retired after getting knocked out in one round by Gerry Cooney. He had a record of 42-7-1. Norton went on to act in motion pictures until suffering injuries in an auto accident which resulted in temporary brain and permanent physical damage.

Ken Norton is a 1992 inductee of the International Boxing Hall Of Fame and a 1989 inductee of the World Boxing Hall of Fame. The 1998 holiday issue of The Ring ranked Norton # 22 in "The 50 Greatest Heavyweights of All Time." Norton received the Napoleon Hill Award for positive thinking. Norton received the Boxing Writers Association of America J. Niel Trophy for "Fighter of the Year" in 1977. His son, Ken Norton Jr, played American football in the NFL. The former San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys star linebacker played on three Super Bowl championship teams (two with the Cowboys and one with the 49ers). Ken Norton Jr. is now the linebackers coach for the University of Southern California.

• Autobiography: Going The Distance: The Ken Norton Story

External links

• [1]Official Web Site of Ken Norton
• Boxing Record
• [2]International Boxing Hall of Fame
• [3]World Boxing Hall of Fame
• Muhammad Ali vs Ken Norton 1 Boxing Review
• Muhammad Ali vs Ken Norton 2 Boxing Review
• Muhammad Ali vs Ken Norton 3 Boxing Review
• [4]Ringside Report, Boxing: RSR Visits with Former WBC Heavyweight Champion, Ken Norton
• [5] Ringside Report: RSR Spends a Day with Former Heavyweight Champ, Ken Norton

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