The judges unanimously awarded a points victory to Berbick, aged 27. During an interview a few weeks after the fight, Ali admitted that he thought he thought he had lost that night in the Bronx. All Rights Reserved. The only other time Muhammad Ali suffered defeat was on 11th December 1981, in a non-title fight against Trevor Berbick at the Queen Elizabeth Sports Centre in Nassau, Bahamas. Getty, Muhammad Ali taunts Sonny Liston after his first-round knockdown. It's that simple.". Ken Norton, the man broke who broke Muhammad Ali's jaw, dies aged 70. 2. Ali suffered a broken jaw in the second round, but carried on until the end, only to lose to his relatively unknown rival. "Imagine you had your jaw broken and have to fight 10 more rounds," Ali said afterwards. He later avenged this loss twice, by 12-round decision in 1974 and by 14th round stoppage the following year. At the age of only 18, he won the gold medal in the light heavyweight division at the 1960 Rome Olympics. The loss was just the second of Ali's career, and it left many wondering whether he would hang up his gloves and retire. The fight was stopped after the 10th round by Ali’s trainer, Angelo Dundee. And so it went the distance again and the judges gave Ali a unanimous, if hotly contested, victory. 1976 Muhammad Ali v Ken Norton Heavyweight Boxing Title Programme RARE VGC MINT . The pair were back in the ring within six months. It was reported Spinks trained hard, while Ali only sparred. I was more than that and I just had the style, with the jab, to beat Ali. CentralPoint Afterwards, it was claimed Ali was already showing signs of Parkinson’s and had struggled in the pre-fight medical examination. A former heavyweight champion with a career record of 42 wins (33 by knockout), seven losses and one draw, Norton was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1992. Thrillas in Manilla and Rumbles in the Jungle always loom large but his three battles with the tough and tricky operator from Jacksonville, Illinois, should never be forgotten. The Louisville Lip was in full flow before the fight, as the WBA and WBC world champion said that he would "knock the sucker out inside five rounds". Muhammad Ali (/ ɑː ˈ l iː /; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer, activist, and philanthropist. Ali was the runaway favourite following 10 successive victories and was expected to breeze through against the unfancied Norton – a former marine. Mouse over to zoom-Click to enlarge. At the time of the fight, the American boxing commission had refused to license Ali, then aged 39, due to his deteriorating medical condition but Bahamas did license him, although the fight was later described as a “shambles”. EC2Y 8AD. Ken Norton on 3/31/73 (SD12). Discussion about Ali's big fights usually revolves around the likes of Sonny Liston, Joe Frazier and George Foreman. enquiries@andmeetings.com Getty, Fighting with a broken jaw, Muhammed Ali attempts to protect his face during the Ken Norton fight. Norton was given the verdict via a split decision. After Norton passed away, his friend Gene Kilroy—who was also Ali's former business manager—recalled how out of sorts Ali was when faced with Norton's unique approach. "A fight with Ali gave me a chance at life, period.”, Petra named world's ultimate travel destination, G20 to extend debt service suspension to poorest countries by another six months. London Ali and Norton would fight twice more—first on Sept. 10, 1973, and then on Sept. 28, 1976—with Ali winning both times. Ali won via a first-round knockout. Throughout his whole professional career, there were only five fights where Muhammad Ali failed to beat his opponent. September 10, 1973: Muhammad Ali vs Ken Norton fought for the second time, six months after their first fight. Getty, Muhammed Ali, left, and Ken Norton during their bout at the Sports Arena in San Diego, California, on March 31,1973. The heavyweight trilogy between the American pair would go on for 39 draining rounds over a three-year period, with Ali taking the honours by razor-thin margins, two wins and one defeat. Ali's legacy as 'The Greatest' had been secured in the intervening years after stunning, career-defining wins over Foreman and Frazier. The opening bout took place in San Diego, California, in front of 12,000 fans, two years after Ali had lost for the first time against Frazier in the 'Fight of the Century'. £72.99 + £9.99 P&P . Tom Cushman, then a boxing writer for the Philadelphia Daily News, recalled that Ali was "gloriously overconfident. But The fairest of them all Ken Norton.". Though the match was close, Ali came out victorious. Two new marinas open on Dubai islands as boating season begins, Azerbaijan strikes inside Armenia as Karabakh tensions spike, Neymar hat-trick for Brazil sparks wild celebrations - in pictures, Shane Warne: Rajasthan Royals gave the IPL a lot of credibility, Mane and Thiago in Liverpool training after leaving quarantine, Shah Rukh Khan and son Aryan watch Kolkata crash to defeat, Dutch manager De Boer hoping to find happier times on return to Italy, Ken Norton is hit with a left jab from Muhammad Ali during their fight in 1973. In a clash dubbed the “fight of the century” for the WBA/WBC world titles, Ali lost the epic 15-round battle in a unanimous decision on points, after Frazier attacked him on the ropes and caused him to hit the deck with a left hook during the final round. SPORTS ILLUSTRATED is a registered trademark of ABG-SI LLC. Picture Information . He was not financially secure in his boxing career and contemplated returning home to leave the sport behind. Ali’s fourth loss came against Larry Holmes on 2nd October 1980, while boxing for the WBC world heavyweight title at Caesar’s Palace, Las Vegas. According to Brian Hiro of the San Diego Union-Tribune, Ali himself called Norton an amateur during a pre-fight workout, and by all accounts regarded the upcoming fight as little more than a tune-up session. At the half-way point, a shock was clearly on the cards, with ringside commentator Howard Cosell saying: "Either Ken Norton is smarter, much better fighter than anybody thought, or Muhammad Ali has gone back a lot more than one would have reasonably believed." He was also named Fighter of the Year by boxing magazine, Ring, a record six times in 1963, 1966, 1972, 1974, 1975 and 1978. Later turning professional, he won the WBC, WBA and lineal heavyweight titles from Sonny Liston in 1964, when he was only 22 years old. In order: 1. "Most guys throw the jab from the shoulder, and that always gave Ali trouble.". Despite Spinks having a muscle injury, he managed to outlast Ali. 0800 073 0499 But Norton's style had always presented a problem that Ali had struggled to solve. Norton would insist he won all three. He didn’t consider this guy a threat at all.". March 31, 1973 – Muhammad Ali v. Ken Norton at the Sports Arena in San Diego, California. meeting and training rooms throughout the UK. AP. Send Us a Message... Sign up for our E-mail newsletter and get 10% off your next online booking. It was supposed to be a routine night for Ali – with one defeat in 41 fights – who was a clear favourite against the unfancied Norton – one loss in 29 – but would come up against an tricky, unorthodox opponent. “The first Ali fight gave me a chance to give my son more food, better clothes," he would later say. But neither match provided a moment as indelible as Norton's upset victory. Born Cassius Clay on 17th January 1942, in Louisville, Kentucky, he changed his name to Muhammad Ali after converting to Islam in the 1960s. Opens image gallery. Norton disputed that claim, insisting that he didn't break his jaw until the last round. Getty, Muhammed Ali and Ken Norton during their bout in San Diego. Upon Norton's death in 2013, boxing icon George Foreman, who defeated Norton in a 1974 title bout, tweeted, "They called us all handsome. The Hall billed him as "a fixture in the heavyweight ranks during a time that many consider the finest era of the division." The second time Ali met his match was on 31st March 1973, in a 12-round split-decision loss against Ken Norton for the NABF heavyweight title in San Diego. Most reports have Norton breaking Ali's jaw in the second round. He retired from boxing in 1981 at the age of 39. Nicknamed "The Greatest", he is widely regarded as one of the most significant and celebrated figures of the 20th century and as one of the greatest boxers of all time. Getty, Muhammad Ali stands over a prone Sonny Liston during their second fight that took place in 1965. Ali entered the ring wearing a jewel-studded robe given to him by Elvis Presley with “People’s Choice” on the back. &MEETINGS provides quality, comfortable and flexible He was also voted the BBC Sports Personality of the Century on 12th December 1999, at the final awards ceremonies of the millennium. Whenever the fateful punch occurred, the end result was the same—Ken Norton had defeated Muhammad Ali, forever etching his name in the boxing history books. When Ken Norton stunned the boxing world by defeating Muhammad Ali in 1973, it would start in motion one of the sport's all-time great rivalries. After a truly exceptional professional career, he only lost 5 times. "Kenny’s style is too difficult for me. 1973 Muhammad Ali v Ken Norton Heavyweight Boxing Title Programme VGC MINT . I can’t beat him, and I sure don’t want to fight him again," he said.

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