Ken Norton faced three of the greatest heavyweights of all time in Muhammad Ali, George Foreman and Larry Holmes.
Norton begam his professional career in November 1967, going on to fight 50 times before he retired from the sport not long after suffering defeat to Gerry Cooney in 1981.
He defeated Jimmy Young in what was a final eliminator for the WBC heavyweight title in November 1977, but was subsequently elevated to full champion a few months later after the then champion Leon Spinks opted to face Ali instead of him. Norton never managed to successfully defend his crown, as he lost a close split decision to Holmes in the following year.
Speaking to ESPN Radio, Norton made no mistake in naming Ali as the greatest fighter he ever faced, claiming he was also the greatest heavyweight in boxing history in his eyes.
“A lot of it was the mental part of it. Ali defeated everyone mentally first. With Frazier, Ali had him so mad Joe was trying to kill him with every shot. With Foreman, he tried to kill him with every shot. Mentally, Ali could not defeat me and physically I felt I was as much a physical power as Ali was.
He couldn’t upset me in any way and plus, I had Eddie Futch. Eddie knew how to fight Ali. You can’t go to the head with him. You have to go to the body first and then eventually he will bring his hands down and lower his head.”
After his retirement from the sport, ‘The Jawbreaker’ moved in to acting where he made appearances in a number of TV shows and films. His legacy lives on to this day, cementing himself as one of boxing’s real heroes. He tragically passed away in 2013 at the age of 70.
