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Ring History - Ken Norton Continue...
During the height of his boxing career, Norton was screen-tested and won the role in Dino De Laurentis' film " Mandingo". This was later followed by a second film "Drum" , both of which were international hits. Ken has appeared in aprox 20 films. On September 9, 1973, Norton was awarded the internationally famed Napoleon Hill Award for being an "outstanding positive thinker." Norton was the first athlete and the first African American to receive the honor. This award seems only appropriate for the man whose motto is, "What the mind can conceive, the body can achieve".
In 1974, Norton fought George Foreman for the World Heavyweight Championship, and was stopped in two rounds. In 1975, Norton regained the NABF Heavyweight Title when he impressively defeated Jerry Quarry by TKO in the fifth round.
Norton then avenged his above-mentioned 1970 loss to Jose Luis Garcia by knocking-out Garcia in round five.
In 1976Norton would again fight Ali, who was now the World Heavyweight Champion since regaining the title with an eighth round knockout of George Foreman in 1974. In one of the most disputed fights in history, the fight was even on the judges' scorecards going into the final round, which Ali won on both the referee and judges' scorecards to retain the World Heavyweight Championship. The January 1998 issue of Boxing Monthly listed Ali-Norton as the fifth most disputed title fight decision in boxing history.
1977 was a good year. Norton knocked out previously unbeaten top prospect Duane Bobick in one round and then beat number 2 contender Jimmy Young in a 15-round split-decision in a WBC big mandatory title-elimination fight. A smart fight from both boxers many however thought the decision also controversial. The winner was supposed to fight Ali for the world title, as some thought it was Norton's deserve from a year earlier. "No way we-want Norton again" was an Ali camp quote in Ring Magazine.
Following the Leon Spinks upset of Muhammad Ali for the championship on February 15, 1978, Spinks elected to fight a return bout against Ali rather than face the more dangerous Norton and 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 named Norton its champion by virtue of his win over Young. 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
In his first defense of the WBC title on June 9, 1978, 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 March 2001 edition of The Ring magazine listed the final round of the Holmes-Norton bout as the 7th most exciting round in boxing history. Holmes-Norton is ranked as the 10th greatest heavyweight fight of all time by Monte D. Cox, a member of the International Boxing Research Organization (IBRO).
Retirement -Norton retired from the ring in 1979 following a draw with Scott LeDoux. Then at the advanced age of 37, he staged a comeback in 1980 and beat previously undefeated, Randall "Tex" Cobb by a split-decision. Norton was then matched in a 1981 title-eliminator bout with Gerry Cooney. Cooney, who is rated No. 53 in The Ring Magazine's 100 Greatest Punchers, won by KO in round 1. Norton retired from boxing after his bout with Cooney. Norton's professional boxing record was 42-7-1.
In 1986, Norton was in a car crash that left him with a fractured skull, jaw, and broken leg and no recollection of what had happened. Through it all, he remained a positive thinker and would not accept any prognosis but his own. His doctor told him that he would not walk or talk again after the accident, but Norton refused to accept any prediction that did not include what he visualized. Norton said "At first they thought I might die, and if I didn't die, I wouldn't be coherent. Now I'm talkin' and walkin' and I can even chew gum at the same time.....