SONAHR Halifax, Nova Scotia – September 20, 2013 – One by one, the stars of the heavyweights? Golden Age ? the 1970s ? are blinking out. Jimmy Young, Ron Lyle, Joe Frazier ? and now Ken Norton, who passed away on Wednesday at the age of 70.
Norton held the WBC heavyweight title from March 29, 1978, to June 9 of that same year. But because the WBC awarded its belt to Norton after stripping it from Leon Spinks, Norton bears the unwanted distinction of being the only heavyweight champion who did not win his title in the ring. It?s as though there ought to be an asterisk after Ken?s name on the roster of world heavyweight champions.
But such an asterisk is not merited. Twice, Norton was robbed of the honor of garnering the title in the ring: first by the judges in Norton?s 1976 challenge of then-champion Muhammad Ali, and then by the brain trust of Spinks, who refused to honor a commitment for ?Neon Leon? to fight Norton after Spinks upset Ali to win the title in February of 1978.
Instead of fighting Norton, Spinks ? who still held the WBA?s piece of the crown ? chose to give Ali a rematch. Ali won that fight in September of 1978, making him the first man to hold at least a portion of the title three times.
In the meantime, the WBC did not bestow its title to Norton on a whim. In 1977, the organization sanctioned a 15-round box-off between Norton and Jimmy Young (another 1976 challenger thought to have been robbed of an apparent victory over Ali) to determine Ali?s next opponent. Ali had said he did not want to fight both men again, but he would accept the challenge of the box-off?s winner. Norton won the decision, and awaited his fourth crack at Ali, having won their first bout, then coming up short in the subsequent two.
But Ali decided to first make some easy money by taking on the novice Spinks, who had won a gold medal in the 1976 Olympics, but was only 7-0-1 as a pro. Norton was promised a shot at the winner of Ali-Spinks. Of course, that winner was ?certain? to be Ali. But ?certainty? got knocked on its ass when Spinks pulled of an upset split-decision over the overconfident, out-of-shape champion.
The Spinks brain trust then faced a hard choice: either go along with the pledge to fight Norton next, or go for a more lucrative rematch with Ali, whom Leon had already beaten ? fully aware that if they chose the latter course, the WBC would vacate its version of the title. They went ahead and took the Ali rematch, leaving the WBC?s title on the table. But Ali was prepared this time, and party-animal Spinks looked clueless as he lost the decision. Had Spinks gone ahead and fought Norton instead of Ali, the conventional wisdom was that Leon would have been rendered clueless, senseless and neon-less in the first few rounds. Norton was just a year younger than Ali, but at that time he had a lot more left than ?The Greatest.?
The WBC saw no need to stage another box-off to fill its championship vacancy. Instead, the organization conferred the title on Norton, on the basis of his win over Young. Not the most auspicious way to ?win? a title ? but given Spinks?s reneging of his commitment and Ali?s obvious reluctance to face Norton again, it was probably the best Ken could do under the circumstances.
Ali ?retired? after his win over Spinks, and the WBA set up a four-man tournament to determine his successor, who turned out to be John Tate. And the WBC ordered Norton make his first defense against its No. 1 contender ? undefeated Larry Holmes, who had just scored a lop-sided points victory over dangerous puncher Earnie Shavers. It?s likely that Norton would have preferred an easier initial challenger before facing Holmes. But Ken also knew that what the WBC gave him, it could just as easily take away. So he accepted the Holmes fight.
Norton-Holmes turned out to be one of the most intense heavyweight title bouts of all time, with both men giving their all in a see-saw struggle. Holmes won a split decision, and went on to become one of the all-time greats of the division. Norton never again held or fought for a world title. He retired after being bombarded in one round by up-and-coming Gerry Cooney in 1981.
Boxing history will always hold that Norton did not win his heavyweight title in the ring; nor did he defend it successfully. But he was definitely a true champion, both inside and outside the squared circle.
Rest in peace, Ken.
