Ken Norton
Statistics
Real name	Kenneth Howard Norton
Nickname(s)	The Black Hercules[1] Ken "Jaw Breaker" Norton
Rated at	220 lb (100 kg), Heavyweight
Height	6 ft 3 in (1. Heavyweight is a division or weight class, in Boxing. Fighters who weigh over 200 pounds (14 st 4 lb/91 kg are considered heavyweights by the major professional 91 m)[2]
Nationality	American
Birth date	August 9, 1943 (1943-08-09) (age 64)
Birth place	Jacksonville, Illinois
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	50
Wins	42
Wins by KO	33
Losses	7
Draws	1
No contests	1

Kenneth Howard Norton Sr. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Events 48 BC - Caesar's civil war: Battle of Pharsalus - Julius Caesar decisively defeats Pompey at Pharsalus Year 1943 ( MCMXLIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Jacksonville is a city in Morgan County, Illinois, United States. (b. August 9, 1943, Jacksonville, Illinois) is a former world champion heavyweight boxer. Events 48 BC - Caesar's civil war: Battle of Pharsalus - Julius Caesar decisively defeats Pompey at Pharsalus Year 1943 ( MCMXLIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Jacksonville is a city in Morgan County, Illinois, United States. Norton is one of the few to beat Muhammad Ali. Biography Early life Cassius Clay Jr was born on January 17 1942 Norton was an outstanding athlete at Jacksonville High School. His track coach entered him in eight events and Ken placed first in all. 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. Truman State University is a public liberal arts and sciences University in Missouri and a member of the Council of Public Liberal Arts

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. ) After making it to the National AAU finals, he turned professional in 1967. Year 1967 ( MCMLXVII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the 1967 Gregorian calendar. In 1973, Norton fought Muhammad Ali. Year 1973 ( MCMLXXIII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the 1973 Gregorian calendar. Biography Early life Cassius Clay Jr was born on January 17 1942 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. Although Norton felt that he had done enough to win the rematch, most boxing authorities agree that Ali came off best.

In 1974, Norton fought George Foreman for the World Heavyweight Championship, and was stopped in two rounds. George Edward Foreman (born January 10, 1949) is an American two-time World Heavyweight Boxing Champion Two years later, Norton received another title shot against Ali in their third 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. Ali won. 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. Year 1998 ( MCMXCVIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar)

Norton is somewhat distiguishible for a unique blocking/coverup style characterised by elbows out to the sides, and one hand above the other, where most other boxers (for the same given situation) would have elbows in and hands alongside one another.

In 1975, Norton took a detour into acting by taking the title role in the Paramount Pictures release, Mandingo. Mandingo is a 1975 film, based on the book Mandingo by Kyle Onstott. The film was notorious for its sexual content and portrayal of race relations during the days of slavery in the Deep South. Although the movie did well at the box office, many critics panned the movie as exploitation. In the 1970s/1980s, Norton continued to act, appearing in a sequel, Drum, as well as a few other minor film and television appearances. Drum is the 1976 sequel to the movie Mandingo, and released by United Artists.

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. Leon Spinks (born July 11 1953 in St Louis Missouri) is a former boxer. Biography Early life Cassius Clay Jr was born on January 17 1942 The World Boxing Council, which had mandated a Spinks-Norton bout for their championship, withdrew its recognition of Spinks as champion. The World Boxing Council was initially created by 11 countries the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico,

On March 18, 1978, the WBC made history by naming Norton its champion without benefit of a title match. Events 37 - The Roman Senate annuls Tiberius ' will and proclaims Caligula emperor Year 1978 ( MCMLXXVIII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1978 Gregorian calendar) 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. Jimmy Young ( November 16 1948 &ndash February 20 2005) called "the man who gave Ali a boxing lesson" was a skilled Philadelphia 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. For the politician and activist see Larry Holmes (Marxist. Larry Holmes (born November 3, 1949, in Cuthbert Georgia 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 win a world title fight by a no-contest. In 1981 when Norton was past his prime, he retired after getting knocked out in one round by Gerry Cooney. Year 1981 ( MCMLXXXI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link displays the 1981 Gerry Cooney (born August 4, 1956) is a former boxer from Huntington NY best known for his loss to Larry Holmes in one of the largest He had a record of 42-7-1. Norton went on to act in motion pictures and popular television series, such as jailbird "Jackhammer" Jackson in 'Pros and Cons', an early first season epiosde of The A-Team (filmed 1982, broadcast 1983), and as boxer Bo Keeler in the fourth season Knight Rider episode 'Redemption of a Champion' (1986). The A-Team is an American action Adventure Television series about a fictional group of ex- United States Army Special Forces Knight Rider is an American Television series that originally ran from September 26 1982 to August 8 1986 He continued making such appearances 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 modern International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF is located in Canastota, New York, United States, within driving distance from the Baseball Hall 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. Ken Norton was twice voted "Father of the Year" by the Los Angeles Sentinel and the Los Angeles Times. His son, Ken Norton Jr, played American football in the NFL. Kenneth Howard Norton Jr (born September 29, 1966 in Lincoln Illinois) is a former American football Linebacker who spent 13 years American football, known in the United States and Canada simply as football, is a competitive Team sport known for mixing strategy with The National Football League ( NFL) is the largest professional American football league. The former San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys star linebacker has the distinction of playing in and winning three consecutive Super Bowl championships (two with the Cowboys and one with the 49ers). Ken Norton Jr. is now the linebackers coach for the University of Southern California Trojans.

• Autobiography: Going The Distance: The Ken Norton Story

References

External links

• Ken Norton at the Internet Movie Database

• Official Web Site of Ken Norton
• Professional boxing record for Ken Norton from Boxrec
• Marine Corps Community Services: Marine Corps Sports Hall of Fame page about Ken Norton
• International Boxing Hall of Fame
• World Boxing Hall of Fame