I have only seen his fights with Ali, Holmes and Foreman.
He seemed like an awkward fighter that gave people trouble(except Foreman LOL) because of his weird style.
Would he be considered a great heavyweight? How do you think he would do if he was a heavyweight today against guys like Holyfield or Lewis?
I think Lewis would have been too strong for Norton. Norton vs. Holyfield would have been a toss-up. Gotta go with Evander though.
Certainly not a great heavyweight but he was a good one.
Joe Frazier said he didn't like to go to the gym on days he knew he'd have to fight Norton. That's good enough for me
Norton beat an over-the-hill (but still tough) Jerry Quarry by TKO but was KO'd in a round by Earnie Shavers. I think that he was a very good fighter. Awkward style. Arguably, he beat Ali all three times.
Black guy.
Former Marine, big and strong (6-3 225), awkward style, arguably gave Holmes the toughest fight of his career. Fought during one of heavyweight boxing's best eras. I believe he'd have fared very well against the current drop of heavyweights.
He wasn't all that great as a boxing analyst, but he did a pretty good job in the movie "Mandingo." :)
Very good athlete, never thought he was all that great a boxer but his style could be hard to solve for many including Ali.
His son was a damn good linebacker too.
he beat Ali 2 of 3, and he basically had an even fight with Holmes. Frazier seemed to think it was a toss-up as to whether he or Norton would win if they fought
There was a heated debate when he was inducted into the hall of fame. I personally do not feel as though he should have been, but hats off to the man. He's was a good fighter. As good a physical specimen as you'll ever find in any sport.
buddie
well I dont' see how you can't put him in the Hall of Fame. Even if all he did was beat Ali the first time, that would be noteworthy
buddie - Norton's physique was/is awesome. Intersting thing - he said he's never touched a weight in his life, but used to toss bails of hay when he was younger, and he said that gave him his physique.
Should Buster Douglas be in the hall of fame? All he did was pull off the biggest upset in the history of sports, victory over one opponent does not equal a hall of fame bid.
buddie
"Should Buster Douglas be in the hall of fame?"
well, #1, there's a big difference between Norton totally dominating Ali in the first one, and Douglas almost getting KO'd by Tyson before he came back to win.
#2, I said it would have been noteworthy, not hall of fame worthy, if all Norton had ever done was win that one fight. But obviously he did more. Being the only man to beat Ali twice has to count for something.
Douglas dominated and KO'd Tyson. His victory was way more impressive, even if Ali was the better fighter than Tyson. Of course I will grant you that part of what makes it so amazing is that Douglas was a total dog before and after the Tyson fight.
In regard to the long count, Douglas responded as the ref counted, it was not a KO, but rather a poor job by the timekeeper/ref. Who knows what would have happened if the count was good. However, the punch that floored Douglas didn't look like a big Tyson KO shot to me. Tyson got a long count as well and he was KO'd. The long count isn't an issue in this fight like it is in Dempsey v. Tunney II.
Jason I'm suprised at you. You are taking a page from the Don King book of excuse making!
buddie
"Douglas dominated and KO'd Tyson. His victory was way more impressive, even if Ali was the better fighter than Tyson"
I'm not making excuses, but there's no way that Douglas getting knocked down and then winning is more impressive than Norton owning Ali from opening to closing of that fight. Ali never hurt Norton in the first match, Norton broke Ali's jaw. Whatever you say about Tyson/Douglas, Tyson hurt Douglas at least. Not trying to say Douglas didn't really win or anything like that at all
But Douglas finished Tyson and Ali's jaw was probably broken in the first, yet Ali still made it the distance.
buddie
well that's true, but Ali didn't knock Norton down, that's all I was saying. Tyson could have won that fight, if Douglas's chin was just a hair worse. Ali was never in the fight with Norton, and Norton's domination of him in the 3rd one showed it wasn't a fluke. I really doubt Douglas could have beaten Tyson again
I think the reasoning behind it is that KN performance vs Ali was typical of his performances in the sport. Against Tyson. Douglas didn't definately get lucky, but it was the highlight of an otherwise average career.
exactly. Norton could have beaten Ali pretty much any time he wanted to, and he could have given Frazier a close fight any day of the week. Holmes beat him by split decision too, so you'd think they were fairly close. That's 3 Hall of Famers right there that Norton was competative with, so I dont' see how he wouldn't belong in teh Hall of Fame