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Ken Norton was born on August 9th, 1943 in Jacksonville, Illinois. He
became a high school star in football, basketball, track, and later football at
Northeast Missouri State college.
“I was playing football,” Norton recalled. “They appointed this player
captain ahead of me and I was better. I quit football, joined the Marines, and I
started boxing.”
He became the All-Marines champion from 1965-67 and settled in San
Diego after his military service ended. Norton started his professional career
late in 1967. Success would come slowly, however, as he was the “hired
punching bag” for Joe Frazier.
“I wasn’t making any money, “ Norton said. “I got so depressed I
considered robbing for food.”
Divorced and penniless, his father suggested he quit the ring entirely. But
Norton soldiered on and reeled off sixteen straight victories before getting
derailed by the hard hitting Jose Luis Garcia. After the defeat, Norton went to
see a hypnotist. The goal was to get him to change his “over confidence into
self confidence” and “make him listen to trainer Eddie Futch.”
Bob Biron, a former UC San Diego Vice Chancellor, purchased his
contract and assumed management duties. Norton would then go on a win
streak that lasted for three years.
In March of 1973, Norton would get his big break against Muhammad
Ali. His hypnotist, Dr. Michael Dean, stated that Norton would be in a
“heightened state of suggestibility” before the bout. The fight would later
become known as the “jaw match” as Norton would break Ali’s jaw and go on
to win a decision. Ali’s camp claimed the jaw was broken in the second round
while most observers thought it occurred sometime between the seventh and
eleventh.
“I don’t know,” Norton recollected. “I don’t think it was broken that
early. I think it was broken in the eleventh round because he was very physical
up until that point. Then in the eleventh, he started backing up.”
The fight itself was a dull affair. Norton, a 5-1 underdog, pressed Ali
throughout and Ali danced away. The exchanges were rare, the flow was
uneven, but Norton was victorious.
Six months later, Norton would face Ali in a rematch. Trainer Futch
welcomed the return bout. “We had a few kinks to straighten out,” Futch said
at the time. “A young fighter sometimes forgets how he did a job before. Here,
at first, Norton wasn’t doing exactly all the things that won the first fight. We
got the movies from the BBC and ABC. We went over them and found what
had to be done exactly and why it had to be done this way. You know, Max
Schmeling was so confident in his second fight with Joe Louis that he thought he
could go out and blow Louis over. He didn’t remember how tough it was the
first time. He suddenly remembered when it was too late.”
The fight was a crucial one for Ali. If he lost, his career would ostensibly
be over. The odds makers saw fit to make Ali the 12-5 favorite.
“Everybody seems to think Ali is superhuman,” said Futch. “I thin k the
man has deteriorated in a natural manner. When you are 31, you act like 31
(Norton himself was 30 but had nowhere near the mileage on him that Ali had.)
Additionally, Norton seemed immune to Ali’s usual psyching out strategy
before the bout. Eddie Futch and the hypnotist helped him realize that Ali’s
words and insults were, in fact, extraneous hot air.
To read more, please check out the book "The Last Great Contenders."
became a high school star in football, basketball, track, and later football at
Northeast Missouri State college.
“I was playing football,” Norton recalled. “They appointed this player
captain ahead of me and I was better. I quit football, joined the Marines, and I
started boxing.”
He became the All-Marines champion from 1965-67 and settled in San
Diego after his military service ended. Norton started his professional career
late in 1967. Success would come slowly, however, as he was the “hired
punching bag” for Joe Frazier.
“I wasn’t making any money, “ Norton said. “I got so depressed I
considered robbing for food.”
Divorced and penniless, his father suggested he quit the ring entirely. But
Norton soldiered on and reeled off sixteen straight victories before getting
derailed by the hard hitting Jose Luis Garcia. After the defeat, Norton went to
see a hypnotist. The goal was to get him to change his “over confidence into
self confidence” and “make him listen to trainer Eddie Futch.”
Bob Biron, a former UC San Diego Vice Chancellor, purchased his
contract and assumed management duties. Norton would then go on a win
streak that lasted for three years.
In March of 1973, Norton would get his big break against Muhammad
Ali. His hypnotist, Dr. Michael Dean, stated that Norton would be in a
“heightened state of suggestibility” before the bout. The fight would later
become known as the “jaw match” as Norton would break Ali’s jaw and go on
to win a decision. Ali’s camp claimed the jaw was broken in the second round
while most observers thought it occurred sometime between the seventh and
eleventh.
“I don’t know,” Norton recollected. “I don’t think it was broken that
early. I think it was broken in the eleventh round because he was very physical
up until that point. Then in the eleventh, he started backing up.”
The fight itself was a dull affair. Norton, a 5-1 underdog, pressed Ali
throughout and Ali danced away. The exchanges were rare, the flow was
uneven, but Norton was victorious.
Six months later, Norton would face Ali in a rematch. Trainer Futch
welcomed the return bout. “We had a few kinks to straighten out,” Futch said
at the time. “A young fighter sometimes forgets how he did a job before. Here,
at first, Norton wasn’t doing exactly all the things that won the first fight. We
got the movies from the BBC and ABC. We went over them and found what
had to be done exactly and why it had to be done this way. You know, Max
Schmeling was so confident in his second fight with Joe Louis that he thought he
could go out and blow Louis over. He didn’t remember how tough it was the
first time. He suddenly remembered when it was too late.”
The fight was a crucial one for Ali. If he lost, his career would ostensibly
be over. The odds makers saw fit to make Ali the 12-5 favorite.
“Everybody seems to think Ali is superhuman,” said Futch. “I thin k the
man has deteriorated in a natural manner. When you are 31, you act like 31
(Norton himself was 30 but had nowhere near the mileage on him that Ali had.)
Additionally, Norton seemed immune to Ali’s usual psyching out strategy
before the bout. Eddie Futch and the hypnotist helped him realize that Ali’s
words and insults were, in fact, extraneous hot air.
To read more, please check out the book "The Last Great Contenders."
KEN NORTON
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