One of the most underrated heavyweights, he just doesn't get that much respect for what he did. His upset against Ali in his first fight is still very much shocking and his war against Larry Holmes is one of the greatest heavyweight slugfests of all-time, RIP Hercules. You were one strong heavyweight

Ken Norton was a great boxer. He also seemed like a good man. Blue collar, hard working, tough sob

Norton and Lyle deserve more recognition, great fighters.

I was grocery shopping when I got the alert about this episode. As a kid I loved the way Norton was so cut up and the way he shook his head side to side when he entered the ring. I loved the whole blue collar Marine thing too. But the first visual that popped in my head when I saw the name on the episode was of Ken Norton Jr. punching the goal post like a heavy bag. I remember thinking at the time how great a tribute to his father. I recalled Norton being asked if he was the former champion and him replying, “I’m the father of Ken Norton Jr.” It was awesome to see the video start and end with the Father/Son dynamic. Thanks so much Rich. Loved it.

A great era for boxing. They certainly don't make them like this anymore. RIP Champ 👊🙏👊

Got to love Ken Norton. The man looked like a God and fought like a titan. Good to see him getting some respect, because it's easy to forget his contribution to boxing because he fought in the greatest era of HW boxing and was a bit overshadowed by Ali, Foreman and Frazier, but he fully deserves his respect. Add in the fact that he was not only a tremendous boxer, but a decent actor too.

The way Norton dismantled Quarry was unprecedented. And one can argue he beat Ali at least twice, the first and last times. The Holmes fight was a classic, which I thought Norton won.

A great fighter and a thoroughly decent man.R I P Ken Norton.

The Richard Attenborough of boxing documentaries

The life of a warrior ,rest in peace!,Ken Norton ❤️

Because of his physique, I never believed Norton when he said he did not use weights in training. Then I read an interview with the great bodybuilder Steve Reeves who said that at an autography signing after Norton had retired, Ken came up to him and asked for a basic bodybuilding routine. He told Reeves that he never touched a weight in his training and just wanted a beginner's routine.

You could tell Ali was in shape in the 2nd fight.

Quarry had the most heart I've ever seen. Heart got him to an early demise too

A great fighter, a better man.

He won that 3rd fight against Ali.

You are the BEST, Rich! Great footage, great compilations. Another great tribute to a great heavy weight. I would have like to meet Ken. Amazing athlete. Thanks, as always, Rich. 👍🥊

I grew up and still live in Jacksonville il, Nortons hometown. I met him I think 3 times he even came to my junior high and spoke once. Stand up man, humble and down to earth. Btw probably best video I’ve seen done in him. RIP Ken Norton Sr

A beautifully worded ending. He was a brave fighter in a tough era.

Ken "The Black Hercules" Norton PRO record: 42-7-1, KO's 33 Amature record: 24-2 / 3x Marine heavyweight champion # Heavyweight Champion of the World: 1977-1978 / World title record: 0-3-0 # 2-time NABF heavyweight champion: 1973-1973 & 1975-1976. # Greatest career victories: Mohammad Ali, Jerry Quarry, Jimmy Young, Randall "Tex" Cobb, Ron Stander, Duane Bobick & Boone Kirkman + Draw with Scott LeDoux. # Career defeats: Mohammad Ali x2, Larry Holmes, George Foreman, Earnie Shavers, Gerry Cooney & Jose Luis Garcia (Norton avenged this loss) AWARDS / RECOGNITIONS: - 1961 Went to Northeast Missouri State University on a football scholarship and studied elementary education. - Served in the United States Marines Corps from 1963 to 1967 with graduating from NCTC Corry Station, Pensacola, Florida. - 1977 Boxing Writers Association of America Fighter of the Year Award. - 1992 inductee into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. - 2004 inductee into the United States Marine Corps Sports Hall of Fame. - 2008 inductee into the WBC Hall of Fame.

Great piece on Ken Norton. To those of us who remember and miss the 1970's, this is one of the reasons.

I figured this out in "95" when I watched the 3 DVD set from (Blockbuster)? Ali was my hero growing up and I had to admit that he got his ass WHOOPED at least twice and one could make the arguement that Norton took all 3.

I believe Ken won the third fight with Ali and as the champion he should have got the decision against Holmes... great work again Rich as always 👏

You know it’s a Good Friday, when Rich the Historical KING does an hour documentary 🎉🎉🎉

To this day, Larry Holmes cites his fight with Norton as the toughest of his career. He recites the date, June 9, 1978 as a sort of mantra, symbolizing his entry to championship glory.

Norton was a beast. I Learned something new about him today. Another good one Rich.👍

I always liked Norton. So glad you did a doc for him, Rich. Keep the "hits" coming. You really do have the best fighter docs on all of the internet; no contest!

One of the Premier heavyweights of the 70s. Love the cross arm defense he carried. Personally, I do think he beat Ali at yankee Stadium.

Quite the man was Ken Norton movie star looks body of a Greek God world class athletic skills great fighter 👏 Rip MR NORTON awesome was you ❤

Extremely good video on Kenny may he rest in power one of my favorite Boxers I was born in the 60s grew up in the 70s i remember all of this it was the times the people what a great time and Kenny Norton was & still is a Boxing Legend..

Norton is STILL underrated. Great fighter from an era of great fighters. He beat Ali good in that first fight and most thought that he won the second and third fight as well. Ali could never figure Norton out. Ali said during an interview with Mark Cronin in October 1976: "Kenny's style is too difficult for me. I can't beat him, and I sure don't want to fight him again. I honestly thought he beat me in Yankee Stadium, but the judges gave it to me, and I'm grateful to them." Norton was bitter, stating after the fight: "I won at least nine or ten rounds. I was robbed." Again, thanks Rich!!!

Wow Rich...what a great piece! The hairdo on his hypnotist! Made me laugh until I cried! The picture of Jr, with his Dudley DoRight jaw apparent even as a boy was priceless and as big a boxing fan as I am, I've never seen the pictures of Kenny's early KO loss to Garcia. Shocking to see him in such distress at so young an age. One of the reasons Ali isn't on my list of iconic sports figures is their third fight. He didn't deserve to win but the mystique was in full throttle for that fight. Ali would through a 6 punch flurry missing every punch but the crowd went wild, the announcers screamed plaudits into their microphones and the judges swooned. Sports Illustrated's Mark Kram wrote a memorable piece that recognized we had seen the last of the great Ali. Norton was crushed...absolutely crushed and his passion for boxing was broken never to return. So sad and unjust. He didn't deserve that. He was a good, hard working man who should have been given what he rightfully earned. By then, Ali was too big to fail.

Always appreciated Ken Norton , The man, the Father and the Fighter. Smart guyand hell, decent actor to !

Holmes vs Norton wow - I wonder what a Forman II could have been like. Thanks for another great documentary

Jerry Quarry is sadly a fighter I forget about when thinking of these great older fights. What a mad lad he was. Feel like he was always ready to fight anybody anytime

great warrior, great man. love kenny norton, the fight with holmes was tremendous!

Ken Norton could quite literally rule the division today.

Ill give Quarry one thing. He was a determined SOB.

Both of Eddie Futch's guys fought dumb fights against Foreman. Joe wasn't in the best of shape and grossly underestimated George. He tried to outmuscle him and stood in front of him instead of staying on the angles and slipping side to side. He also left his right hand in the gym that Eddie had him working on more in the sparring sessions. Norton didn't throw enough jabs and also stood in George's power zone. He backed up and backed up and backed up without jabbing and throwing his right hand. Waiting to counter got him knocked out. You have to give credit to George for getting the job done against both Frazier and Norton. That was the fear the world had for Ali when he signed on to fight George. Two of the best heavyweights that took him the distance and gave him trouble lasted just 4 rounds combined against Big George.

After watching a few minutes of this I thought what a Boxing Legend

This man was an absolute beast in the ring

Ken Norton was a crafty , skilled, awkward ,pressure fighter with an excellent jab However, his one big weakness was that he couldn't fight going backwards. .He could hang with the best boxers and counterpunchers but anyone who was strong enough to push him backwards could take him out.pretty handily

Great piece on the great Ken Norton. And he was a champion. If you lived near him, you'd see him out and about and he was perceived as such and carried himself like a champion. Lot sharper than some people thought post-accident, despite kind of messed up speech. At some point, I caused him to dislike me, which was unfortunate because I looked up to him and saw him everywhere--gym, local fights, mall, restaurants, clubs, and a few businesses I'd go in where he owned a piece, including a spa store in Carlsbad where because of my job I was in all the time. But he was actually a nice guy if you didn't piss him off. That hypnotist performed at my high school too and I distinctly remember him basically making it sound like he was the one who won against Ali. I guess to his credit, he had a whole stage of kids thinking they were chickens, going around pecking things and stuff.

Great Episode!!! Ken Norton truly one of the Best and he got Robbed in that last Ali fight. Watched All those fights and thought Norton could have been Winner in each of them.

Iwas looking for norton documentary because i recently watched holmes vs norton thanks man

Ken Norton was a great man. Everyone should watch Champions Forever. He broke Muhammad's jaw in the 2nd round. RIP both men. I love them both.

I" love both good bangers🎉🎉 R.I.P.🎉

The more I look back on times like this the less impressive Ali is. He's still one of the best technical boxes ever. But overall, and as a person... Ali wasn't as "great" as I remembered. Wish he could have left boxing earlier

Great work Rich. Ken Norton was one of the best heavyweights in the Golden Age Era along with Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, George Foreman, Larry Holmes, Ron Lyle, Earnie Shavers, Jimmy Ellis and Jerry Quarry just to name several big names and legends. Wish Norton could have fought his buddy Smokin' Joe and Ron Lyle who Norton put on a war with them and he would have batter the fading Jimmy Ellis at that time of his rising in the heavyweight ranks. Keep it up Rich.

Norton was such great sportsman and fighter, Ali looked defeated after every fight with him.

God bless Kenny Norton, nice video rich 😊

Gratitude for sharing.

Great video of a great fighter. Norton-Holmes was epic, and not that it matters, but I still think Kenny won the 15th round.

Thank You I never was able to see much of r. Norton, I was on the road delivering freight. I admired His build and knew he was a special guy ☺👉👍👏👏👏💯😃👀💬Yup❗ G-G.

Always great Rich with these documentaries..All that can be said is Ken Norton was a great Boxer, Champion and father. Super footage.🥊👏

Yeah Ken u were one of the best heavyweight champ where ever u go champ keep swinging champ

I’ve got a crazy story. I had a friend in middle school- I went to Washington elementary in Jacksonville where he was born anyway one of my best friends for a good chunk of my childhood always said Ken Norton was his cousin all the time I said why don’t you call him and have him come up to the school right so I’m over at his house after school one day he says my cousins coming over bam in walks ken Norton. Fucking unbelievable he smelled like money and had a gold necklace with a boxing glove on it. He came to the school and just kinda chatted for a minute I still have the autograph he gave me. Absolutely insane. Rest in peace ken and rest in peace to his actual cousin Alex Jackson ❤️ I miss you man

Masterpiece video Norton definitely special great to see Eddie Futch at work

Great one what a legend may he rip, hopefully you can cover ORLANDO CANIZALES

YES! Ken Norton, Jr.'s daddy! Jawbreaker Jones! LFG!!!

Kenny seems to be the guy who always delivers, always give tough matches, always force his opponent to give 100% and always loose by one point Had he won 3 times against Ali and against Holmes, he would have been much much more considerated

Great effort. Thanks for posting

Thanks for the video, RICH THE FIGHT HISTORIAN

I've had plenty of plenty of arguments with people regarding Norton. In my opinion, he beat Ali all three times.

Thanks for the video Rich ❤

Brilliant, thanks for this will watch it later, Ken Norton was a great fighter

Hell yeah. I knew you would get here and I've been looking forward to it for a while. Just know this'll be a good 'un

Foreman was a bad matchup stylistically. Too big and strong

another brilliant video Rich did not want it to end ! thanks again my friend.

You did a great job with this. A lot of fun to watch as a Ken Norton fan. Thanks!

As usual, a tremendous work you did Rich.

Great efforts you put into these, they are great for information and excitement on fighters we don’t know as well as you show us. Always learning even when you think you know them you show us more in depth documentaries

Another great video, Rich. Appreciate the time you put into this.

Another class episode Rich

I liked Norton ; he was must see TV. I believe Ali beat him the final two fights. I thought Ali took the 12th and deciding round in fight #2, and the 15th round in fight #3. Both fights were close but Ali won them. Now i do believe the Norton that fought Ali, beats Holmes. I thought he also got a gift decision against Young. Very good fighter.

LETS GOOO, I've been waiting for you to do this one for a longg time

Great job Rich.You’ve started the new year with a bang!Thoroughly enjoyed this video.Ken Norton was a warrior Period

A lot of people think that Norton beat Holmes, in my opinion I see a draw, so whether or not there would have been a rematch, it would have been nice, because Holmes never offered Norton a rematch, like Ali did for example

In the 3rd fight Norton won his rounds big while Ali won a lot of his rounds by a small margin. When I watched the fight live in TV I had the impression Norton clearly won. But when I rewatched it decades later on youtube (and scored it) I was surprised how many rounds I got "even" and Ali came out as a winner by one round.

great doc. thank you.

Great work. Even better than I expected. And these fights are better than I remembered as a kid. Love watching your stuff when I'm relaxing with a night cap. Cheers.

You never disappoint.

You do a great job with these documentaries.

I know you like to shed light on a lot of forgotten or lost fighters but your docs are so detailed i am sure to hear some things ive never heard before. Love if you would do more docs on bigger fighters coming from more of a casual fan.

Hey Rich,I saw a bunch of your documentaries on tubi tv that is pretty awesome man I like that. Grest job and keep up the great work.

@48:41 Quarry had Norton stumbling to a fall, but the referee broke his fall by catching Norton. Wow😮

I knew my voices lol 😂 That second fight with Ali announced by the fabulous Chick Hearn ……

Why this man doesn't have a movie.

Punchers (Foreman Shavers) were Norton's Kryptonite.......great vid!

Great insight

Norton was robbed in 1976

Wow rip Mr Kenny Norton

Two boxers stand out for me, as having the perfect body structure for this brutal sport--Jack Johnson, and then Ken Norton. How I wished, as a younger workout guy, that I could have achieved such athletic perfection!...I guess genetics plays a part!

There isn’t a heavyweight today that could complete with guys like Norton or Holmes or even Quarry. Those dudes were tough.

One of a kind rip champ

Cool inside and out of the ring

Ken Norton was the best man amongst the men.

An amazing human being ❤

My hero and idol. Thanks Rich

Thank you, Rich !!!

I have to say those heavyweights were build different Norton Ali Frazier Shavers Foreman my gosh they fought wars with each other nowadays they run away from each other the late 60’s & 70’s was the best era for the heavyweights. Bar none!