Ken Norton - Did he have a glass jaw?

[WelshDevilRob]

Ken Norton - Did he have a glass jaw?

 

I've seen a few Norton fights but wasn't around when his career was in full swing. What I've never read is anyone question his ability to take big shots.

 

Floyd Patterson often gets labelled as having a weak chin at the top flight and is Ken Norton in the same category as Floyd?

 

Norton was Ko'd 4 times in his career - 2 at the end.

 

So, how do people rate his chin?

[donlevy]

I'd put him in the Frazier,Bruno,louis and Shavers chin category - not glass,but not all that strong either.

 

 

 

Patterson was like the Marquez and Trinidad of his day.He went down alot,but he also got back up alot and recovered pretty quickly.Most of his knockdowns were very early fights too I think.

[WelshDevilRob]

Glass is the wrong word. Weak might have been better.

[Wheelchair]

Three of Ken's four KO losses came from big punchers, so his jaw wasn't china IMO.

[iamasadlittleboy]

Ken didn't have many flaws, a china chin wasn't one either.

 

Stopped by Jose Luis Garcia early in his career

Foreman...you have to excuse

Shavers again you hate to excuse

Cooney when Ken was 37/38 and have been a pro around 14 years isn't fair

 

He went 30odd rounds with Ali

The distance with Holmes

 

Not China.

[WelshDevilRob]

On a par with Floyd Patterson or better?

[iamasadlittleboy]

Better, though Floyd had better recuperative powers

[darcizzy]

Better, though Floyd had better recuperative powers

Ya for sure

[Wheelchair]

Better, though Floyd had better recuperative powers

 

Agreed. Floyd got knocked down a huge number of times, but he usually got back up again. When Norton was dropped, he tended to get stopped.

[iamasadlittleboy]

Also Floyds era allowed you to be yo-yo'ed with out being stopped

[Djc65]

Styles make fights and Norton did not fare well against huge punches. Not only did he lose to the likes of Foreman, Shavers, and Cooney, he was knocked out cold in 1-2 rounds. Had he fought a Sonny Liston or even a Ron Lyle, I believe the same thing would have happened. People say he was past his prime vs Shavers and Cooney but he didnt last one full round with those guys. Patterson was similar to Norton. He lasted one round two times with Liston yet went 12 rounds and did better against Ali . He actually went the distance and got the decision against Bonavena. I'm not even sure Norton would have beaten Bonavena, who knocked down Frazier twice. My opinion was the Norton's chin was suspect especially against punchers who could make him back up

[LondonRingRules]

--- Ah, an oldie but goodie reborn. Ken could beat the Youngs and Alis, but yeah, big punchers had his number, however... Bobick KOed Holmes in the Olympic trials, so Holmes and Ali both ducked him in the Pros. It took Ken to KO Bobick for his first loss.

[Robbo]

The Bobick-Holmes amateur fight is on Youtube and while the ref stops the fight you'd be very hard pushed to call it a KO.

[LondonRingRules]

--- Officially a DQ, basically because Holmesy keep hanging on for dear life while ignoring orders to fight by the ref. Bobick also zipped up Ali who had been touting his protege as the future of the div, effectively 2 KOs with one punch. Thus Holmesy early pro career spent vs novices and other base levels of the existent gene pool fighters until he got his legs back for bigger fights.

[Robbo]

It's remarkable how skinny Holmes is against Bobick. They really do look as is they're in two separate weight divisions.

[selij]

Y'all forgetting Holmes was predominantly a gun-for-hire sparring partner to all and sundry and was a reluctant boxer in his own right, shunning publicity and the limelight, unlike his contemporaries. He often went into fights totally unprepared in a sense that he had been earning corn sparring other fighters in the division, and used this as his own fitness/conditioning regime for his own fights. Remarkable record considering.

[slasher092]

chin was unreliable against the big hitters , but only the real big hitters , seemed to absorb the shots of decent punchers pretty well

[Robbo]

Norton only had a plan A as well. Floyd was a talented boxer and could adopt a different approach if need be, aside from against Liston who just bulldozed him.