After his heartbreaking defeat to Muhammad Ali in September of 1976, Ken Norton took the rest of the year off. He returned to action on May 11, 1977, with his fight broadcast live on prime time network television on NBC. I remember watching the bout on my little 11 inch black and white TV in my bedroom, and honestly rooting for Duane Bobick. He was a sympathetic looking figure, but I knew his odds of beating a top fighter like Ken Norton were almost zero.
Dick Enberg, the hall of fame baseball announcer, did the call that night, and he wasn’t on the job long. Ken overwhelmed Duane from the start, and at one point landed a right uppercut to Bobick’s throat. Not long after, the referee halted the action, and Norton was back in line for another shot at the title.
Four months later he knocked out Lorenzo Zanon in five at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas. On November 5, he was back at Caesar’s Palace to face Jimmy Young, who had upset George Foreman the previous March. The winner would become the number one WBC contender, and be guaranteed a title shot in 1978.
Norton won a close split decision over the slick boxing Young, to put himself in line for a championship fight. On February 15, 1978, Leon Spinks shocked the world and upset Muhammad Ali at the Hilton in Las Vegas, winning the belt after only six pro fights going into that night. When Spinks refused to agree to fight Norton soon after his victory, the WBC stripped him of his title and gave it to Ken Norton. Ken became the first heavyweight fighter in history to win the title, without having actually beaten the current champion in the ring.
After top contender Larry Holmes easily outboxed Earnie Shavers on March 25, 1978, he became the mandatory defense for Norton. Both agreed to meet on June 9, 1978 at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas on ABC live TV. That fight would be the one that sparked my interest in boxing, and that spark became a flame that has stayed lit for 40 plus years. I never knew that Friday night in June of 1978 would be one that would change my life forever.
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