After his split decision win over Tex Cobb, Ken Norton was signed to take on the up and coming prospect Gerry Cooney. The bout was set for May 11 in Madison Square Garden in New York City, and would be broadcast on HBO TV. Since we didn’t have cable tv and I wanted to see the fight, I went to a local bar restaurant, and took a seat on a barstool. As I sipped on my Coke, I realized there was no sound on the television set. I was about to ask the bartender to turn up the volume, but it turned out not to matter.
Even though Norton looked great physically, I knew he was a shot fighter who also lied about his age, He was far older than the 35 he admitted to, and I went to see the fight because I was curious more than anything. As soon as the thing started, it was obvious it wouldn’t last long. Cooney was aggressive and cornered Ken quickly. A series of brutal hooks ended the sad affair in 54 total seconds. That included about 3 hooks that never should have landed because referee Tony Perez did a horrible job in halting the action. Norton looked like a dead man slumped in his corner, and his career was over for sure.
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