By the time both fighters met again 3 years after their September 1973 bout, much had changed. Ali had recaptured the title with his famous upset win of George Foreman in October of 1974, and had kept it for nearly two years. He had defeated a string of challengers. and beaten Joe Frazier in the third fight of their trilogy. Ali was famous worldwide, and boxing rode on his shoulders.
Norton on the other hand, had suffered a humiliating second round knockout in March of1974. He went on the comeback trail, which landed at Yankee Stadium on September 30,1976, the site of his last shot at Ali.
Norton was muscular and strong and in perfect shape at 217 1/2 lbs., while Ali had come in at a ready 221 himself. Always the aggressor, Ken fought well and was winning a good amount of the rounds as the fight progressed. At one point he landed a crushing blow to Ali’s side, and the champ turned and winced in obvious pain. Muhammad boxed effectively in spots, but it was obvious Norton was the stronger of the two as the fight reached the closing rounds. When the judges scored a split decision for Ali, Ken was in tears, while the champ grinned half-heartedly in relief. In my opinion the fight could have gone either way, but with Ali carrying boxing on his back, the judges leaned their votes in his favor. Fair or not, its the way it was. Ali retained his belt, and Norton admitted the loss took his heart away, and he lost his real love for the sport afterwards. Despite rumors, the two would never meet again.
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