Ken Norton VS Evander Holyfield

[Maxmomer]

Prime for Prime (At heavyweight, anyway), who wins?

[Russell]

Ohhh, good one.

[tays001]

holyfield would whipe the floor with him. norton is over rated didn't he get blown out by cooney???

[Maxmomer]

holyfield would whipe the floor with him. norton is over rated didn't he get blown out by cooney???

Yeah, but Norton was far past it at the time and he was always weak against big punchers.

[Muchmoore]

Very tough, close fight but Holyfield should edge it by close UD. He had the superior counterpunching ability and that wins it.

[Sonny Carson]

I don't think this would be an easy fight for Holyfield. He gave Holmes alot of problems so I think Holyfield would win a close fight.

[Lex]

Holyfield by a close decision.

Norton was a very good heavyweight, but his main weakness wasn't his heart (despite claims that he caved in mentally against big punchers - I believe that hoohah started after Ken studied self hypnosis and other techniques to improve his focus). It was that "Mongoose" crossed arms defense. It takes a split second to unfold the arms from a defensive to offensive position. Not so bad with shorter armed fellows like Archie Moore and Joe Frazier. But Norton had long arms and I think the style didn't suit his height and reach.

George Foreman has admitted that one of the biggest mistakes he made in boxing (Second Advent of Big George) was dropping his otherwise effective high hands defensive and going to the mongoose style against Holyfield, who picked George apart, going all around that inefficient style.

By the time Big George had waited three and a half years for his title shot against Michael Moorer he'd gone back to his high hands style of catching and trapping punches, which always worked best for B.G. ver. 2.

[JohnThomas1]

For the people who say Norton had a weak chin.You are morons.

Given some of your posts i'd be a bit more cautious in handing out insults.

Who says a prime Foreman wouldnt knockout Holyfield?

Who says he would? Entirely subjective. Given Holyfield's great chin, heart and desire, not to mention underrated technical skill i'd say the odds are that George likely wouldn't knock him out. Certainly not in the unbelievably easy way he did Norton, that's a given.

Who says a prime Shavers couldnt knock out a past his prime Holyfield?

Me. A past prime Holyfield survived 24 rounds vs a still destructive Lennox Lewis, who was vastly better at delivering his Earnie. In another thread you just bagged the shit out of Shavers, calling both he and his power overrated, yet now the shoe fits you cast him in a different light.

Cooney would also knockout a washed up Holyfield and either of these guys could knock out a prime Holyfield as well.

OMFG!

:nut

Holyfield isnt as hard as a puncher as Ali and Norton went 3 fights with Ali without being hurt.

Did Evander pinch your girl or something?

If you say Holyfield is a harder puncher then why was it that Ali could knock down a prime Foreman and Holyfield couldnt knock down a washed up Foreman?

Not much brain needed here. Foreman went berserk vs Ali and punched himself out. When the time was right Ali finished an exhausted Foreman. It was more exhaustion than Ali's power, that's for sure. George fought a totally different fight vs Holy, pacing himself way differently. Like chalk and cheese.

Norton should beat somebody with Holyfields talent level more times than he would lose to them.

Sure he would, he'd beat the Tyson Holyfield did too right? He'd last 24 rounds vs Lewis too right?

Norton's a fine fighter and would be a tough fight for Evander style wise for sure, but give Holyfield some frigging credit. Personally i think he is a class level above Norton.

[Mendoza]

I’m picking Holyfield of course, but I think to be fair you have to give Norton a real chance at the upset. Holyfield had trouble with fighters who could jab. Old man Larry Holmes, Micheal Morrer, Riddick Bowe, Lennox Lewis , and Chris Byrd to name a few.


Norton had a great jab, and his chin was no worse than Morrer, who upset Holyfield. I guess it comes down to which Holyfield shows up. Norton has a real chance for the upset here. Remember Norton beat Ali, and came very close to beating a prime Larry Holmes.

[My dinner with Conteh]

Split decision all the way... 144-142, 141-144, 143-142...but Holy has the edge.

[Shake]

This would be a long, drawn-out fight, which means Norton is competitive throughout. In the end, in my mind, Holyfield probably edges it, but I'm not putting down any money.

[Ted Stickles]

Holyfield hands down...........................

[Luigi1985]

For the people who say Norton had a weak chin.You are morons.Who says a prime Foreman wouldnt knockout Holyfield?Did they ever fight in their primes?Who says a prime Shavers couldnt knock out a past his prime Holyfield?Cooney would also knockout a washed up Holyfield and either of these guys could knock out a prime Holyfield as well.
Holyfield isnt as hard as a puncher as Ali and Norton went 3 fights with Ali without being hurt.If you say Holyfield is a harder puncher then why was it that Ali could knock down a prime Foreman and Holyfield couldnt knock down a washed up Foreman?
Norton should beat somebody with Holyfields talent level more times than he would lose to them.


You´re the new silliest poster here on ESB, I don´t need to answer to your stupid post, JohnThomas1 did it yet and destroyed you literally, you can´t counter here...

[Luigi1985]

Holyfield would win viá UD, 116-112 ca., he had the power to hurt and make Ken respect it, he had also the stamina who´s important for the brilliant conditioned Norton...

[JIm Broughton]

Very interesting fight to say the least. Battle of the body beautifuls and a tough one to call. Put a gun to my head and I'd have to say Evander by decision. He punched hard enough to keep Norton honest and he threw fast combinations as well. I don't think that cross armed defense serves Norton well in this one. Evander would come right at Ken and throw hard fast intelligently placed bombs including the uppercut at Ken which would penetrate that type of defense(Ala Foreman/Cooper/Quawi). Still, Norton's jab and overhand right would make things interesting though. This would be an action fight all the way through whether it goes the distance or ends in a stoppage but I think Holyfield would prevail.

[Bummy Davis]

I think Evander had enough power to Push the button on Norton, the fight would start out competitive but once Evander realizes that Norton cant fight backing up, he takes Ken out

[Lex]

Regarding stamina, that's an edge that definitely goes to Norton. I'm a major fan of Holyfield but over his career it's been frustrating to see how badly he can fade for a round or two midfight, and these are 10 and 12 rounders. I have a hunch that Evander overtrains and leaves too much in the gym.

Norton had incredible stamina for a full 15 rounds, one reason he gave Ali fits. Muhammad Ali, arguably, had the best stamina of any boxer in history. If an opponent could go to 10, Ali could manage 11 (gratuitous "Spinal Tap" reference). That's what gave Ali the narrowest of edges over Norton and Frazier, the toughest foes Ali ever faced over the full distance.

So, as Holyfield fans know, it all depends on which Evander shows up. He was notoriously unpredictable. Brilliant some nights, mediocre and uninspired others; plenty of gas for some bouts, half a tank for others.

In a 10-12 rounder, I give the edge to Holyfield. In a 15 rounder I'll give the nod to Norton by a narrow decision. But if Evander faded mid-fight, as he occasionally did, Norton would kayo Holyfield. Norton was an excellent finisher when he got his man in trouble.

[Bad_Intentions]

Holyfield UD

[Robbi]

Great fight, start to finish. Holyfield wins UD.

[round15]

I'm in the minority here and will say that Norton wins via decision or late KO.
Holyfield wasn't a true heavyweight fighter that Norton was. Forget the George Foreman fight. Norton was scared before he left the dressing room. He watched his sparring partner get whupped by Foreman and I think this affected his performance. Norton had a good jab and was a solid body puncher as well. One thing is for sure, these two heavyweights had the best physiques probably in the history of the sport.

[SteveO]

I'd pick Holy by close decision.

But not every time.

[daredevil1989]

norton SD

[Muchmoore]

This is a very close fight. But Holyfield would edge it by a close UD.

[fg2227]

Think that people are being too harsh on kenny, norton by decision.

[Holmes' Jab]

Holy, by tight UD.

[radianttwilight]

Holyfield backs him up and wins a fairly wide UD (117-111) or so.

[Bokaj]

Norton was at his best against technical boxers that weren't big punchers, so Holyfield would definitely be a good opponent for him (he had a decent punch, but not like Foreman or Shavers). Really hard fight to call. For one thing it depends on wether it's 12 or 15 rounds since Kenny was trained for 15 and Holy for 12. Over 15 I think Norton's superior stamina nicks it for him, but over 12 Holyfield's somewhat better overall technique and arsenal might be decisive.

BUT imo Norton had the better jab and since Holyfield worked off the jab this could off-set him enough for Norton to get a decision. Also, if Holyfield turned it into a brawl, like he liked to do sometimes, it would favour Norton imo since he had the better stamina and the chin to take Holyfield's punches.

All in all I have Norton as a slight favourite. Hard to call, though, but I don't think it would end in a KO for either fighter in any case.

[Ikketurner]

Holyfield would knock Norton out. Holyfield had trouble with bigger fighters (Lewis, Bowe) that had jabs and powerful shots. I don't even see Kenny Norton hurting Holyfield. Norton was successful against Ali, because Ali fought backing up. Holyfield fights coming forward which means they would probably brawl.... and we all know that favors Holyfield.

Holyfield by KO or TKO... who ever mentioned Michael Moorer earlier in this post.... don't forget what happened in the rematch. In both fights Holyfield knocked Moorer down a combined 5 or 6 times.

[Longhhorn71]

Holy, by tight UD.

If Norton had ever defended his "title" he would have moved up to a
different level.

Holyfield won a lot of championship fights.

Gotta go with Holy by UD.