KEN NORTON AMATEUR RECORD

[phil]

cAN ANYBODY HELP IN THIS MATTER?

aNY DETAILS WOIULD BE APPRECIATED.

i THINK HE FOUGHT cOOKIE wALLACE

pHIL
THANKS

[delisa]

Amateur Record: 24-2

1966
--- James Howard L 3
(AAU Heavyweight Championship bout)


AAU's usually held in April

[phil]

Thanks Mike.

2 bouts, 24 to go...!

Phil

[Nile4000]

Thanks Mike.

2 bouts, 24 to go...!

Phil

Didn't he lose in another AAU championship bout?

[Brutu]

Ken Norton took up boxing at Camp Lejeune North Carolina in 1963.
His record in his first year was 10-1(points loss).
During the Summer of 1966 he was transferred to Camp Pendelton near San Diego California
were he continued to box.
His overall amateur boxing record was 24-2(19 by KO).
Including 3 All-Marine Heavyweight titles from 1965-1966-1967.
He was honorably discharged from the Marines September 1967
and had his first pro fight the following November.

[Brutu]

Are we talking about the same Kenneth Howard Norton(Sr.) formerly of Jacksonville Illinois?
I was just re-reading his autobiography GOING THE DISTANCE the other day.
In it,he stated that when he was in the Ninth grade he was 5 ft 11 inches tall and weighed 165 lbs.
By the time he was a senior in HS,he was 6 ft 3" and 195 lbs.

[Brutu]

Ken Norton fought Ray"Cookie"Wallace in the semi finals of the
77th AAU tournament at High Point NC
in April 1966.
Norton had Wallace down in the third round.
In the finals Ken Norton lost on points to James Howard,
( Norton knocked down Howard in the third round).
James Howard had earlier reached the finals by out pointing the all-service champion Richard Pettigrew.
and Pettigrew earlier had outpointed Roger Lewis in the quarter finals.

[Brutu]

There appears to be some confusion concerning Ken Norton and the boxing trials for the
1967 Pan American games.
According to one source,
Forrest Ward won the 1967 AAU heavyweight title.
Ward was only 17 years old and defeated the former AAU champ Clay Hodges in the semi-finals
then defeated Ken Norton in the finals.
It also states that Ken Norton won the trails for the 1967 Pan American Games.

According to Norton's 2000 autobiography however,
he says he defeated Ward (soundly)in the AAU tournament
the winner of which was to go to the trials
,but Norton was vetoed off in favour of Forrest Ward,
because they felt Norton's style was not "International" enough.

http://books.google.com/books?id=J_dlbr ... pg=PA38&dq

Forrest Ward won the 1967 Pan American heavyweight title by knocking out
Luis Cabrera of Cuba in the first round.

So either the 1967 AAU tournament or the boxing trials for the Pan American games
was Norton's last amateur bout.

[Brutu]

I found a little more info on Ken Norton's amateur boxing bouts
from 1965-1967

-North Carolina AAU Golden Gloves
-International AAU
-Pan American title

Can anyone confirm whom it was that Ken Norton defeated to win the
Pan American Games boxing trials which were in May 1967?

[Brutu]

Ken Norton fought Weldon Benton three times in the amateurs
Norton won all three bouts with Benton,including one by KO.

http://www.carolinasboxinghalloffame.com/weldon-benton

[Brutu]

here is the name of another amateur that Ken Norton fought at Camp Lejeune in 1965.
A fellow Marine named Gerald Parrish.

http://www.scuttlebuttsmallchow.com/bulletin.html

[Brutu]

Regarding the 1967 National AAU boxing championships
that was in San Diego California April 1967.

-Quarterfinals-

Ken Norton win over Wesley Craven
Clay Hodges win over Mike Boswell

-Semi-finals-

Ken Norton win over Chuck Haynes
Forrest Ward win over Clay Hodges

-Finals-

Forrest Ward win(split decision) over Ken Norton

[Brutu]

http://books.google.com/books?id=J_dlbr ... pg=PA38&dq

That is rather curious that Ken Norton would say in his book that he beat Forest Ward
at the AAU tournament when all the records say that it was Ward who had won
the 1967 National AAU heavyweight title on a split decision.
The winner was to advance to the Pan Am games boxing trials.

Maybe Ward was injured in the bout with Norton or maybe from sparring later
and Ken Norton was the stand by?then at the last minute
the team committie said Forest Ward was in good shape to
go to the Pan Am games anyway?

or maybe Ken Norton was just in denial.
Maybe he was ribbed for a long time at the base
by having been defeated by a 17 year old High School student?

[Brutu]

To confuse things even more,here in the same book, Norton says that he wasn't even able to go to the Pan American Games boxing trials(as a participant anyway).


http://books.google.com/books?id=J_dlbr ... pg=PA39&dq

Sounds like Ward's"group of backers"may also have been some of the judges
at the National AAU tournament.

[Nile4000]

The irony of it all is that Ken Norton, George Foreman, Earnie Shavers, and Ron Lyle all fought in the AAU finals from 1967-1970, and amazingly, never crossed paths.

[Brutu]

The irony of it all is that Ken Norton, George Foreman, Earnie Shavers, and Ron Lyle all fought in the AAU finals from 1967-1970, and amazingly, never crossed paths.

I think Ken Norton had already turned pro by the time Foreman,Shavers and Lyle
fought in any AAU finals.
Lyle didn't start fighting in the amateurs until late 1969(not counting prison bouts).
This why I think more boxing historians should study the amateur careers of famous boxers,
particularly back then.It's always glossed over in the biographies and autobiographies Ive read
about them.

[Brutu]

I came across these results in a publication
on page 312.

The Pan American Boxing Trials
St. Paul (MN)Armoury
-July 5-6-1967.

-Semi-finals-

Ken Norton(U.S Marines)win TKO-3,Mike Boswell(Golden Gloves)

Tyrone Hollins(U.S Army) win-decision,Forest Ward(AAU)

-Finals-

Ken Norton wins decision over Tyrone Hollins


http://books.google.com/books?id=GHODAA ... g=PA256&dq

*note in the same publication on page 256 it however lists Hollins winning the decision over Norton,but Im sure that is probably just a typo.

[Brutu]

here is a link to a newspaper article about SGT. Al Wilson who at one time was the All-Marine
Heavyweight champion with a ring record of 140-7
and had fought during the 1960's Mac Foster,Buster Mathis,Ken Norton and George Foreman.


http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=PJ ... 2263792&dq

[Brutu]

Bonus-rare video-tape of George Foreman vs SGT. Al Wilson,
Olympic Trials-September-6-1968.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=aiT2ljAxxx8

[Brutu]

I think it would be interesting to also list any boxing exhibitions that Ken Norton
had done as a pro boxer too.
One was a 4 round exhibition Norton did with Pete"Mole Man"Williams
at the Armory at Washington DC May -8-1973
which was several weeks after he had defeated Ali.
Mole Man Williams was Norton's and Joe Frazier's sparring partner.

[Caractacus]

Has anyone here found some more info to update this thread on Ken Norton's amateur record?

[palooka]

There appears to be some confusion concerning Ken Norton and the boxing trials for the
1967 Pan American games.
According to one source,
Forrest Ward won the 1967 AAU heavyweight title.
Ward was only 17 years old and defeated the former AAU champ Clay Hodges in the semi-finals
then defeated Ken Norton in the finals.
It also states that Ken Norton won the trails for the 1967 Pan American Games.

According to Norton's 2000 autobiography however,
he says he defeated Ward (soundly)in the AAU tournament
the winner of which was to go to the trials
,but Norton was vetoed off in favour of Forrest Ward,
because they felt Norton's style was not "International" enough.

http://books.google.com/books?id=J_dlbr ... pg=PA38&dq

Forrest Ward won the 1967 Pan American heavyweight title by knocking out
Luis Cabrera of Cuba in the first round.

So either the 1967 AAU tournament or the boxing trials for the Pan American games
was Norton's last amateur bout.

hell fire! Forrest Ward sounds an excellent fighter.

[Bob]

Here is what I have for Ken Norton's amateur record:

01/04/65 - Aubrey Grizzelle - TKO 1 - Greensboro (American Legion tournament)
01/05/65 - Robert Wheeler - KO 1 - Greensboro (American Legion tournament semis)
01/06/65 - Weldon Benton - KO 2 - Greensboro (American Legion tournament finals)
01/xx/65 - unknown - W 3 - Fort Campbell
***article on 01/24/65 states he is 4-0
01/29/65 - Scott Rowell - TKO 1 - High Point (Carolina AAU semis)
01/30/65 - Weldon Benton - TKO 2 - High Point (Carolina AAU finals)
02/13/65 - Weldon Benton - W 3 - Charlotte (Carolina Golden Gloves finals)
03/27/65 - Al Wilson - W 3 - Camp Lejeune (All-Marine tournament finals)
***stated he was 9-0 at the time
04/02/65 - Hershel Wood - KO 1 - High Point (National AAU Junior tournament semis)
04/03/65 - Henry Crump - KO 1 - High Point (National AAU Junior tournament finals)
05/06/65 - Richard Pettigrew - W 3 - San Francisco (Hamilton AFB) (Inter-Service Championships semis)
05/07/65 - Charles Flack - L 3 - San Francisco (Hamilton AFB) (Inter-Service Championships finals)
***article on 10/05/65 states he is 14-1 w/ 13 KOs
01/05/66 - Charles Dwyer - W 3 - Greensboro (American Legion tournament finals)
02/18/66 - Bill Murray - TKO 1 - High Point (North Carolina Invitational semis)
02/19/66 - Charles Dwyer - TKO 1 - High Point (North Carolina Invitational finals)
04/15/66 - Gene Strahan - W 3 - High Point (National AAU quarters)
04/16/66 - Roy 'Cookie' Wallace - W 3 - High Point (National AAU semis)
04/16/66 - James Howard - L 3 - High Point (National AAU finals)
03/31/67 - Richard Pettigrew - L 3 - Fort Lewis, WA (Inter-Service Championships finals)
04/07/67 - Wesley Craven - W 3 - San Diego (National AAU quarters)
04/08/67 - Chuck Haynes - W 3 - San Diego (National AAU semis)
04/08/67 - Forrest Ward - L 3 - San Diego (National AAU finals)
07/05/67 - Mike Boswell - TKO 3 - St. Paul (Pan-Am Trials semis)
07/06/67 - Tyrone Hollins - W 3 - St. Paul (Pan-Am Trials finals)
***removed from team after 9 rounds of sparring w/ Ward; committee felt Ward better suited to International style

Let me know if you have any additional fights or any questions...