Terry Norris - a Legend or very overrated boxer?

[palooka]

Pernell was floored in one round if memory serves, as he usually was. So didn't win every round.

I stand corrected ; 118-110, 116-110, 118-107 pretty close bout

[Bricks]

I'm glad he got the millions back off Don king.

But he fought in a terrific era and was considered number 1 at on for 6-7 years.that would be the feeling except this great era I speak of, most of what he did was bear up shot legends or shot very good fighters.if Julian Jackson played him it's a fair chance mike McCollum would off.in fairness Trinidad,quartet and Whittaker didn't want him and the Santana debacles pretty much derailed his career.still his very sudden deterioration in 97-98 was shocking to see.I think Don king did voodoo on him

[Syntax Error]

Terry Norris sits in the middle.

He's not an ATG, but he was a talented fighter that achieved a great deal & therefore, deserves credit.

I wouldn't say he was overrated, because I don't recall Norris ever getting rated in the upper echelons of rankings that fight fans like to put together.

[elmersalsa]

Terrible Terry Norris was a hyped fighter that only fought and feasted of washed up legends like the great Sugar Ray Leonard, and smaller good champions like Donald Curry and Meldrick Taylor. Curry and Taylor were already shot when they fought Norris. Also John "The Beast" Mugabi was damaged goods.

Terrible Terry wanted to fight the greats Julio Cesar Chavez and Pernell Whitaker for cripe's sake. Two fighters way smaller than he. But when the reporter mentioned him a fight with the great Roy Jones, Jr, Gerald McClellan or a rematch with Julian Jackson, he looked the other way.

Also when he was scheduled to fight Felix "Tito" Trinidad in 1996, he definately did not want that fight.

He was VASTLY OVERRATED!!!

[elmersalsa]

Terry Norris sits in the middle.

He's not an ATG, but he was a talented fighter that achieved a great deal & therefore, deserves credit.

I wouldn't say he was overrated, because I don't recall Norris ever getting rated in the upper echelons of rankings that fight fans like to put together.

Exacto Mundo

Terry Norris was an excellent fighter.

With his style, he would have beaten any 'and I mean any' version of Ray Leonard.

Say what??? Norris do not carry Sugar Ray's jockstrap. The Sugar Ray that beat Ayub Kalule destroys Norris. Even though that at 154lbs, Leonard did not look that good, Norris is not in his class.

[palooka]

Terry Norris sits in the middle.

He's not an ATG, but he was a talented fighter that achieved a great deal & therefore, deserves credit.

I wouldn't say he was overrated, because I don't recall Norris ever getting rated in the upper echelons of rankings that fight fans like to put together.

Exacto Mundo

Terry Norris was an excellent fighter.

With his style, he would have beaten any 'and I mean any' version of Ray Leonard.

Say what??? Norris do not carry Sugar Ray's jockstrap. The Sugar Ray that beat Ayub Kalule destroys Norris. Even though that at 154lbs, Leonard did not look that good, Norris is not in his class.

But the Sugar Ray that boxed Norris lost to him; you can't fault Norris for boxing big names that called him out and pulled strings to box him and neither can you knock him for not moving out of his preferred weight class, he dominated his division for a while and faced some very good fighters - though he didn't rematch Jackson he did Brown who knocked him silly - Norris had a lot of guts.

[davie]

With his style, he would have beaten any 'and I mean any' version of Ray Leonard.

i never started watching boxing until the mid 90s and even then the first few years as a fan were spent watching british fighters,
so i missed the era of greats like leonard, duran, hagler and hearns. i recently bought box sets of those 4 fighters careers and have just polished off leonards fight history in the space of a fortnight.

now i don't know a great deal of norris, but the guy i watched beat leonard beat a legend well past his best.
norris looked a very good fighter in his own right
but the norris i just watched, a guy considered in his prime, would have lost comfortably to leonard in his prime.
if a prime norris fought prime leonard 5 times, he wouldn't have picked up so much as a draw

[SenorPipino]

Good interview with Terrible Terry in the current issue of Ring Magazine.
Although he suffers from boxing-related dementia, he clearly recalls his fights.
Speaks very highly of Leonard, even if Leonard was nearing the end of the line at that time. Ranks Sugar Ray as the overall best.

[elmersalsa]

[quote="palooka][/quote]

But the Sugar Ray that boxed Norris lost to him; you can't fault Norris for boxing big names that called him out and pulled strings to box him and neither can you knock him for not moving out of his preferred weight class, he dominated his division for a while and faced some very good fighters - though he didn't rematch Jackson he did Brown who knocked him silly - Norris had a lot of guts.[/quote]

Yeah, he got guts with guys that he knew he could beat. But if you mention to him Julian Jackson for a rematch, he would have think about it. Sugar Ray was WASHED UP when he fought him

[elmersalsa]

With his style, he would have beaten any 'and I mean any' version of Ray Leonard.

i never started watching boxing until the mid 90s and even then the first few years as a fan were spent watching british fighters,
so i missed the era of greats like leonard, duran, hagler and hearns. i recently bought box sets of those 4 fighters careers and have just polished off leonards fight history in the space of a fortnight.

now i don't know a great deal of norris, but the guy i watched beat leonard beat a legend well past his best.
norris looked a very good fighter in his own right
but the norris i just watched, a guy considered in his prime, would have lost comfortably to leonard in his prime.
if a prime norris fought prime leonard 5 times, he wouldn't have picked up so much as a draw

You right. Sugar Ray was a class above. Maybe two.

[Bricks]

In fairness to Norris he made srl look like a shot fighter in the ring.prior to that the consensus was that ray was far removed from his welterweight days but was still a p4p top ten guy capable of matching up with a nunn.

Mugabi ,Taylor, were shot to pieces and Norris ravished them

Emersalsa makes great points.Norris didn't want any of rjj,toney,McClellan, or even Mccallum.that's not to say he might not have beaten any of them.just he fought a lot if guys moving up from 147 or shot.the Santana debacles font detract that Terry was a terrific talent not a atg but a hall of famer

[hurlock]

A huge gap between legend and overrated? I don't agree. I think the two aren't even mutually exclusive. Ali and Tyson, for instance, are both definitely legends, but both often overrated.

Stupid statement!!

Best if there time !!
Ali had & done everything there is to do I the sport.

[Hairy Arse]

The Leonard-Norris fight was basically the equivalent of the De La Hoya-Pacquiao fight. Both Leonard and Oscar were far removed from their prime as it was, but the draining of their bodies to be on target for a weight class they'd not made in many, many years - and while they were in their mid 30's - is what really done them in. Then you throw them in with two speed demons, operating at the absolute peak of their powers and you have a full blown mismatch. Oscar had the good sense to pack it in before things really got ugly, unlike Leonard.

[Seamus]

Can't remember exactly where I once saw this, but it was the skinny on Terry Norris and went something like.

Strengths. Great combination of speed, power and boxing skills.

Weaknesses. Your sister could give him a standing 8 count.

[Hairy Arse]

Terry Norris was a terrific fighter. Great combination of speed and power. Julio Cesar Chavez wanted nothing to do with him.

Why would he? Norris was competing in a weight class two divisions above his.

[palooka]

Terry Norris was a terrific fighter. Great combination of speed and power. Julio Cesar Chavez wanted nothing to do with him.

Why would he? Norris was competing in a weight class two divisions above his.

And by the same token why would Norris be bothered about facing boxers who boiled down to middle (and spent the majority of their careers at supermiddle or light heavy) when he made light middle with little trouble? It's one thing to make a case against someone but one has to play fair and be consistent - what's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.

[Hairy Arse]

One of the first posts in this thread was the suggestion that Chavez avoided Norris, not that Norris was avoiding any middleweights. Although it is worth noting that Jackson was willing to move back down to 154 for another fight.

[polecateddy]

I think no one seriously ever expected Chavez to go to light middle after seeing him as a soft welter. Likewise, Norris would have probably got smashed at middle by the top liners. Probably he would have fine okay against Oscar and Shane, but I reckon Trinadad would have flattened him.

[SaadOffTheDeck]

Oscar had the good sense to pack it in before things really got ugly, unlike Leonard.

[bollox]

I think no one seriously ever expected Chavez to go to light middle after seeing him as a soft welter. Likewise, Norris would have probably got smashed at middle by the top liners. Probably he would have fine okay against Oscar and Shane, but I reckon Trinadad would have flattened him.

Agreed. I was mildly surprised he went to welter but that's where the $$$ was I suppose. For a guy that won his first title at 130 to end up at 154 would have been ridiculous (without some horse pills anyway )

As for Norris, he was a small LMW and I'd say may have been able to get down to welter without too much bother

[polecateddy]

He was a decent, quick boxer when he had his boxers' head on. Fire fights tended to end badly for him. Possibly he was a tiny bit flattered by beating a faded Leonard, and then the general lack of talent he faced in his division at that time.

[stevedoc]

norris was a fantastic boxer ,a guy that could box and bang he would of KO'd canelo i think and beat whitaker if they ever fought ,
i have norris as the 2nd best 154 fight behind hearns and i think norris give mayweather a very hard fight .

[Vladimir5555]

I think Norris could beat Floyd at 154.