George Chuvalo vs Earnie Shavers & other signed bouts that never occurred.

[sweetsci]

Tried to find info on the Frazier-Ali undercard via newspaper searches. Couldn't find anything about Norton being on the card. Finding whomever his opponent was supposed to be, if his autobiography is correct and he was supposed to be on the card, will require more digging.

I was watching the first Salvador Sanchez - Danny Lopez fight on YouTube. The CBS announcers were talking about upcoming programming and advertised a Mike Rossman - Ramon Ranquello rematch in late February 1980. As it turned out, Rossman pulled out and Michael Spinks stepped in. This was Spinks' first tv appearance in quite some time and it basically started the ball rolling to his winning the title.

[sweetviolenturge]

Tried to find info on the Frazier-Ali undercard via newspaper searches. Couldn't find anything about Norton being on the card. Finding whomever his opponent was supposed to be, if his autobiography is correct and he was supposed to be on the card, will require more digging.

I was watching the first Salvador Sanchez - Danny Lopez fight on YouTube. The CBS announcers were talking about upcoming programming and advertised a Mike Rossman - Ramon Ranquello rematch in late February 1980. As it turned out, Rossman pulled out and Michael Spinks stepped in. This was Spinks' first tv appearance in quite some time and it basically started the ball rolling to his winning the title.

There you go again. That's a good one. I remember that.

[HomicideHenry]

Evander Holyfield vs Francisco Damiani

James J. Jeffries vs Bill Squires

Tommy Burns vs Sam McVey

Jack Johnson vs Sam Langford II
(Was apart of the agreement from the London Athletic Club)

Jack Dempsey vs Harry Wills

John L. Sullivan vs George Godfrey

Teofilio Stevenson vs Muhammad Ali

Rocky Marciano vs Floyd Patterson
(Gillette Cavalcade of Sports; exhibition)

Butterbean vs Joe Bugner

Larry Holmes vs Juan Carlos Gomez

John Ruiz vs Lennox Lewis

Chris Byrd vs Roy Jones Junior

Mike Tyson vs Vitali Klitschko

Mike Tyson vs Skip Hill
(Exhibition; Hill was replaced with Corey Sanders)

Primo Carnera vs Helio Gracie
Joe Louis vs Helio Gracie

Gerry Cooney vs Mike Weaver

Muhammad Ali vs John Tate/Mike Weaver

Rocky Marciano vs Ingemar Johansson

[Caractacus]

Tried to find info on the Frazier-Ali undercard via newspaper searches. Couldn't find anything about Norton being on the card. Finding whomever his opponent was supposed to be, if his autobiography is correct and he was supposed to be on the card, will require more digging.

I was watching the first Salvador Sanchez - Danny Lopez fight on YouTube. The CBS announcers were talking about upcoming programming and advertised a Mike Rossman - Ramon Ranquello rematch in late February 1980. As it turned out, Rossman pulled out and Michael Spinks stepped in. This was Spinks' first tv appearance in quite some time and it basically started the ball rolling to his winning the title.

There was an entire book published about that particular fight called FIGHT OF THE CENTURY,
maybe the answer is in there somewhere.
also I had a thread a few years ago about Ken Norton's earliest recorded film/video-taped fights that has since been deleted.
But I had a link to a youtube clip from around ca.1970-1971 ( as I can recall)
where Ken Norton can be seen in the ring in the background in his robe and he looks to be getting ready for a fight.
It looked like a "Walk-Out" fight.
for some reason (going by memory) I seem to remember Joe Frazier was involved somehow,
either fighting or being inter-viewed.My memory thinks it was in NYC.
However it doesn't appear that Ken Norton had not fought on any of Joe Frazier's fights,
so my memory could be in error.But I'm still trying to remember what clip I saw this in.

[sweetviolenturge]

Tried to find info on the Frazier-Ali undercard via newspaper searches. Couldn't find anything about Norton being on the card. Finding whomever his opponent was supposed to be, if his autobiography is correct and he was supposed to be on the card, will require more digging.

I was watching the first Salvador Sanchez - Danny Lopez fight on YouTube. The CBS announcers were talking about upcoming programming and advertised a Mike Rossman - Ramon Ranquello rematch in late February 1980. As it turned out, Rossman pulled out and Michael Spinks stepped in. This was Spinks' first tv appearance in quite some time and it basically started the ball rolling to his winning the title.

There was an entire book published about that particular fight called FIGHT OF THE CENTURY,
maybe the answer is in there somewhere.
also I had a thread a few years ago about Ken Norton's earliest recorded film/video-taped fights that has since been deleted.
But I had a link to a youtube clip from around ca.1970-1971 ( as I can recall)
where Ken Norton can be seen in the ring in the background in his robe and he looks to be getting ready for a fight.
It looked like a "Walk-Out" fight.
for some reason (going by memory) I seem to remember Joe Frazier was involved somehow,
either fighting or being inter-viewed.My memory thinks it was in NYC.
However it doesn't appear that Ken Norton had not fought on any of Joe Frazier's fights,
so my memory could be in error.But I'm still trying to remember what clip I saw this in.

Oh, man, that's too bad that the thread you mention was deleted. I'd have loved to have read it.
I became a boxing fan when I was 14 in 1976 & Norton fought Ron Stander on the undercard of the second fight event that I ever watched. That being Ali's dubious decision win over Jimmy Young. Anyhow, Norton became my first favorite fighter.
So, what was determined to be Norton's first filmed/recorded fight?

[Caractacus]

I think Norton vrs Henry Clark which was the preliminary to the Muhammad Ali vrs Bob Foster closed-circuit televised fight from November
1972. As far as the earliest video footage of Ken Norton,I think that may be his sparring session with Ron Lyle,
when 60 minutes first did their story on Ron Lyle when he was up and coming and sent him to spar with Joe Frazier when Frazier was preparing to fight Muhammad Ali for the first time in 1971.Frazier refused to spar with Lyle so Norton did it instead. (they repeated and also updated the story 2 more times,
when he was going to fight Jerry Quarry and again for the last time when he got a shot at the HW title against Muhammad Ali in 1975.

[Caractacus]

Joe Louis vrs Johnny Risko was scheduled for December.14.1936,but Risko fractured his ribs during training
and Eddie Simms took his place.

[Syntax Error]

Tyson v Holyfield, Autumn 1991.

This fight would've been probably in the same breath of the Ali vs Frazier I in terms of anticipation. I was so disappointed that it didn't happened then. It had that aura.

Agreed.

I was so excited for that fight (moreso than any other at that point), even though I thought Tyson wasn't quite the same animal he was previously, I thought he'd put paid to Holyfield anyway, but looking back, I think Holyfield would have exposed him badly.

[elmersalsa]

Speaking of Duran, he was actually originally scheduled to fight Wilfred Benitez in a 10 round non-title fight at MSG on 11/18/77, but he pulled out of the fight leaving Benitez to fight a replacement opponent in Bruce Curry. Though Curry was unbeaten in 13 pro fights at that point he was a rather green prospect & not yet a contender so Benitez slacked off in his preparation. Which nearly cost him when he showed up in mediocre shape & uninspired. Curry dropped him twice toward the end of the 4th round & then dropped him again early in the fifth. Which would have been enough to earn Curry the decision had in been scored on points but at the time in NYS all fights were scored on the rounds system. So Benitez was able to win a split decision when the referee's score of 5-4-1 for Curry was overruled by the two judge's scores of 5-4-1 & 7-3 for Benitez.
The two met again three months later on 2/4/78 with a better conditioned & focused Benitez winning a majority decision over Curry by scores of 9-1, 7-3 & 5-5.

Why The Hands of Stone pulled out of the fight against the great Wilfred Benitez in '77?

[evrenb]

Tried to find info on the Frazier-Ali undercard via newspaper searches. Couldn't find anything about Norton being on the card. Finding whomever his opponent was supposed to be, if his autobiography is correct and he was supposed to be on the card, will require more digging.

I was watching the first Salvador Sanchez - Danny Lopez fight on YouTube. The CBS announcers were talking about upcoming programming and advertised a Mike Rossman - Ramon Ranquello rematch in late February 1980. As it turned out, Rossman pulled out and Michael Spinks stepped in. This was Spinks' first tv appearance in quite some time and it basically started the ball rolling to his winning the title.

There was an entire book published about that particular fight called FIGHT OF THE CENTURY,
maybe the answer is in there somewhere.
also I had a thread a few years ago about Ken Norton's earliest recorded film/video-taped fights that has since been deleted.
But I had a link to a youtube clip from around ca.1970-1971 ( as I can recall)
where Ken Norton can be seen in the ring in the background in his robe and he looks to be getting ready for a fight.
It looked like a "Walk-Out" fight.
for some reason (going by memory) I seem to remember Joe Frazier was involved somehow,
either fighting or being inter-viewed.My memory thinks it was in NYC.
However it doesn't appear that Ken Norton had not fought on any of Joe Frazier's fights,
so my memory could be in error.But I'm still trying to remember what clip I saw this in.

I could be wrong but I think you are talking about a Jimmy young fight. At msg on the undercard of Patterson vs Bonavena...against Jasper Evans.