Ken Norton vs Roy 'Tiger' Williams

[James9753]

After watching Williams' fights against Holmes and Shavers (who he very nearly beat), how would he have coped against Ken Norton?

[sweetviolenturge]

"Tiger" Williams was a big, strong skilled heavyweight that could give anyone in the division a tough night but he wasn't in Norton's class. Williams, after all, had lost to the like of Richard Dunn during the course of his career & at the end of the day, did his best work as a sparring partner. So, I'd go with Norton via a 10 round decision or late round TKO as "Tiger" was known to gas out a bit.

[SenorPipino]

One sided for Norton.

Williams, finding himself outgunned by the faster, sharper Norton, goes into a shell and only punches back sporadically.

Norton wins almost every round.

Williams had a very tough chin, so a KO isn't likely. But Williams did have a penchant for gassing, so maybe if Norton poured it on, he could have stopped the Tiger late.

[Nile4000]

If this was 1976, Norton by 6th round stoppage. Too much for Roy at this stage. A great matchup for Roy at this time would be Ron Lyle and Mac Foster.

[klompton]

For some reason Williams is one of those guys a lot of people wonder about. There seems to be this idea that he never got the breaks and that with a little luck he could have been something. I disagree. He was big, strong, and hard hitting but he had a sparring partners mentality and his work rate in fights was awful. The guy lost every time he stepped up. His best wins are against a five fight Jimmy Young in a four rounder and 10 round decision over Roger Russell whose record at the time was 11-9-2. That pretty much says it all. He may have been scary as Holmes used to say but he was also slow, predictable, and didnt let his hands go. He went as far as he could have.

[SenorPipino]

For some reason Williams is one of those guys a lot of people wonder about. There seems to be this idea that he never got the breaks and that with a little luck he could have been something. I disagree. He was big, strong, and hard hitting but he had a sparring partners mentality and his work rate in fights was awful. The guy lost every time he stepped up. His best wins are against a five fight Jimmy Young in a four rounder and 10 round decision over Roger Russell whose record at the time was 11-9-2. That pretty much says it all. He may have been scary as Holmes used to say but he was also slow, predictable, and didnt let his hands go. He went as far as he could have.

Agree.

He often went through periods in fights where he posed but didn't punch.

That's why I feel he would probably be in a defensive shell throughout most of a fantasy Norton fight.

He would open up. But not often enough.

Williams was a fabulous sparring partner. And often looked like one when he fought.

Out of the ring, Williams was seen as a nasty, testy SOB.

[scorpio83]

Prime Ken Norton would wear Roy "Tiger" Williams down and KO him in the 8th round.

[ron4972]

Norton would have won this fight in a big way. Probably by later round knockout or TKO.

Outside of Ali, Foreman, and Frazier, Norton at his peak was better than anyone else. We're talking about the 1973 to 1977 period. Kenny had almost everything going for him: power, speed, athleticism, strength, defense, size, and brutal jabbing ability.

Tiger Williams was certainly a good fighter. He was underrated and under-promoted. But I question if he could have beaten any of the top 6 or 7 heavies in the world. Let's keep in mind that Williams -- during his prime -- was defeated by Richard Dunn and Larry Middleton. I think that puts matters into perspective concerning his abilities.

[Ambling Alp II]

Middleton wasn't bad, but Dunn certainly was. Losing to him is pretty embarrassing.
The fight he had with Shavers showed he had some ability. If anyone has not seen it, I believe it's on Youtube. Fantastic action. However, he clearly didn't fight like that all of the time.

[gilgamesh]

One sided for Norton.

Williams, finding himself outgunned by the faster, sharper Norton, goes into a shell and only punches back sporadically.

Norton wins almost every round.

Williams had a very tough chin, so a KO isn't likely. But Williams did have a penchant for gassing, so maybe if Norton poured it on, he could have stopped the Tiger late.

[badkatt]

norton no prob via dec. or stoppage late in the fight ..that looping over hand right by norton would have landed all nite long ...roy williams a big man for that time wasnt a very big puncher ....to me it would look like bowe v gonzales all over again only a bit longer

[scorpio83]

norton no prob via dec. or stoppage late in the fight ..that looping over hand right by norton would have landed all nite long ...roy williams a big man for that time wasnt a very big puncher ....to me it would look like bowe v gonzales all over again only a bit longer

I agree, Norton would wear Big Roy down with body punches before setting up with an overhand right to either decision him or knock him out in around 9 rounds.