BoxRec

What do you think about it?

Terry Norris was a terrific fighter. Great combination of speed and power. Julio Cesar Chavez wanted nothing to do with him.
His chin, of course, was less than granite, but he learned to do a good job protecting it after he was put to sleep by Jackson.
Later got sloppy and overconfident heading into the rescheduled Brown matchup, but put on a boxing clinic against a very solid fighter in the rematch.
The guy beats Taylor, Leonard, Curry, Mugabi and Brown.
He may not qualify for the "Legend" category but in no way is he overrated.

Just curious Vlad.
For you to pose this question, it would appear that you have substantial doubts about Norris' fistic quality.
Why?

Neither. A talented fighter who is not an all time great, certainly no shame in that!

It's interesting for me.

What who thinks about Norris on this forum.

On the Russians boxing forums lot of people thinks than Norris overrated.

For me Norris great boxer,one of the best light middleweights in boxing history.

Fair 'nuff.
Just think that there's a HUGE chasm between legend and overrated.
Norris was neither. Just outstanding.

BTW, do you have any clue as to why Russians in particular downgrade Norris' abilities??

One of the most OVERRATED FIGHTERS EVER

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.

SamWise72 wrote: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.

I suppose it depends on how you define "legend."
I think of a boxing legend as one of the all-time greats in the sports. The elite of the elite.

Others might view a legend as one who is famous beyond words. Not neccesarily ultra talented but someone who is known to all.

I prefer my first definition. If you're the elite among elites, you can't be overrated.

I consider Terry Norris to be a pretty damn talented fighter. He had some chin issues and apparently some temper issues, but he definitely was an excellent boxer with a lot of pop in his hands.

I think he would've given a lot of guys hell at his peak.

It's possible to overrate even the very greatest. If you claim that Robinson would beat Ali and Louis on the same night, you're overrating him. In my opinion, Ali is the greatest heavyweight of all time, but is overrated by the casual fan, many of whom consider him the GOAT pound for pound.

Overall though, I agree. Norris is neither a legend, nor very overrated.

Very good but not great.

Very good fighter but nowhere near great

One of the most overrated fighters of all time.

Excellent boxer with spiteful power, he was very tempramental though as the Luis Santana bouts showed. I liked to watch him box, he was very, very good - he had a lot of guts too - after being whacked by Jackson he got straight in with Mugabi! He may not be a legend proper but will be a hall of famer and a local legend no doubt.

He was the best light middle in the world for an extended period. Good enough that a fighter as talented as say Pernell Whittaker would never have wanted any part of him. Not necessary a legend, but good enough to mix it with Winky Wrights and Fernando Vegas' if they'd been part of his era.

polecateddy wrote:He was the best light middle in the world for an extended period. Good enough that a fighter as talented as say Pernell Whittaker would never have wanted any part of him. Not necessary a legend, but good enough to mix it with Winky Wrights and Fernando Vegas' if they'd been part of his era.

I think it's quite possible he would've beaten Pernell Whitaker at 154...but consider Sweet Pea never fought there it's not a fair matchup I suppose.

I definitely think he could've held his own with the Wright's and Vargas' of the world. Though both of those fights would be toss ups to me. I think he'd probably outbox Vargas and I think he'd lose to Winky.

gilgamesh wrote:

polecateddy wrote:He was the best light middle in the world for an extended period. Good enough that a fighter as talented as say Pernell Whittaker would never have wanted any part of him. Not necessary a legend, but good enough to mix it with Winky Wrights and Fernando Vegas' if they'd been part of his era.

I think it's quite possible he would've beaten Pernell Whitaker at 154...but consider Sweet Pea never fought there it's not a fair matchup I suppose.

I definitely think he could've held his own with the Wright's and Vargas' of the world. Though both of those fights would be toss ups to me. I think he'd probably outbox Vargas and I think he'd lose to Winky.

What are you on about? Pernell won a title at light middle, cherry picking the weakest champ.

polecateddy wrote:

gilgamesh wrote:

polecateddy wrote:He was the best light middle in the world for an extended period. Good enough that a fighter as talented as say Pernell Whittaker would never have wanted any part of him. Not necessary a legend, but good enough to mix it with Winky Wrights and Fernando Vegas' if they'd been part of his era.

I think it's quite possible he would've beaten Pernell Whitaker at 154...but consider Sweet Pea never fought there it's not a fair matchup I suppose.

I definitely think he could've held his own with the Wright's and Vargas' of the world. Though both of those fights would be toss ups to me. I think he'd probably outbox Vargas and I think he'd lose to Winky.

What are you on about? Pernell won a title at light middle, cherry picking the weakest champ.

Is that right? I didn't know that...though it doesn't surprise me. In that case I'll just say I would've picked Norris to beat him at 154.

Whitaker said after fighting at 154 that those guys were just too big. Fair call, the guy was in effect a lightweight

bollox wrote:Whitaker said after fighting at 154 that those guys were just too big. Fair call, the guy was in effect a lightweight

Well he was really a welter who wasn't comfortable going any higher. Norris of 1995 - the year Pernell dipped his toe at 11 stone - was one of Terry's best. I think he would have beaten Whittaker on points.

polecateddy wrote:

gilgamesh wrote:

polecateddy wrote:He was the best light middle in the world for an extended period. Good enough that a fighter as talented as say Pernell Whittaker would never have wanted any part of him. Not necessary a legend, but good enough to mix it with Winky Wrights and Fernando Vegas' if they'd been part of his era.

I think it's quite possible he would've beaten Pernell Whitaker at 154...but consider Sweet Pea never fought there it's not a fair matchup I suppose.

I definitely think he could've held his own with the Wright's and Vargas' of the world. Though both of those fights would be toss ups to me. I think he'd probably outbox Vargas and I think he'd lose to Winky.

What are you on about? Pernell won a title at light middle, cherry picking the weakest champ.

He did and moved straight back down, Vasquez was pretty basic, very strong and predictable; I'd not pick him over Norris on winning every round v Vasquez to be honest (though it depends how disciplined Terry was in the bout, I imagine Pernell would frustrate the hell out of him and terry may have fouled his way out).

polecateddy wrote:

bollox wrote:Whitaker said after fighting at 154 that those guys were just too big. Fair call, the guy was in effect a lightweight

Well he was really a welter who wasn't comfortable going any higher. Norris of 1995 - the year Pernell dipped his toe at 11 stone - was one of Terry's best. I think he would have beaten Whittaker on points.

Norris may have beaten Whitaker at 154 but Whitaker was a great fighter and Norris wasn't. Big difference between their respective abilities and there should b a big difference in their historical standing. So I suppose this highlights what I've been on about for years about how all the division hopping is skewing boxing's historical perspective, and also of fantasy matchups

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

polecateddy wrote: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