Muhammad Ali vs. Ken Norton (3rd meeting)

Challenger rankings

Org.	Pos.	As of	Published
1+ Mth. Old
WBA	1	28.02.1976	20.03.1976
WBC	2	~31.03.1976	by 02.04.1976
Ring	N/A	N/A	N/A
2+ Mth. Old
WBA	N/A	N/A	N/A
WBC	N/A	N/A	N/A
Ring	1	~01.03.1976	20.02-04.03.1976
3+ Mth. Old
WBA	2	~31.01.1976	by 01.02.1976
WBC	N/A	N/A	N/A
Ring	1	~31.01.1975	06.02.1976

Ken Norton 218 lbs lost to Muhammad Ali 221 lbs by UD in round 15 of 15

• Date: 1976-09-28
• Location: Yankee Stadium, The Bronx, New York, USA
• Referee: Arthur Mercante 6-8
• Judge: Harold Lederman 7-8
• Judge: Barney Smith 7-8

• WBC World Heavyweight Title (8th defense by Ali)
• WBA World Heavyweight Title (8th defense by Ali)

Notes

• Bout announced on May 14.[1]
• Ali was an 8 to 5 betting favorite.
• Ali said of Norton before the fight: "I'll knock the sucker out inside five rounds."
• At the time of the third Ali-Norton bout, the last time a heavyweight champion lost the title by decision was when Max Baer lost a fifteen-round unanimous decision to Jim Braddock in 1935.
• Ali was guaranteed $6 million plus 50% of all revenue over $9 million, and Norton was guaranteed $1 million plus 5% of all revenue.
• The fight was shown on closed circuit television in 300 locations in the United States and Canada.

The Fight

Jabs	Ali	Norton
Landed	71	94
Thrown	345	289
Percent	20.6%	32.5%
Power Punches	Ali	Norton
Landed	128	192
Thrown	364	346
Percent	35.2%	55.5%
Total Punches	Ali	Norton
Landed	199	286
Thrown	709	635
Percent	28.1%	45%
compuboxonline.com

• The live gate was announced as $3.5 million.
• New York City police officers were on strike, leaving thousands of fans to police themselves. There were unruly mobs outside of Yankee Stadium, which promoter Bob Arum said created an atmosphere of chaos and terror, reducing the walk-up sales on fight night from the expected 10,000 to just 10. Though the attendance was announced at over 30,000, Arum said that was the pre-sale and only about 19,000 people actually made it into Yankee Stadium.
• Norton said after the fight: "I won at least nine or ten rounds. I was robbed."
• Ali said after the fight: "I had just enough to win. I know I'm the winner."
• Ali said during an interview with Mark Cronin in October of 1976: "Kenny’s style is too difficult for me. I can’t beat him, and I sure don’t want to fight him again. I honestly thought he beat me in Yankee Stadium, but the judges gave it to me, and I’m grateful to them."
• The January 1998 issue of Boxing Monthly ranked Ali-Norton III as the fifth most disputed title fight decision in history.
• Unofficial AP scorecard: 9-6 Ali; unofficial UPI scorecard: 8-7 Norton.
• Fight Poster, Photo #2, Photo #3.

Articles

• "Ali and Norton in war of words" Glasgow Herald, September 23, 1976
• "Norton Claims, 'I Was Robbed'" Milwaukee Sentinel, September 29, 1976
• "Ali Plain Lucky To Win Decision" Milwaukee Sentinel, September 29, 1976
• "Norton thinking of retirement" UPI, September 29, 1976
• "Judges' 'Rally' Decisive" by Dick Young, New York News, September 30, 1976
• "Debate May Rage Infinitely" AP, September 30, 1976
• "A night to remember in the Bronx" by Wallace Matthews, ESPN, June 3, 2010
• "The real action was outside the Stadium" by Michael Woods, ESPN, June 4, 2010
• "Ken Norton will be remembered as one of the best heavyweights ever" by Dwayne McClary, The Grio, September 19, 2013

See Also

• Muhammad Ali vs. Ken Norton (1st meeting)
• Muhammad Ali vs. Ken Norton (2nd meeting)

Preceded by: Ali vs. Dunn	WBA Heavyweight Title Fight # 27	Succeeded by: Ali vs. Evangelista
Preceded by: Ali vs. Dunn	WBC Heavyweight Title Fight # 28	Succeeded by: Ali vs. Evangelista