THRILLA IN MANILA GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY 12: MUHAMMAD ALI LOSSES THEN WINS AGAINST KEN NORTON
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Wed, 20 Aug 2025
After stopping Jimmy Ellis, Ali fought Jerry Quarry, and had a second fight with Floyd Patterson, and faced Bob Foster in 1972, winning a total of six fights that year. During his two fights in 1973 with Joe Bugner and Ken Norton, he wore a "People's Choice" robe given to him by Elvis Presley.
Norton was enlisted into the United States Marines Corps after leaving school, serving from 1963 to 1967.
Before his fight with Norton, some scribes said Ali was "gloriously overconfident" and did not consider Norton as a threat. On March 31, 1973, Ali entered the ring at the San Diego Sports Arena as a 5-1 favorite against Norton, who was then rated number 6 world contender in a bout televised by ABC's Wide World of Sports.
But during the fight, in the second round according to most press reports, or in the final round according to Norton himself, Ali's jaw was broken by Norton and lost by split decision suffering the second loss of his career. Norton won the NABF heavyweight title.
At The Forum in Inglewood, California, on September 10, 1973, Ali won a close split decision in a rematch with Norton. Norton weighed in at 206 lbs which is 5 pounds lighter than his first match with Ali. There were raging exchanges of blows in this hard-fought battle. For Ali, a loss in fight would mean a serious blow to his claim of being "The Greatest".
Ali danced and jabbed with Norton also on a continuous offensive. Ali had a hard time penetrating Norton's awkward crab-like cross-armed defensive style. The scoring was so close scoring and the split decision in favor of Ali was controversial.
The win led to a rematch with Joe Frazier at Madison Square Garden on January 28, 1974. Frazier had previously lost his title to George Foreman. Ali won by unanimous decision and took his revenge against his archrival.
Ali's next opponents were Chuck Wepner, Ron Lyle, and Joe Bugner. Wepner, a journeyman known as "The Bayonne Bleeder", surprised Ali with a knockdown in the ninth round. Ali would later say he stumbled on Wepner's foot. The fight inspired Sylvester Stallone to produce the popular film series Rocky. Ali won over Bugner by unanimous decision and stopped Lyle by 11th round TKO.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.
Recent PhilBoxing.com In-House articles:
Inoue and Akhmadaliev Make Weight for Sunday's Battle, Watch it LIVE on Facebook!
By Carlos Costa, Sun, 14 Sep 2025IIEE North Cotabato and Metro Central are the Golden Champion on 3x3 Basketball and 3x3 Chess
By Marlon Bernardino, Sun, 14 Sep 2025Sydney Sy Tancontian is Female Awardee of Sports Hero of the Year
By Lito delos Reyes, Sat, 13 Sep 2025Canelo Alvarez vs Terence Crawford: Size Matters
By Chris Carlson, Sat, 13 Sep 2025BOOTS TALKS SPARRING WITH CANELO IN ‘DAY IN THE LIFE’
Sat, 13 Sep 2025WEIGHTS FROM LAS VEGAS: CANELO - 167.5 LBS., CRAWFORD - 167.5 LBS.
By Dong Secuya, Sat, 13 Sep 2025BELFAST: WEIGH-IN RESULTS AND FIGHT NIGHT RUNNING ORDER
Sat, 13 Sep 2025Canoy cancels title fight due to child’s death
By Lito delos Reyes, Sat, 13 Sep 2025Vietnam’s Pool Revolution: Hanoi Open Pool Championship
Sat, 13 Sep 2025SUNDAY: Naoya Inoue vs. Murodjon Akhmadaliev Undisputed Super Bantamweight Showdown to Stream Exclusively on Top Rank’s Facebook Channel in the U.S. & UK
Fri, 12 Sep 2025National Shelter Month Run on October 25 in DGT
By Lito delos Reyes, Fri, 12 Sep 2025Canelo-Crawford: Betting Odds Reveal a Battle of Money vs. Public Opinion
By Dong Secuya, Fri, 12 Sep 2025BELFAST PRESS CONFERENCE: EVERYTHING LEWIS CROCKER AND PADDY DONOVAN SAID AHEAD OF HISTORIC WORLD TITLE SHOWDOWN
Fri, 12 Sep 2025GABRIELA “SWEET POISON” FUNDORA TO DEFEND UNDISPUTED CROWN AGAINST HIGHLY RANKED NEW FOE ALEXAS “IRON LADY” KUBICKI
Fri, 12 Sep 2025Chino Sy Tancontian is Sports Hero of the Year 2025
By Lito delos Reyes, Fri, 12 Sep 2025