Нью-Йорк хотын “Янки” цэнгэлдэх хүрээлэнд болсон энэхүү шийдвэрлэх тулаанд Мухаммед Али шүүгчдийн санал хуваагдсан шийдвэрээр ялалт байгуулж, дэлхийн аваргын бүсээ хамгаалсан юм.
Мухаммед Али болон Кен Нортон нарын 1970-аад онд хийсэн гурван тулаан бүгд шүүгчдийн оноолтоор шийдэгдсэн бөгөөд тулаан бүр маш өрсөлдөөнтэй болж байв. Тэдний анхны тулаан 1973 оны гуравдугаар сард болоход Нортон ялалт байгуулж, Алигийн эрүүг хугалж байсан бол дараагийн тулаанд Али хариугаа авч байсан түүхтэй.
Тэдний сүүлчийн тулаан болох үед Нортон бие бялдрын хувьд маш сайн бэлтгэлтэй, эсрэг цохилт хийх чадвар болон өвөрмөц хамгаалалтаараа Алид томоохон сорилт болсон юм. Тулааны туршид Али өөрийн бүхий л ур чадвараа ашиглан өрсөлдөгчөө сандаргахыг хичээсэн ч Нортон түүнийг хүнд цохилтод оруулаагүй аж. Сүүлийн раунд хүртэл тулаан тэнцүүхэн үргэлжилсэн ч Нортоны багийнхан сүүлчийн раундад эрсдэл гаргахгүй байх шийдвэр гаргасан нь Алид давуу тал олгосон байна.
Энэхүү шийдвэр нь тухайн үедээ болон хожим ч спортын түүхчид, хөгжөөн дэмжигчдийн дунд маргаан дагуулсаар ирсэн юм. Олон хүн Нортоныг ялах байсан гэж үздэг ч Али өөрийн нэр хүнд болон туршлагын ачаар ялалтыг авч чадсан гэж үнэлэгддэг. Жо Фрейзерийг эс тооцвол Алигийн ур чадварыг хамгийн ихээр сорьсон боксчин нь Кен Нортон байсан билээ.
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Throughout his incomparable ring career, the one and only Muhammad Ali always, always had nothing but trouble with one particular fighter and his “awkward” style. This was Ken Norton, whom Ali fought three times in the 1970s, with each fight going all the way to the judges’ scorecards.
Ali, it’s fair to say, never once comprehensively defeated Norton; the three fights were all desperately close affairs, with the final fight being viewed by many as highly controversial. It was 50 years ago today when Ali and Norton met for the final time.
The fight took place inside a sold-out Yankee Stadium in New York, with richer fans shelling out a then quite enormous $200 for a ringside seat. The fight proved memorable, the scoring in particular. For once again, Norton, with his great physical strength and stamina, his counter-punching ability and his unusual cross-armed defense, gave the great Ali fits. Back when the two legends met the first time, in March of 1973, a then-unknown Norton broke Ali’s jaw and won a 12-round split decision. Ali, when his jaw had mended, blamed poor training and a lack of respect for his foe for the loss. Ali trained perhaps as hard as he ever did ahead of the rematch. The sequel was another tough affair for both men, with Ali this time edging Norton via split decision. It would be three years before the two met in the rubber-match, with Ali’s world title on the line.
However, by September of 1976, Ali really should have been retired. The great man had shocked the world – again – by regaining the crown from an “invincible” George Foreman, but Joe Frazier had taken too much from Ali in their brutal Manila trilogy, and Ali’s legs, reflexes and internal organs had been suffering ever since. Norton – who had bounced back after being crushed by Foreman in a March 1974 world title challenge – had won seven fights in a row. Now set to face Ali with the title on the line for the first time, the former Marine was in absolutely tip-top shape.
Ali approached his third date with the trickiest, most unsolvable opponent of his career with a grim determination. Still, Ali was in full form vocally, with “Norton must fall” being the champion’s mantra. But was Ali trying to convince himself? In truth, Ali had to know there was very little chance of him knocking out Norton, a man he had never come close to putting on the canvas.
And so the fight raged on. Norton, again never once hurt by Ali, did what he had done in fights one and two. Norton seemed to have an innate ability when it came to timing Ali, his jab especially.
Ali really did try everything he could to unnerve Norton in the third fight. Ali danced, for as long as he could manage before fatigue intervened; he rope-a-doped, and Ali talked constantly, hurling insults at Norton. But at one point, having been doubled over by a nasty Norton body shot, Ali had to dig down into his inner reserves. It was all up for grabs going into the final round, but then Norton’s corner made a terrible decision. Norton’s corner instructed their warrior not to take any chances, that he was ahead and needed only to hear the final bell.
Ali used every ounce of strength and guile he had left, and he won the final round. This clinched Ali the fight. Ali, looking embarrassed in mid-ring, saw his challenger break into tears. All these years later, the fight and its decision are often debated, with most fans and historians feeling that, yes, Norton did win the fight. But Ali was the true King of the Ring, and his enormous reputation and ability to win over the scoring officials perhaps won him this fight more than anything else. One thing is certain: Joe Frazier aside, nobody ever tested Ali’s mettle as severely as Norton did.
