Big George Foreman versus Ken Norton in Caracas Venezuela
By Robert Brizel, Head Real Combat Media Boxing Correspondent
At El Poliedro in Caracas, Venezuela, on March 26, 1974, a brief forgotten world heavyweight title bout remains noteworthy. Big George Foreman, after a cautious feeling out first, dropped a dazed Ken Norton three times to retain the world heavyweight title at two minutes of round two. Norton’s corner obviously stopped it, with a dazed Norton on his feet but not knowing where he was. Foreman’s key understanding was Ken Norton did not fight well when the ring was cut off and Norton was trapped along the ropes. The closed circuit commentator seemed to feel Ken Norton had a master’s degree of boxing ring pedigree as he had just fought 24 rounds with Muhammad Ali, the same commentator voice who would call Ali versus Foreman in Kinshasa, Zaire next. Before the contest, a suit jacket and tie Ali at ringside had predicted Norton would defeat Foreman.
After the bout, Muhammad Ali sold the concept of the Ali-Foreman bout in Africa in October 1974 in Kinshasa, Zaire, where Ali said his ancestors came from. Ali stated his ring I.Q. would simply be too much for the slow, lumbering Foreman. After the bout, Ali told Norton the winner of Foreman versus Norton would fight him for a five million dollars money purse. Norton stated, if only he had known. Ali stated he tried to tell him, but was unable to tell him in time.
That post fight remark by Norton seemed to indicate Norton did not fight Foreman with any spirit, motivation, or sense of purpose. The ringside commentator got one fight correct. Foreman had power, while Norton had superior technical boxing ability. The likes of George Foreman, Jose Luis Garcia (first bout with Norton), Earnie Shavers, Gerry Cooney, and Scott LeDoux (knocked Norton down twice in the tenth round of a draw Norton was lucky to survive) were indicators power defeated technical expertise. Case in point, Norton lost a 15 round vacant world heavyweight title split decision Larry Holmes at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas in June 1978. Holmes, a fine technical fighter who won ever sparring round in the gym with Muhammad Ali, dropped and stopped in four by hard hitting Mike Tyson at Convention Center in Atlantic City in June 1988, though Holmes may not have trained seriously for the bout which was after he had lost his title to World Light Heavyweight champion Michael Spinks, a technical fighter who was another Mike Tyson knockout victim.
Polished technical fighters who lack power are always a target for power hitters. Muhammad Ali described Earnie Shavers as the hardest hitter he ever faced, and Shavers, despite a lack of stamina for long fighters later in his career, did permanent damage on Ali by Ali’s own admission. Norton was a great technical heavyweight who got diffused by heavy hitters, much like Roland LaStarza got cut down late in his second bout with Rocky Marciano. The combination of power and technical ability which Marciano had remain, even today, the best of both worlds in the talent rich heavyweight division. Since Marciano’s fight weight made him a cruiserweight by today’s standards, probably the beefed up Oleksandr Usyk is the closest modern day Marciano clone by today’s standards, though it remains to be seen in Usyk can handle a gargantuan super heavyweight gladiator Maximus like Tyson Fury.
Usyk is a more well-rounded fighter, unlike Norton, according to Fury, so that matchup should prove interesting on the scorecards if Fury is unable to take Usyk out, and this reporter predicts he will not. Unlike Alexander Povetkin, Usyk has overcome size differential like Marciano with superior in-fighting, and like Marciano, has enough power to exchange in stormy battles. Usyk naturally went up in weight, which Marciano never did. Fury, like Foreman, represents power of a sort.
The shorter Usyk’s heart and resolve will be tested when he fights the taller, bigger Fury later in 2023 or 2024, a match which has to happen. The analogy is important versus Foreman versus Norton, but the abilities of all four fighters represent considerable contrast in many ways. Foreman had longevity, yet he went the distance with Alex Stewart and Lou Savarese, both Mike Tyson first round knockout victims, and got diffused by Jimmy Young, whom Muhammad Ali and Gerry Cooney both beat. The contrasts between Foreman, Norton, Fury and Usyk are interesting. Neither Fury nor Usyk have been beaten yet. Perhaps Fury versus Usyk could be drawish in reality as Fury versus Deontay Wilder one.
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