On May 11, 1981, a 37-year-old Ken Norton (42-6-1, 33 KOs) and a 24-year-old Gerry Cooney (24-0, 20 KOs) met in the ring.
Norton came in to the fight on a 1-fight win streak with a 67% KO rate, and was fighting after a gap of 6 months and 4 days. Cooney was on a 24-fight win streak with a 83% KO rate, and fighting after a layoff of 6 months and 17 days.
Gerry Cooney stopped Ken Norton via TKO in the 1st round. Cooney improves his record to 25-0 (21 KOs), while Norton adds a loss to his record at 42-7-1.
On March 23, 1979, a 35-year-old Ken Norton (41-5, 33 KOs) and a 34-year-old Earnie Shavers (57-7-1, 55 KOs) met in the ring.
Norton came in to the fight on a 1-fight win streak with a 71% KO rate, and was fighting after a gap of 4 months and 13 days. Shavers was on a 3-fight win streak with a 84% KO rate, and fighting after a layoff of 3 months and 19 days.
Earnie Shavers stopped Ken Norton via KO in the 1st round. Shavers improves his record to 58-7-1 (56 KOs), while Norton adds a loss to his record at 41-6.
On June 9, 1978, the 34-year-old WBC heavyweight world champion, Ken Norton (40-4, 32 KOs), faced a 28-year-old Larry Holmes (27-0, 19 KOs), in a title defense fight.
Norton came in to the fight on a 3-fight win streak with a 72% KO rate, and was fighting after a gap of 7 months and 4 days. Holmes was on a 27-fight win streak with a 70% KO rate, and fighting after a layoff of 2 months and 15 days.
Larry Holmes defeated Ken Norton via split decision and wins the WBC title — in his first world-title fight. Holmes improves his record to 28-0, while Norton adds a loss to his record at 40-5.
On September 28, 1976, a 33-year-old Ken Norton (37-3, 30 KOs) got a shot at the undisputed heavyweight championship held by 34-year-old Muhammad Ali (52-2, 37 KOs).
Norton came in to the fight on a 7-fight win streak with a 75% KO rate, and was fighting after a gap of 2 months and 18 days. Ali was on a 11-fight win streak with a 68% KO rate, and fighting after a layoff of 4 months and 4 days.
Muhammad Ali defeated Ken Norton via unanimous decision in the rematch and successfully defended his WBA, WBC, and The Ring heavyweight titles. Ali improves his record to 53-2, while Norton adds a loss to his record at 37-4.
On March 26, 1974, a 30-year-old Ken Norton (30-2, 23 KOs) got a shot at the undisputed heavyweight championship held by 25-year-old George Foreman (39-0, 36 KOs).
Norton came in to the fight on a 1-fight losing streak with a 71% KO rate, and was fighting after a gap of 6 months and 16 days. Foreman was on a 39-fight win streak with a 92% KO rate, and fighting after a layoff of 6 months and 25 days.
George Foreman made very easy work of Ken Norton, stopping the challenger via TKO in the 2nd. Foreman improves his record to 40-0 (37 KOs), while Norton adds a loss to his record at 30-3.
On September 10, 1973, a 30-year-old Ken Norton (30-1, 23 KOs) and a 31-year-old Muhammad Ali (41-2, 31 KOs) met in the ring for the 2nd time, in a heavyweight bout.
Norton came in to the fight on a 14-fight win streak with a 74% KO rate, and was fighting after a gap of 5 months and 10 days. Ali was on a -1-fight win streak with a 72% KO rate, and fighting after a layoff of 5 months and 10 days.
In the rematch, Muhammad Ali defeated Ken Norton via split decision in the 12-round heavyweight fight. Ali improves his record to 42-2, while Norton adds a loss to his record at 30-2.
On July 2, 1970, a 26-year-old Ken Norton (16-0, 15 KOs) and Jose Luis Garcia met in the ring.
Norton came in to the fight on a 16-fight win streak with a 93% KO rate, and was fighting after a gap of 1 month and 24 days.
Ken Norton lost to Jose Luis Garcia via KO in the 8th round, and adds a loss to his record at 16-1.