US boxing legend Ken Norton dies at 70
Ken Norton and Muhammad Ali during their second meeting in 1973.Ken Norton, the former heavyweight boxing champion who broke Muhammad Ali\’s jaw in a 1973 bout, died on Wednesday at an Arizona hospital at age 70, his manager said.
His friend and former manager says Norton passed away at a rehabilitation center in Arizona. He was living at the center after suffering a stroke last year.
Norton took up boxing while serving in the U.S. Marine Corps in the 1960s and turned professional after his release from duty in 1967. His victory over boxing legend Muhammad Ali in 1973, during which he broke Ali\’s jaw, elevated him to the top ranks of heavyweight contenders. He lost a rematch to Ali six months later, then again in 1976 during a bruising title match in Yankee Stadium.
Norton was named the World Boxing Council heavyweight champion in 1977 after Leon Spinks refused to fight him, but he lost the title the next year in an epic 15-round match to Larry Holmes.
Norton retired from boxing in 1981 with a career record of 42 wins, seven losses and one draw.
One of his sons, Ken Norton, Jr., was a star defensive player in the National Football League and now coaches for the Seattle Seahawks.
Source: Agencies
The Times of Earth ( TOE) founded in 1999, is a multilingual newspaper that is printed and circulated in many countries including some parts of the United States and Canada. It is considered as the largest trusted & respected international multimedia news/financial information source of the world.