Muhammad Ali defended his NABF heavyweight title against Ken Norton

Date: March 31, 1973

Venue: Sports Arena, San Diego, California

Ali stance: orthodox

Norton stance: orthodox

Muhammad Ali failed in his first attempt to regain the undisputed heavyweight title when he was outpointed by Joe Frazier. Ali won ten consecutive bouts over the next two years, and won the NABF belt in the process. All of these bouts were against contenders - there were no easy "keep busy" events in this streak. His most recent fight had been a tough scrap against Joe Bugner, which Ali won on points.

Ken Norton was an extremely gifted athlete before he became a boxer, and he made a point of always entering the ring in the best shape possible. He turned pro in 1967, and entered the ring with a record of 29-1. The only blemish on his record was an eighth round stoppage at the hands of Jose Luis Garcia. The best wins on Norton's record were a points win over Jack O'Halloran and a ninth round stoppage of Henry Clark.

For an in depth look at their respective records, visit:

Muhammad Ali - https://boxrec.com/en/proboxer/000180

Ken Norton - https://boxrec.com/en/box-pro/168