Biography for
Ken Norton More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

9 August 1943, Jacksonville, Illinois, USA

Birth Name

Kenneth Howard Norton

Nickname

The Fighting Marine
Jaw Breaker

Height

6' 3" (1.91 m)

Trivia

World Boxing Council heavyweight champion, 1978.

Inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame, 1992.

Father of Ken Norton Jr. (born 26-Sep-1966), a linebacker with the San Francisco 49ers, and Keith Norton, a sports reporter with KPRC-TV Channel 2 in Houston, Texas.

Inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame, 1989.

Served in the U.S. Marine Corps. during the Vietnam War. He boxed on the Marine Corps boxing team and compiled a record of 24-2 with 22 knockouts.

On March 31, 1973, a 15-1 underdog, he broke Muhammad Ali's jaw and won an upset 12 round decision.

He was 30-2 when he challenged George Foreman for the heavyweight title in 1974 and was knocked down three times and stopped in 2 rounds.

Defeated top contenders Jerry Quarry, Jose Luis Garcia, Jimmy Young, Ron Stander and James J. Woody.

Lost a controversial split 15 round decision to lose his heavyweight title to undefeated Larry Holmes.

Was a sparring partner for heavyweight champion Joe Frazier.

Fought Muhammad Ali 3-times, winning once.

Was undefeated in 16 straight fights when he suffered an upset knockout loss to Jose Luis Garcia. Norton knocked Garcia in a rematch a few years later.

Knocked-out undefeated Duane Bobick 38-0 in 43 seconds, on national TV.

Lost his last fight in 43 seconds to Gerry Cooney.

Where Are They Now

(2000) Release of his book, "Going the Distance" by Ken with Marshall Terrill and Mike Fitzgerald.

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