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10: Best memories of lifelong boxing fan

Fighters Network
08
May

Date: June 9, 1978.

Time: Sometime after 10 p.m. local time.

Place: My father’s bedroom.

Significance: Witnessing the Larry Holmes-Ken Norton classic.



Ah, those were the days: ABC devoted the majority of its prime-time hours to air a card topped by the WBC heavyweight title fight between champion Ken Norton and undefeated challenger Larry Holmes. By then I was well-versed in what Howard Cosell called the “jurisdictional chaos” of the WBA and WBC, but for readers too young to understand the peculiarities of this contest, here goes:

Norton was the WBC’s mandatory challenger for Ali’s title due to his elimination victory over number-two contender Jimmy Young in November 1977. Ali, however, wanted to make one last voluntary defense against perceived soft touch Leon Spinks before taking on Norton for the fourth time. The WBC said OK, as long as both parties sign a contract promising to fight Norton next. They did. But when Spinks upset Ali, Spinks chose to grant Ali an immediate rematch instead of fighting Norton. Therefore, Spinks was stripped of the WBC belt, which was awarded retroactively to Norton due to his win over Young. Confused? Me too – at the time.

My dad and I were relegated to his room because the two ladies of the house – my mom and older sister – commandeered the living room set. I didn’t care, because as long as I got to see boxing on TV I was a happy camper.

The first fight I remember was a 10-rounder between Jimmy Young and undefeated Puerto Rican Ossie Ocasio. The main story line for this fight was evident the moment ABC’s cameras beamed images of Young’s disturbingly flabby 220-pound physique from his dressing room. Up until then, Young had scaled in the 205-213 range, but here it seemed his heart for the game departed the moment he heard the split decision go against him in the Norton fight eight months earlier. Approximately 45 minutes after the first bell sounded, Young had lost another split decision and effectively snuffed out his championship dream for all time.

The main event between Norton and Holmes more than made up for that disappointment. Holmes dominated the first half with a wickedly effective jab that belied the biceps injury he suffered a short time before while Norton staged a stirring second-half rally. By the 15th all three cards were even and both men behaved accordingly. The final round of Holmes-Norton should be mandatory viewing for all new boxing fans. The back-and-forth exchanges combined with the wildly cheering crowd exemplified all that is great about boxing. The two fighters pushed themselves further than anyone had a right to expect and because they did they not only honored the situation, they honored the ideals of their chosen sport.

The split decision in Holmes’ favor was somewhat surprising given that it represented a title change. Back in those days it was erroneously thought that a challenger had to beat the champion half to death to wrest the title away; a one-point margin on one card didn’t seem to be enough like it is today. The quality of Holmes-Norton trumped everything else, and it remains a fond memory not only because it was such a great fight, but also because I watched it with my dad.

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