Muhammad Ali vs Ken Norton 1 1973-03-31

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Event
Muhammad Ali vs Ken Norton 1

Date
Sat 31st March 1973 (UTC)
Sat 31st March 1973 (Local)

Timestamp
1973-03-31T18:00:00

Time

18:00:00 UTC

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League
Boxing

Season
1973

Round
0

Status
Match Finished

Location
Sports Arena
(11,884 Attendance)

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Description

Still rebuilding a winning record after his first professional loss to Joe Frazier, Ali faced Norton on March 31, 1973, at the Sports Arena, San Diego, California. The fight was aired live on free TV in the United States via ABC. The fight against Norton started a years-long rivalry. Ali was outmaneuvered by Norton's unorthodox fighting style, which involved jabbing from below and crossing his hands for defence. As the final bell rang, Norton won on a split decision, igniting a controversy in the boxing world. Soon after the fight, Ali was treated in hospital for a broken jaw. Dundee claimed that Ali's jaw was broken in the first round, while Futch claimed that it was the eleventh. Norton landed 233 punches (43% accuracy) to Ali's 171 (26% accuracy), with a lead of 124 to 78 in power punches. Ali outlanded Norton in 4 rounds, while Norton outlanded Ali in 8