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| Date | September 28, 1976 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Venue | Yankee Stadium, The Bronx, New York City, New York | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Title(s) on the line | WBA, WBC and The Ring undisputed heavyweight championship | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tale of the tape | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Result | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ali wins via 15-round unanimous decision (8-6, 8-7, 8-7) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Muhammad Ali vs. Ken Norton III was a professional boxing match contested on September 28, 1976, for the undisputed heavyweight championship. [1] Ali won by a controversial unanimous decision.
| External audio | |
|---|---|
 National Press Club Luncheon Speakers, Muhammad Ali and Ken Norton, August 27, 1976, 1:02:57, Norton speaks at 8:58, Ali 11:10-39:00, Library of Congress [2] |
Ali and Norton met for the third and last time on September 28, 1976, at Yankee Stadium to complete their trilogy. Norton won their first encounter, while Ali took the second. This time, 34-year-old Ali entered the ring as the Heavyweight Champion, making the eighth defense of his title since his victory over George Foreman in 1974.
This was the first bout to be held at Yankee Stadium since the first fight between Floyd Patterson and Ingemar Johansson in June 1959.
Both fighters showed their strengths, but neither established themselves as the obvious winner. Most commentators gave the fight to Norton. Ultimately, Arthur Mercante Sr. scored the bout 8 to 6 while Harold Lederman and Barney Smith had it 8 to 7, all in favour of the champion, giving Ali a unanimous decision victory.
Overall, Ali landed 199 of 709 punches while Norton landed 286 of 635 punches, per Bob Canobbio's CompuBox statistics. Norton both landed more punches and had far better accuracy (45% vs 28%). Norton also landed 192 power punches to Ali's 128. [3] [4]
Of the 21 sportswriters polled after the fight, 17 believed that Norton won. Ali said during an interview with Mark Cronin in October 1976: "Kenny's style is too difficult for me. I can't beat him, and I sure don't want to fight him again. I honestly thought he beat me in Yankee Stadium, but the judges gave it to me, and I'm grateful to them." Norton was bitter, stating after the fight: "I won at least nine or ten rounds. I was robbed."
Norton said of the result years later: "If you saw the look on Ali's face at the end, he knew I beat him. He didn't hit me hard the whole fight. Then they announced the judges' decision and I was bitter, very bitter. Not towards Ali... he'd done his job, he was just there to fight. But I was hurt, I was mad, I was angry. I was upset... and it still upsets me." [5]
Confirmed bouts: [6]
| Winner | Loser | Weight division/title belt(s) disputed | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
 Earnie Shavers | Henry Clark | Heavyweight (10 rounds) | 2nd-round TKO. |
| Mike Rossman |  Christy Elliott | Light heavyweight (10 rounds) | 3rd-round KO. |
 Bernardo Mercado | James J Woody | Heavyweight (10 rounds) | 3rd-round TKO. |
 Gilbert Acuna | Peter Muller | Heavyweight (4 rounds) | 1st-round KO. |
| Bill Sharkey | Joe Maye | Heavyweight (4 rounds) | Unanimous decision. |
| Greg Sorrentino | Johnny Blaine | Heavyweight (4 rounds) | Unanimous decision. |
| Dennis Jordan | Jerry Thompkins | Heavyweight (4 rounds) | 1st-round KO. |
| Otis Gordon | Kevin Smith | Heavyweight (4 rounds) | 1st-round TKO. |
| Country | Broadcaster |
|---|---|
 Australia | Seven Network |
 Brazil | Band |
 Canada | CTV |
 France | TF1 |
 Germany | ARD |
 Japan | TBS |
 Mexico | Televisa |
 Philippines | RPN 9 |
 Spain | TVE |
 United Kingdom | BBC |
