Welcome back to Boxing After Dark. In today's video, we look back at a 1981 heavyweight bout between the man they called Hercules, Ken Norton, And the big friendly giant Gerry Cooney. The night is held as the change of guard between the 70's heavyweights such as Muhammad Ali, George Foreman to the new 80's heavyweights.
Horrible referee stopped the fight way too late
I remember. Hope it was the last fight the jerk ever refereed, if you can call it refereeing....
@@milojanis4901looked like the ref was scared to jump in, incase he caught one of those bombs, shouldn't be a ref if that is the case
Yes, that knockout has always given me chills. The ref allowed at least three too many punches.
@@philiprose7942 the one with Tommy Morrison and Ray Mercer was worse
To the referees defense it appears as though he was scared one of those punches was going to hit him.
Kenny Norton was well loved and respected. He lived near and worked out at a Gold's Gym not to far from where I lived in California. Although I never met him, I had friends who did, and they all said the same thing. He took time for everyone, and was interested in what you had to say. Kind, gentle man.
i met him at crystal t's if you know where that was , he was great to me and all my friends
What a nice tribute to Ken Norton. The Cooney KO was frightening as Norton got stuck held up by the ropes. It may have cost suffering later. RIP
Poor refereeing, should have jumped in and stopped it as soon as Ken was obviously gone. I was a HW and one punch can damage you for life.
The referee was too frightened to stop the fight on time. Coward!
@@valerym1400 Maybe he was racist
That was disgusting. He was off of his feet. His legs were no longer supporting him. Why did Cooney keep on punching a defenseless man entangled in the ropes?
I agree. That ref sucked.
Quick correction on the year. It was 1981 when he fought Norton, and Conney's last fight was 1990, being stopped by the great Foreman.
Just saw a vid where George named Cooney as one of the 3 hardest punchers he ever faced!
Yeah I caught that as well. I know I'm old but had to shake my head when I heard that WTF.
@@lkdonner2087 🤣🤣
@@peterbulloch4328 I’m I’m gonna have
@@lkdonner2087What do you mean WTF? The only other puncher besides Cooney that Foreman met in his career was Ron Lyle. Frazier was just a swarmer who always tried to overwhelm his opponents with punches. And we all saw how Foreman destroyed him.🙈 Ouch!
That referee was a disgrace letting Norton taking those punches when he was down.
He appeared to be afraid of being hit so he stuck his left arm in with his back to Cooney while watching Ken Norton getting rocked with bombs. He should have had to pay for admittance like every other paying customer.
The Mercer-Morrison beating; 10 years early.
I couldn't agree with you more. The fight should have been stopped 5-6 punches earlier
I think the person who should have stopped was Cooney. A fighter knows when his opponent is toast
should have sued by nortons family
That late stoppage was disgraceful
Read my comment, Jerry Cooney is a piece of Garbage, a forgettable fighter
Yes it was. Reminds me of the Mercer/Morrison fight.
@@dank8017 mike tyson and bruno was another slow stoppage
This was 81, many ended that way.
Mercer Morrison prelude
I'm thinking 'Where is the ref?' while a defenceless Norton is getting a pasting. A sad end to a great career.
I agree. Cooney should have stopped hitting Norton when he was slumped down on the ropes. He was knocked out and the rope post was holding him up.
Yeah, Norton took about 4 blows to the head totally undefended!! He was already down before the first blow!!
@@ktcarl no he should not have. A fighter's job is to fight hard till the bell rings or the referee steps in. You're giving your opponent second chances which can come back and haunt you. And it also brings the legitimacy of fights into question. It was certainly bad refereeing by Perez.
believe it or not back then it was not considered a big deal among combat fans. Even fight night round 2 on ps2 allowed you to beat opponents after KO.
Tony Perez was the Same referee in the Mercer/Morrison fight.
It goes to show that Norton was willing but you can only push the body so far especially in a sport that demands that you constantly be at your absolute best. He went out like a warrior and had the heart of a lion. RIP Ken Norton
Cooney should have stopped hitting Norton when he saw he was helplessly stuck on the ropes unable to fall.
@@KeithHogarth-jm2kr in the heat of the moment, sometimes you forget what you’re truly capable of doing to others
@@KeithHogarth-jm2kr Wrong. Quit being a mealy-mouthed milquetoast.
That hooking left uppercut of Cooney was sick. An all-time legendary punch. Cooney almost seemed too nice a guy for the fight game.
It helped that Cooney also had some pretty active legs for a man his size.
His son Ken Norton Jr was a monster on the football field with the Cowboys.
That he was…the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree
And 49ers
Yes he was a beast
And 9ers
Just looked it up, 3 time pro bowl, 1st to win 3 consecutive super bowls, 2 with Dallas, 1 with San Francisco.
Norton's style is an enigma. It gives technical fighters like Ali and Holmes trouble. but is a sitting duck for punchers like Foreman, Shavers and Cooney
Unknown Cooney? He was the number one ranked heavyweight and was coming off some huge wins.
No one today knows about him. People know Ken Norton. Not Cooney.
@@UmmerFarooq-wx4yoWhen this dude first came up Cus D'mato the man who taught Mike Tyson how to fight offered to train him but his people decided to go with trainer Victor Valle.Big mistake. With Cooney's 6'7 frame, reach and power hook the tutelage of D'mato could have made him one of the all-time greats.😢
@@UmmerFarooq-wx4yo Clueless people don't know Cooney, but all the others remember him.
@@djo-dji6018 we all know Norton because of Muhammad Ali, especially those of us born after this fight. The antics I just read about Cooney vs Holmes probably the reason why _they_ don't mention him.
Any sports fan knew Cooney. And the year was a decade off. KZhead presenters are clowns
I loved how this reporting ended with such high praise of Norton. Boxing was always a place where kids could go and learn character, fair sportsmanship and of course courage to overcome challenges in life. Making money is secondary
Midwest charm, I don't agree with you at all. Boxing can be interesting and exciting to watch but at the same time it is a brutal animalistic disgusting sport to watch beating someone into submission or snapping someones head back until they becomes unconscious and often times leading to permanent brain damage. Nothing positive about that at all. I certainly would not want my kids to watch that to build character.
I met Ken Norton in person at a small local boxing event in San Diego in the mid 80's. Archie Moore was there too. So Cal had some good boxers back then. Anyway, I asked Ken how he got such hand speed with his muscular arms and build. He gave me a tip which I started to use right away. He said to stop shadow boxing with bare hands and buy some 5 lbs. weights and hold those. It will make your punches faster. A good tip. He said he used that method himself.
I met Duane Bobick in the mid 70's while he was training for Norton and he was also a very friendly guy. He even paused his heavy bag work to tell me I had a good right and it meant the world to me.
I know exactly what your mean. Those little compliments from the experts might seem small to onlookers, but to you and others in that position it can mean the difference between quitting a sport or sticking with it. @@ronald8792
Five pounds on each hand is amazing if you're swinging punches.
I had great respect for Ken Norton until I read Jerry Quarry's autobiography "Hard Luck".
@@thinkofitthisway7804can you say shortly what was there about Norton? I won't read that book, but I'm curious..
Fight went on at least 3 punches too long. Cooney should've stopped. This isnt MMA, dont need ref to tell you. Bad sportsmanship by Cooney.
Damn ref. What the hell were you waiting for?
Foreman’s knockout of Cooney was unbelievable. The last punch foreman hit him with, he just strolled up to him like he was meeting him in the park and lamped him and that was it. Loved big George.
That's the same punch that Jersey Joe Walcott used to KO Ezzard Charles.
Foreman took revenge for his Golden Era buddies, Roy Lyle, and Norton😂
@@MuhammadAli-kg7ij I like your photo dude! You got class man!💥🥊
@@fmills1583 true! I knew I’d seen that punch somewhere before! Well spotted.
@@MuhammadAli-kg7ijRon Lyle
The referee was almost criminally slow in stopping this fight.
Great video and amazing tribute to Ken Norton at the end.
He wasn't anywhere near unknown. At the time he was probably one of the most recognized boxers in the world
I think he moved up too quickly…the great white hope and money clouded his manager’s judgement. He needed more time to develop…a longer amateur career would have helped but in boxing that’s completely dependent on the Olympic calendar.
@@darbyheavey406 I agree. He didn't have enough fights with top guys who could move and counter. Most of his big wins were blowouts and he was somewhat untested when he fought Holmes.
@@FirstLast-vl1uyLooney Gerry Cooney came along at the right time when all the top contenders of the 1970s were washed up.Ron Lyle,Jimmy Young and Ken Norton.But as soon as he stepped in the ring with Larry Holmes he got his butt kicked.🥊😂👍
@@melvinsims5379 that's definitely true. He didn't really have any strong tests before Holmes because there wasn't many guys out there at the time. As you said most of the big names from the 70s were all well passed their prime. He really needed 2-3 tough long fights as an experience boost before fighting someone as good and experienced as Holmes. He should of had fights with guys like John Tate or Mike Weaver.
@@melvinsims5379 I always thought the same, but when rewatching the entire fight recently, Cooney looked a lot better than I remember. Cooney made it a great fight.
I remember that fight well; Cooney was near the peak of his ascent, & Norton was 38 yrs old. I felt badly for how it ended, Norton simply never recovering from the first big Cooney punch, then taking successive head shots from the very hard-hitting Cooney. How many times have we seen this? . . . A truly great fighter way past his peak tries to make a comeback against the new star? Holmes was the same age when he got destroyed by Tyson.
Boxing is a great example of how people just won't understand that their time is over, they just have to have it 'explained' by being beaten. Amazing how few are examples of champion boxers who knew when to step down themselves! Even Lennox was kind of 'lucky' because he was actually getting beaten by Vitaly (but I'm not taking away his fair and square victory and wise decision to retire)
Holmes won fights after Tyson. Wasn’t his last big fight. Even a young Holmes would have lost to young Tyson. Even a young Lewis or Holyfield woulda lost to young Tyson. Holmes has nothing to be ashamed about
You mean like Walcott at 37 fighting Marciano toe to toe? You mean like George Foreman at 45 reclaiming the heavyweight title? you mean like sugar ray robinson... Everybody's time is different. Because age is just a number. If you're in shape...
@@maciejguzek3442I call it being punch drunk oops, Delusional 😅
@@user-ox1be6qc6n pro tip: when you disagree with someone and try to start a discussion, you should rather give examples which confirm your point of view, and not the one with which you 'disagree'. Walcott lost his last 2 career fights by KO. Foreman and Robinson lost their last fights too.
Nicely done. These two men respected each other, and I certainly respect each of them.
The referee must've been blind to let few unnecessary punches when Norton was clearly unconscious
Thank you for this channel!! These men are the greatest pugilists in boxing, and without this channel, some of these amazing men/matches would be lost to history! Thank you again!
Are u saying Cooney was great?😂😂😂😂
Cooney fought no one who was in their prime
Your videos are always up in the evening in my country. After dark indeed :)
One of the fights from my youth. RIP KEN 🥊🙏🏽
Love your channel from Australia 🇦🇺
Amazing to think that Foreman just walked straight down and casually beat the absolute shit out of both of them, nearly 20 years apart, when both Norton and Cooney were each near enough their prime. That left upper-cut/hook Foreman landed on Cooney as he just sort of...waddled forward like a penguin must be in the top 5 greatest punches of all time.
Cooney was in bad shape by the time he fought Foreman
And fraizer twice to and Norton beat ali 3 times unreal
Cooney had a prime?? Just when was that prime Sir ?
The only one to get away with excuses is Mohamed Ali he sucked that bad they had to make excuses for every loss
Big George!!
Thank you for your example as a great Father. To be a really good Father while being famous, rich and in the public eye is impressive. To be that kind of human being takes a strong character and very good focus. Thank you, again, for your example.
If Cooney had developed coping mechanisms to stave off his self-doubt from his father's actions, I can't imagine how far he would have gone. Great puncher but too much self doubt
What exactly were his father's actions to make him self doubt?
@@maciejguzek3442tons of emotional abuse from his father. He went into the Larry Holmes fight and feeling he didn't even belong there, despite what the public knew from the buildup. If you research his history talked about it a lot. He often felt like he didn't belong there. He had incredible punching power, but was filled with tons of self-doubt
I think he needed more Fights to establish his skills . They put him in there against Holmes way too early. But , then again what do I know
He just way over sensitive and soft.
Why do you think people become boxers in the first place? Fighting for dominance IS a coping mechanism.
Ken Norton was one of my very favorite of them all...I love someone who has a heart of flash and not of stone..God bless Ken Norton, may he rest in peace 🙏 💔 😢 praise God
When Ken Norton limbed down, he was already ko’d. Mr coney threw 5 more punched just because referee failed to stop. Wow!!! He almost killed Ken Norton. Great boxer but no heart. That is why I loved Ali. There can never be another Ali.
You don’t even know his real name. If you did you would call him ali. Or nobody.
@@williammorton3359 Not sure about your reply. Here I am comparing Cooney with Muhammad Ali. I have seen many times Ali called referee to stop the fight. But, here Cooney literally threw 5 more punches when he knew Norton was already down. Well, to do this, one needs big heart like Ali who would never want to hurt opponent to that extent.
@@jbhatt5920Ali beat his wife. Where was his heart then?
That is quite his personnel life and you may know this based upon some rumors. If he had, I absolutely agree with you and that is too bad.
Indeed. Ali would stop throwing punches the moment he saw his opponent going down. In fact, Big George always mentions that in his interviews. Says Ali is a gentleman; asked why !? Because he stopped hitting the moment he saw me going down. The grrstest indeed. And Big George too.
Great video :D Do George Foreman vs Jerry Cooney next!
Cooney was not unknown then he was up and coming and many looked at this fight as a test. Cooney's manager were feeding him bottom feeders and Norton was considered a huge step up.
Excellent job by the creator. This will be just another video about boxing, except for the fact that I did knowledges the humanity and integrity of Mr. Norton. The fact that he treasured being a father and took his responsibilities seriously is his greatest attribute. This is the kind of accomplished athlete that we can look up to. RIP, Ken Norton
1) it was 1981 not 1991 2) Jerry Cooney was not "unknown" in 1981 he was a well known ranked heavyweight 3) Norton was trash talking Cooney and calling him "an ass" during interviews preceeding the fight...
Norton also said “I do pretty good against caucasians” (Quarry, Bobick, Cobb etc) 😅
@@sandpeat Even funnier Norton was talking about fighting Jerry Quarry in the mid 70s in a YT video and he said "Who Else THEY GOT"...
They were definitely offish moments from Ken. But remember the time he grew up in. I do believe Ken was a really lovely man deep down. Those who knew him said so...
1981 not 1991....Gerry Cooney was the most overrated fighter ever.....he had absolutely no defense whatsoever...Tony Perez should never have been allowed to officiate again. I don't know what he was looking at but those blows after Kenny was in a helpless position, almost cost him his life. The fighters are charged with protecting themselves at all times, and the referee is charged with protecting the fighters. Its thier most important duty in the ring.
@@rogerdanis. it's not cooneys fault? They say he's a gentleman. In the ring he had a killer instict
It's really nice that Larry Holmes and Gerry developed a good relationship after their fight. It was only the promoters who pumped up the racial element - they were just fighters who were stepping in the ring
That would be Don King. He was without a doubt the worst thing that ever happened to boxing!!
One of the most brutal KO’s in heavyweight history! Definitely one of Cooney’s better nights even if Norton was quite past it. Ken will always be one of the great champs of the 70’s though. Great video too
When Tommy Morrison got knocked out that was even more brutal that was worse
Norton had a glass jaw.
Yeah, Norton was already down, but he took 4 unprotected blows to the head!! He was like a punching bag. The ref should have stopped the fight before those blows!! That was brutal!!
@@undertakerfanz628true, ray mercer was a monster in his time but Larry Holmes had his number for sure!
Norton in his Prime would laugh at Gerry Cooney !!! 😂😂😂
All respect with any one that will..shall..and never stop..
Norton got freaked out by big heavyweights, Cooney and Foreman come to mind
I remember the Cooney/Norton match at my friend’s house in Huntington Long Island. Everybody boys and girls were cheering for Jerry Cooney! Met Jerry many times being from my hometown and he was a good guy!
Tony Perez is the same referee in the Mercer/Morrison fight.
Yes he was! 👌
Cooney mostly fought guys that were over the hill"
Ken was tragic. He was a good fighter but never quite got there. He is probably going to be best known for being the one fighter Ali couldn't completely figure out.
1981 was the year gerry was a dangerous fighter he could hit like a freight train he could have given any champion in any Era a real tuff fight or better yet knocked out any of the greats .he had probably the most power ever. 6'6 with that reach & those visious hooks 🪝 its sad big bad gerry neglected his career . cause @ that time in the early & middle 1980s gerry was probably the best after Larry Holmes In a rematch 2 years after there first fight he might of had some news for Larry Holmes & and would of given mike tyson fits .your a good man big gerry God bless you my friend 🙏 ❤️
Cooney said Tyson was "A young man a lot of us wouldn't want to get in the ring with!"
Cooney was also a boozer. He drank bottles of booze even while training for matches.
I’m 59 and followed boxing in the 70 and 80s like it was my job. Kenny Norton was one of my favorites.
Love you bro 🎉❤😂
They all said he was one of the hardest punchers in that era.
Cooney wasn't exactly "unknown" at that point. He was being shown on nationally televised fights and talked about a lot in boxing magazines, etc.
Norton to 4 or 5 more shots than he needed to. Ref should have jumped in sooner.
Nice video honoring two absolute legends and gentleman ambassadors for a sport that really needs more of them.
Norton was another one of the great boxing heavyweights of the 1970s. A tremendous decade for boxing. The sport was indeed a king
He was from Jacksonville Illinois he was a amazing football player and track and field star… I never heard one bad word about Kenny Norton.. Everyone said he was a very kind and humble person… I believe he is was laid to rest in Jacksonville RIP.. KN
Ken Norton a great fighter...and even greater man.
A great game fighter and great much missed God rest you ken
3:31. Kenny be going : “WTF happened?”
That ref should've been banned for life.
He’s the same guy who refereed the Mercer-Morrison fight. Another disgraceful stoppage
Gerry Cooney`s left hook was a truly devastating act of kinetic leverage. It engineered tremendous industrial impact. It`s repercussion`s were of immense energy/flesh ratio.
Great punch jerry Cooney.. Fantastic
Amazing Cooney...amazing..
That Father Time Is Something Serious And You Got To Respect It 💪🏾💯💯🙏🏾🕊️
Who did Cooney beat while they were in their Prime? In the video I only heard him beat big names that were well past their prime.
Facts. Cooney caught him,so let’s not pretend the ref got Norton beat. The ref was very slow, but it was a weird moment, where a guy was knocked out, but still up. He was not down, he was just out. There should have been a quicker notice that Ken was not responding, but he lost because his career was over, and should have been a year before 1981.
I met ken norton in a club in san diego and he was extremely gracious with me and all the fans that were there ,
Mythical match up Gerry vs either Klitsko brother, i think it would play out similar to the Corrie Sanders bouts.
May God have had mercy on Ken's soul. He was such a likable champion.
that referee should have never stepped on the ring again after that fight, Norton could have lost more that the fight if Cooney went on to hit him some more...
Waited way too long to stop it. I never understood why no one just circled to his right. All he has was a devasting left hook. Cooney that is
YOU HAVE GOT TO GET IN THERE QUICKER THAN THAT, REF., !!!
I met Ken at a local boxing event in the mid-80s in San Diego. Archie Moore was there too. It was a good boxing area. Ken was helpful and nice. He talked to fans and gave us boxing tips after the event. He told me to try shadow boxing with 5 lbs. weights in my hands, which he did.
Wow, thanks for the story. Getting to meet Norton & Moore in the same day, can't say i'm not a little bit jealous of that encounter haha
Loved Ken Norton; what an awesome guy; and probably the best built Heavyweight ever !!
54 seconds! Wow! Never heard of it in the 80’s. . But a big deal about Tyson got so much hype for 96 seconds
He has some of the sickest body shots boxing history
I remember this guy....I think he was deemed as the Great White Hope from what I recall, but I think eventually he fought Larry Holmes and that pretty much put an end to it..........I think at that time boxing was looking for anything to generate interest since Ali's reign was pretty much over and the sport wasn't generating the same level of interest it had been........
Cooney kept hitting Norton even when his arms were down..that was bull shit..the ref should have been fired.
Ken Norton was a class act and his son was a good pro in the NFL.
Rest in Peace Ken Norton!🙏
Brilliant refereeing
That was tough to watch a warrior and from what little I know and gracious man like Norton go down like that as his swan song. Getting caught in the ropes was the problem.
That was hard to watch. Jerry was very underrated. Those body shots wow
I was a big fan of Ken Norton, He was a very great fighter back in the day.
That ref should be arrested
I like this video they really showed a lot of respect for Ken Norton beautiful
The title of this video is all wrong. Cooney was not "unknown," he was the bigger-name fighter here who was the one making this a fight of very high interest. Norton was well past his prime, he had been flattened by Ernie Shavers in one round two years earlier, and it was more of a last hurrah for Norton who was decidedly the underdog. He was the "opponent" for the fast-rising Cooney. Which is why saying that Cooney was "challenging" Norton is WAY off, Norton was challenging Cooney. And the fight turned out exactly the way people expected it to, with the expected big KO by Cooney perhaps occurring a little earlier than expected, but this was the clearly expected outcome. Norton was already known as a guy who crumbled in front of the huge punchers, being stopped in one round by Shavers in 1979 and in 1974, by Foreman in two rounds.
Kenny Norton was always a class act.
I still say that was the most vicious series of punches I"ve seen, and I watch a lot of boxing. Devastating. I'm surprised Norton survived.
😊
The year was not 1991 it was 1981
Oh and less not forget what Big George Formen did to him after returning to the ring! He dropped him at an old age!
When the Norton-Cooney fight was scheduled, Larry Holmes said he asked Norton why he was fighting. Norton said 'I guess I could use the money'. That seems to be the usual reason boxers compete when they should have retired.
Always liked Norton, seemed like a very decent human being. Tough to watch the end of the Cooney fight, but as they say boxing is a hard way to make an easy living. R.I.P. Mr. Norton.
1991 thats great knowledge
knock out cold by George Foreman in one of the best knockouts of all time.
Golden age of boxing 1980's .
And then Cooney fought Larry Holmes…….then retired.
He got KO’d by Spinks and then by Foreman before hanging up his gloves.
I’ll always root for the humble boxer,to close big mouths, (not that Cooney was), and he certainly was an awesome example of what it means to be a gracious man. And agreed, the ref should have stepped in earlier, to at least begin a 10 count.
Two class acts.
Gerry Cooney s stoppage of Ken Morton reminds me of the Ray Mercer stoppage of Tommy Morrison years later. Both took way too much punishment. The referees should have been more able too stop these , in the heat of the battle these guys are swinging for the fences. Only the Great Larry Holmes was able to keep his cool against Marvis Frazier and summon the referee to stop the fight. RIP Ken Norton 🥊🥊🥊🙏
This was 1981, not 1991.... Wow, he destroyed Norton. Do not think I've seen another boxer go this fast...
Those punches can kill
Coney rose to prominence by fighting and defeating bóxers who were well beyond their best years. He was ultimately exposed.