Throughout his incomparable ring career, the one and only Muhammad Ali always, always had nothing but trouble with one particular fighter and his “awkward” style. This was Ken Norton, whom Ali fought three times in the 1970s, with each fight going all the way to the judges’ scorecards.

Ali, it’s fair to say, never once comprehensively defeated Norton; the three fights were all desperately close affairs, with the final fight being viewed by many as highly controversial. It was 50 years ago today when Ali and Norton met for the final time.

The fight took place inside a sold-out Yankee Stadium in New York, with richer fans shelling out a then quite enormous $200 for a ringside seat. The fight proved memorable, the scoring in particular. For once again, Norton, with his great physical strength and stamina, his counter-punching ability and his unusual cross-armed defense, gave the great Ali fits. Back when the two legends met the first time, in March of 1973, a then-unknown Norton broke Ali’s jaw and won a 12-round split decision. Ali, when his jaw had mended, blamed poor training and a lack of respect for his foe for the loss. Ali trained perhaps as hard as he ever did ahead of the rematch. The sequel was another tough affair for both men, with Ali this time edging Norton via split decision. It would be three years before the two met in the rubber-match, with Ali’s world title on the line.

However, by September of 1976, Ali really should have been retired. The great man had shocked the world – again – by regaining the crown from an “invincible” George Foreman, but Joe Frazier had taken too much from Ali in their brutal Manila trilogy, and Ali’s legs, reflexes and internal organs had been suffering ever since. Norton – who had bounced back after being crushed by Foreman in a March 1974 world title challenge – had won seven fights in a row. Now set to face Ali with the title on the line for the first time, the former Marine was in absolutely tip-top shape.

Ali approached his third date with the trickiest, most unsolvable opponent of his career with a grim determination. Still, Ali was in full form vocally, with “Norton must fall” being the champion’s mantra. But was Ali trying to convince himself? In truth, Ali had to know there was very little chance of him knocking out Norton, a man he had never come close to putting on the canvas.

And so the fight raged on. Norton, again never once hurt by Ali, did what he had done in fights one and two. Norton seemed to have an innate ability when it came to timing Ali, his jab especially.

Ali really did try everything he could to unnerve Norton in the third fight. Ali danced, for as long as he could manage before fatigue intervened; he rope-a-doped, and Ali talked constantly, hurling insults at Norton. But at one point, having been doubled over by a nasty Norton body shot, Ali had to dig down into his inner reserves. It was all up for grabs going into the final round, but then Norton’s corner made a terrible decision. Norton’s corner instructed their warrior not to take any chances, that he was ahead and needed only to hear the final bell.

Ali used every ounce of strength and guile he had left, and he won the final round. This clinched Ali the fight. Ali, looking embarrassed in mid-ring, saw his challenger break into tears. All these years later, the fight and its decision are often debated, with most fans and historians feeling that, yes, Norton did win the fight. But Ali was the true King of the Ring, and his enormous reputation and ability to win over the scoring officials perhaps won him this fight more than anything else. One thing is certain: Joe Frazier aside, nobody ever tested Ali’s mettle as severely as Norton did.

Writer Keith Idec put together five Terence Crawford comeback matchups that look purely like fantasy matchmaking instead of sound business. Jaron EnnisCanelo Alvarez, Vergil Ortiz, Sebastian Fundora, plus Ryan provide plenty of social media talk. None of them justifies burning fifty million dollars on an aging fighter who treats entertainment like a crime.

Crawford turned 39 years old today. Loyalists point to his perfect record alongside his decision over Canelo. Smart money looks at the reality inside the ropes. Israil Madrimov exposed Crawford by forcing him into a grueling struggle many ringside observers scored for the Uzbek.

Against Canelo, Crawford went into survival mode. He flicked a safety jab, grabbed constantly, running out the clock to grab a dull points verdict. Fans watching that sleep-inducing clinic realized Crawford has zero interest in taking risks. Expecting a promoter to shell out colossal guarantees for twelve rounds of clutching represents pure delusion.

Turki Alalshikh wants destructive knockouts. Crawford delivers safety-first track meets. If Canelo steps into the ring for an elite event, David Benavidez brings genuine violence. Ennis brings explosive youth, savage offensive combinations, and electric finishing ability. Matching either puncher against Canelo delivers actual value for paying customers. Crawford simply drains energy out of the building.

The names on Idec’s roster crumble under financial inspection. Ennis, along with Ortiz, possesses the firepower to batter a 39-year-old coming off the sofa. Neither young champion commands pay-per-view revenue. Ryan generates massive public attention, yet Crawford campaigned at 168 pounds while Ryan operates at welterweight.

Making that weight match makes zero sense. Fundora brings awkward height without moving the needle at the box office.

Crawford can stay retired in Omaha counting his career earnings. Demanding king-size ransoms for spoiling tactics will not fly anymore. Promoters saw the Madrimov scare, watched the lifeless Canelo match, then realized Crawford offers terrible returns.

Fantasy lists are cheap to type up. Getting an investor to bankroll another dull Crawford clinic is an impossible sell.

Floyd Schofield’s wants to turn a missed title shot into the opening chapter of a comeback story. The trouble is that his comeback has consisted of one spectacular round against Tevin Farmer, followed by another long stretch outside the ring.

Schofield stood on the doorstep of a career-defining opportunity against Shakur Stevenson in February 2025. That massive shot vanished the moment he wound up in a Saudi Arabian hospital bed, deemed unfit to compete. Walking away from a title crack on that scale usually costs a fighter years of clawing to get back into position. His father floated wild accusations of poisoning without presenting a shred of hard proof to back up the claim. Hospital clips confirmed he received treatment, yet provided zero explanation for the medical emergency.

Fans remain skeptical, with critics openly whispering that cold feet kept Schofield from stepping into the ring against Shakur. That suspicion lingers without concrete proof of a manufactured illness, but Team Schofield made matters worse by dodging the issue. His father simply repeated vague assertions of foul play rather than laying out verifiable facts to silence the critics once and for all.

“Everybody has their thoughts about what happened. You know, everybody going to throw all types of crap around, but we know the truth. We know what happened,” said Schofield Sr. to Golden Boy.

Schofield’s fighting ability is beyond dispute after blitzing Tevin Farmer in just 78 seconds last June, scoring two rapid knockdowns to shut the veteran down early. His explosiveness that night makes the missed clash against Shakur Stevenson sting that much harder. Bringing that kind of ferocity to Riyadh would have forced Shakur to deal with real firepower instead of an easy night. Boxing fans got cheated out of finding out if Stevenson could actually handle that kind of smoke.

Schofield steps into the ring on October 10 against Lucas Bahdi with the vacant WBA lightweight belt on the line. It ends an inactive stretch of more than fifteen months away from competition following the Farmer stoppage. Bahdi offers him a dangerous target to prove that lightning-quick blowout was no fluke. Walking through Bahdi cements Schofield as a legitimate force at 135 pounds rather than just another hyped puncher