Boxing Career
Norton started boxing when he was in the United States Marine Corps from 1963–1967, compiling a 24-2 record en route to three All-Marine Heavyweight titles. Following the National AAU finals in 1967, he turned professional.
Norton built up a string of steady wins, including some over fringe contenders like the giant Jack O'Halloran. But after he suffered a surprise defeat, ironically just after Ring magazine had profiled him as a prospect, at the hands of Jose Luis Garcia in 1970. Down in the first he had a surprise 5 round Knock out. It was Garcia's career peak. Norton was given the motivational book Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, which he states in his autobiography, Going the Distance, changed his life (Norton, et al., 2000, p. 46). Upon reading it he went on a fourteen fight winning streak, including a shocking victory over Muhammad Ali in 1973 to win the North American Boxing Federation Heavyweight Champion title. Ken Norton once said "In boxing, and in all of life, nobody should ever stop learning!".
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