Larry Holmes-Ken Norton Round 15: The Greatest In World Heavyweight Title Fight History?

By James Slater - 06/09/2023 - Comments

Some dates, some fight dates, they stick in your mind. June 9th is one such date. Why? Because it just might have been that on this date, back in 1978, the world witnessed, A: one of the greatest heavyweight title fights of all-time. B: the single greatest round in all of heavyweight title fighting. And C: the crowning of one of the Top 3 or so finest heavyweight champions in the history of the division.

It was on this day 45 years ago, when Larry Holmes and Ken Norton met in Las Vegas, the WBC heavyweight title on the line. Norton, who had been crowned courtesy of his win over Jimmy Young, this victory earning Norton a shot at the WBC belt Muhammad Ali would lose in a stunning upset to Leon Spinks. Spinks declined a fight with Norton, preferring the more lucrative return with “The Greatest.”

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So, Norton was handed the belt that had been stripped from “Neon Leon.” And now, against the unbeaten Holmes, Norton was made to fight tooth and nail in an effort at keeping it.

So much has been written about this great fight over the years, with plenty of people saying Homes-Norton was the last great 15 round heavyweight battle. And of course, plenty of experts, fans, historians, fellow fighters continue to marvel over that 15th and final round. Going into the Holmes-Norton fight, there were no great expectations of a classic that would be remembered for many years, indeed decades. But, with the hype level pretty low, what Holmes and Norton gave us was a fight that raised the bar as far as how magnificent a heavyweight prize fight really could be.

You may pick other heavyweight battles over Holmes WS15 Norton as far as your favourite war, with plenty of fans never changing their opinion that Ali-Frazier III is THE heavyweight epic all others should be judged against. Or maybe you like the utterly torrid, almost impossible to keep up with Jack Dempsey-Luis Angel Firpo slugfest. Maybe you list another heavyweight showdown as your all-time fave.

But nobody, as in absolutely nobody, who has ever seen Holmes-Norton will ever have it be said that the fight is not deserving of a place in the Top 10 heavyweight honours list. And it is in large part due to that punishing, back and forth, unrelenting final round. Both men were literally fighting for the win, for the title in those final three minutes. The fight was thiscloseonthecards, with the three judges having the fight even after 14.

Holmes knew what he had to do. Norton knew what his mission was. Win that last round! And so, after both well-conditioned, savagely determined and hungry heavyweights had given oh, so much over the course of those 14 rounds – 42 minutes of red-hot warfare – they each dipped into an unseen reservoir of heart, guts, stamina and more heart as they took each other on a three-minute journey through hell.

Norton won the first half of the most important round of his entire ring career. Holmes won the second half of the round that, had he lost it, he would never have been given another chance to rule the world. Norton cracked some hefty right hands into Holmes’ skull, Larry’s gum-shield being sent flying at one point. But Holmes, who had entered the fight with a handicap in the form of a torn muscle in his left arm, his jabbing arm, came back to visibly stagger Norton, Larry perhaps almost scoring a knockdown.

It was a heck of a round, so fast-paced, with the two men showing the kind of activity levels that would have been far more at home in a much earlier round. Norton had landed more punches; Holmes had scored with bigger shots. Holmes had done it. Just. The scores were 143-142, 143-142 for Holmes, 143-142 for Norton.

Holmes celebrated by jumping into the swimming pool at Caesars Palace. Norton had fought his last great fight, his greatest fight.

Holmes would rule for over seven years. Never again did he find a dance partner who was capable of rumbling with him in as special, as treasured a round as that 15th round of otherworldliness he went through with Norton.

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