Ken Norton

Ken Norton was an American heavyweight boxer who was awarded the WBC world heavyweight title in 1978 and broke Muhammad Ali's jaw during their first bout.

Ken Norton broke Muhammad Ali's jaw in their first fight in 1973, a genuinely rare feat against a fighter of Ali's caliber, and won the bout by split decision -- a result that briefly reshaped how the boxing world talked about Ali's aura of invincibility, even though Ali reclaimed the rivalry in two subsequent, closer fights. Norton came to boxing relatively late by the sport's standards, taking it up during a four-year stint in the U.S. Marine Corps after already excelling at football, and the discipline and physical conditioning from that background showed up in a fighting style built on awkward, effective defense rather than the more conventional technique boxing gyms typically produce. His trilogy with Ali, decided by a combined margin of a handful of rounds across three fights, remains one of heavyweight boxing's defining rivalries -- proof that a fighter doesn't need to have won the series outright to be remembered as having genuinely tested the era's biggest name.

Awkward cross-armed guard style that created difficult angles for opponents

Hall of Fame heavyweight who defeated Muhammad Ali and held WBC heavyweight title

• International Boxing Hall of Fame 1992