Three-time light-middleweight world champion “Terrible” Terry Norris was involved in many entertaining fights throughout his career having fought some of the biggest names of his era in Julian Jackson, Donald Curry and Meldrick Taylor to name a few.
He caught global prominence in 1991 after massacring a faded Sugar Ray Leonard over 12 rounds in which Leonard was floored on two occasions which convinced him to quit the ring for another 6 years.
Lightening hand speed along with knockout power, made Norris a fighter popular wth fight fans in which the beaten Leonard along with George Foreman had predicted a bright future which could lead to greatness.
However despite winning the light-middleweight title on three ocassions during the 90’s, Norris didn’t reach the dizzy heights of legendary status predicted by Leonard and Foreman in which the Texan was caught flush with heavy punches far too many times during his fight career.
By the end of December 1997, Norris’s career at championship level was ended by Keith Mullings with a 9th round stoppage leaving Norris with a career record of 46 wins with 9 losses. (Disqualified 3 times)
Sadly, Norris today suffers from brain damage which has a detrimential effect on his speech and coordination.
Knockout Sports TV salutes “Terrible” Terry Norris with a selection of some of the notable classic fights he was involved in which showcases his devastating hand speed and knockout power.
It has been 15 years since one of the most revered heavyweights in the history of Boxing stated after his loss to the largely unknown Irishman Kevin McBride that he no longer had the desire to fight again and was just fighting to pay his debts.
However over the last month, the Boxing world have been stunned at the prospect of a return to the ring for an exhibition fight for the man once known for being the “Baddest Man On The Planet”.
What has amazed fight fans is not just the fact that at the age of nearly 54 that Tyson is returning to the ring, but the fantastic physical condition he is in where it appears that he has lost none of the hand speed and ferocious combinations which made him such an iconic figure in the history of Boxing.
However, there should be some caution as to what we will see in the ring. As beautiful as it was to see the destructive cominations on the mitts and body protection of his Trainer Rafael Cordeiro, this was not against a credible sparring partner trading punches against the former Undisputed Heavyweight Champion.
Tyson has declared that the exhibition bouts he plans to have are purely for charity and not for him to gain any profit. A year after officially retiring, Tyson had once taken on an exhibition bout which was to help pay off some of his debts in which he fought fellow American Corey “T-Rex” Saunders.
There have been mixed views on whether Tyson should take things further and return to the professional ranks to challenge for the heavyweight title. George Foreman who holds the record for being the oldest Heavyweight Champion at 45 years old, believes that even now that Tyson could hold his own against the current heavyweight fighters of this era if he were to dedicate himself long-term.
Unlike sports such as Golf and Tennis, Boxing is far too dangerous for a trend to develop to have an equivalent of a Seniors Tour unless there are strict rules and regulations to adhere to in the ring which it is rumoured that the 57 year old Evander Holyfield would want if he were to face Tyson in the ring again.
Nigel Benn himself at the age of 55, believed that he was in better shape than he was in his prime when last year he had planned a one-off professional comeback to the ring against former foe Sakio Bika last year. But the wear and tear of a 55 year old body soon put paid to a comeback when the fight was cancelled due to a shoulder injury.
Mike Tyson will forever remain an iconic figure for being the youngest ever Heavyweight Champion at 20 years old and also for the brutal manner in which he knocked out 44 opponents in a total of 58 bouts which is still celebrated amongst the current generation of fight fans.
However it would defy logic for a man way past his prime as an athlete to attempt to turn back the clock and destruct and destroy opponents as he once did if he were tempted to return to the professional ranks.
Tyson clearly has found the desire to get back in shape theraputic for his own wellbeing. And a chilling display in an exhibtion bout against a worthy opponent will remind fight fans what made him the outstanding fighter he was in which it was a major occasion to watch him live on television or at an arena with the expection of witnessing a knockout.
Fight fans won’t have too long to wait with the 3rd rematch of WBC Heavyweight Champion Wilder’s career in which he takes on Lineal Heavyweight Champion Tyson Fury on the 22nd of February.
Unlike Wilder’s two previous rematches against Luis Ortiz and Bermane Stiverne which only reinforced the view that The Bronze Bomber is a devastating puncher, the highly anticipated rematch with Fury should settle what was a controversial decision to declare their first fight a draw.
Fury left the Staples Center Arena in Los Angeles feeling that he had been robbed from a fairytale victory as in the eyes of many who watched the fight, he outboxed Wilder despite being knocked down in the 9th and 12th round.
Some had felt that referee Jack Reiss should have stopped the count in the 12th round when Fury hit the canvas as up until the count of 5, he appeared motionless and had not looked like he would have any chance of beating the count.
However not only did The Gypsy King beat the count of 10, he also finished the fight strongly and vindicated Reiis’s decision to not stop the fight.
Wilder looked a dejected fighter at the end of the fight and made no attempt to convince the crowd that he had retained his title as he knew he had to knockout Fury.
Like everyone in the arena, The Bronze Bomber was stunned that Fury had recovered from his honey punch which apart from his first fight with Stiverne, nobody had survived 12 rounds with the knockout artist from Alabama.
Since the Fury fight, Wilder’s punching power has grown into legendary status with spectacular knockout wins over Dominic Breazeale and Luiz Ortiz.
Some respected analysts such as Teddy Atlas claiming that Wilder is the most destructive puncher that there has ever been in the history of the Heavyweight division.
However a big candidate for that title being Former Two-time Heavyweight Champion George Foreman, doesn’t go along with Atlas’s opinion and believes that someone with punching power such as Mike Tyson should be looked upon in more higher esteem than The Bronze Bomber.
The lasting impression left on Foreman was the effect Tyson’s punches had on Trevor Berbick in which he was left resembling a stumbling drunk desperately trying to regain his balance when attempting to beat Referee Mills Lane’s count.
This performance from Tyson in a world title fight against the reigning Champion brought fear to a number of Heavyweights including Foreman who had just decided to embark on a comeback after a hiatus of 10 years.
The unbeaten Fury proved in the first fight that he can withstand the punching power of Wilder and with new Trainer Sugar Hill Steward on board replacing Ben Davison, he believes that the Nephew of the great Trainer Emmanuel Steward can help him land the power punches that will knockout Wilder in two rounds.
Perhaps Fury knocking out Wilder is far-fetched considering the fact that in the 42 fights that Wilder has had, he has yet to hit the canvas and has proved that he can weather the storm as he did in his first fight against Ortiz.
However the amount of top level opponents Wilder has faced in his career is open to question compared to other illustrious champions.
Can Fury shock the world again by knocking out Wilder? It would be foolish to write him off against The Bronze Bomber but the most likely manner of victory for Fury would be to win on points rather than aim to have a slugfest with Wilder as the odds would very much be in the favour of Wilder for a knockout win.
Dillian Whyte tonight takes on what could be the biggest challenge of his professional career against the dangerous Columbian Oscar Rivas.
The unbeaten Rivas with a record of 26 wins with 18 knockouts, has never been in the professional ranks with someone of Whyte’s experience but has fought and beaten as an Amateur the conqueror of Anthony Joshua, Andy Ruiz Jr. who now holds all the Heavyweight championship belts with the exception of Deontay Wilder’s WBC title.
In what will be Whyte’s first fight of 2019 since the thrilling knockout of Dereck Chisora last December, Rivas is by no means an easy fight for Whyte who is in pole position to be the mandatory challenger for Wilder’s WBC belt.
The Body Snatcher who weighed over 18 stones on the scales is up against an opponent who at 17 stone 1lb, is renowned for having a high output of punches and an overhand right hand that could cause Whyte major problems tonight.
Whyte in his exhilarating fight with Josh Parker last July, just about managed to survive an onslaught from Parker in which he hit the canvas in the last round.
If the fight had gone on for another minute, there would have been a strong possibility that Whyte would have been knocked out by the former WBO champion.
There are question marks over Whyte’s stamina if the fight is at a fast pace and if Whyte is not in the best of condition. However the deadly left hook that Whyte has demonstrated in his last few fights Is a major threat for the Columbian.
This has all the ingredients of being a thoroughly entertaining fight in which against the odds, the dangerous Kaboom Rivas could cause a stunning upset and shatter Whyte’s dreams of a world title fight.
The history of Boxing in the heavyweight division has shown us that making a comeback after a considerable lay-off to challenge for the heavyweight title normally ends in failure. Muhammad Ali’s “Fight of the Century” with Joe Frazier was a prime example of that despite two warm-up fights against world-class opponents in Jerry Quarry and Oscar Bonavena. However the controversial outcome in declaring the fight between WBC champion Deontay Wilder and Lineal Champion Tyson Fury a draw, robbed the Gypsy King of a fairytale victory which would not have looked out of place in a Hollywood movie.
For the majority of the fight, Fury outboxed the Bronze Bomber and seemed to most fight fans to be well ahead after 12 rounds despite been knocked down twice in the 9th and even more viciously in a dramatic final round in which at the time it looked for sure that Fury wouldn’t beat the count once that dynamite of a punch landed. Up until 4 seconds of the count, Fury seemed as if he would not rise to his feet however just like Lazarus, he not only arose from his Boxing grave but actually finished the round stronger than Wilder which defied belief.
How Mexican Judge Alejandro Rochin scored the fight 115-111 for WBC champion Wilder and gave the first 4 rounds to the Bronze Bomber was a shock and puts into question the competence of Judges with Canadian Robert Tapper scoring the fight 114-112 for Fury and England’s Phil Edwards scoring the fight 113-113.
Thankfully, it seems that both Wilder and Fury are keen for a rematch and if we are to go by how quick negotiations were agreed for the first fight, fight fans can look forward to Wilder/Fury II. Will a second fight be a similar replica of the first fight with Fury outboxing Wilder or will the Bronze Bomber catch Fury with a similar punch to the 12th round early to end the fight? It’ll be fun finding out in 2019!
Dereck Chisora’s thunderous knockout of Carlos Takam was a reminder that all it takes in Boxing is just one devastating punch to change the outcome of a fight.
On Referee Howard Foster’s scorecard, Takam had won 6 of the 7 rounds before Chisora’s brutal knockout of Takam in round 8 who had looked on occasions a punch or two away from stopping Chisora with Foster watching closely.
The jackpot punch has revived crowd-favourite Chsora’s career who has previously fought for the world title against Vitali Klitchko and has featured on many top of the bill contests against fighters such as Former Heavyweight Champion David Haye, Tyson Fury on two occasions and Heavyweight contender Kubrat Pulev.
Many fight fans would like to see a grudge rematch against Dillian Whyte which Chisora lost on a split decision in which it would not have been a very controversial decision had Chisora been judged the winner.
Whyte is on a crest of a wave after defeating Joseph Parker and although a grudge rematch against Chisora would be a mouthwatering prospect, Whyte seems reluctant to fight Chisora again just now as he is perhaps one more fight away from fighting for a world title whether it be a rematch against Anthony Joshua next April or perhaps WBC Champion Deontay Wilder should both fighters remain undefeated.
After Chisora’s stunning victory, his popularity as a fighter has never been higher and he will be keen for a big-money fight against a top 10 fighter. Perhaps a rematch against Takam would appeal to fight fans in what was arguably the best fight of the night or could Joseph Parker be a potential opponent who will be keen to prove that he can still be a major contender in the Heavyweight Division despite losing his last two fights.
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