A lot of people look at Ali as an adult baby or a horses ass. He used to not be nearly as dopey. He was once a great fighter and not always a complete mess and embarrassment
most boxers are cool in person, always happy to sign autographs and take pics for the fans. i met kostya tszyu at the sydney olympics, met shannon briggs in nyc after his fight at the jacob javitz centre, also met burt young who played paulie from rocky. all of those guys were really cool. the only boxer i met that i kind of played wide was mitch green. that guy is fuckin crazy man, it was outside the taj mahal at atlantic city, i think ray mercer was fighting one of the klitchkos, it was 2002 anyway.
That was hysterical. Ali took boxing to a level of entertainment never witnessed before. His dry sense of humor and sarcasm was amazing. What a great man.
He's right about the U.F.O's and how lots of people are afraid to talk about them. I believe the reason is because they're not what most people believe they are, they're demonic and when you're in the presence of pure evil/darkness, your soul will freeze up, try to ignore it and fear of mentioning them, because some believe that talking about them draws them nearer, sort of like the term, 'speak of the devil and he appears.'
Oh yes so true ...TV only had about 7 channels then, the show's were interesting and fun to watch .Now we have cable with hundreds of channels and NOTHING worth while on...so sad where did all the talent go ?
This was nice to see. I was friends with Kenny starting in the early 2000's. We lived close to each other, and he would frequent my place of business. He was a funny, soft-spoken gentlemen, and was still put together like a Brick $hit House. Dudes' hands and fist were HUGE! Ken let me drive his white Rolls Royce every now and again, very slowly and thru the neighborhood. Great guy and a class act. The last time I saw him was the year before he passed. He had moved out to Vegas. I went to Vegas with my girlfriend, and we were walking down the strip. We went inside a sports memorabilia store and look who was sitting at the table signing stuff...The Champ! I told the Champ don't get up because I was gonna knock him out if he did. He told me he would squash me like a bug! We talked for some time catching up a bit. He gave me an autographed photo of him on the night he broke Ali's jaw. R.I.P. to Champ, to both Champs. They are always missed and never forgotten. Love you Ken.
@@richardhowe5583 Appreciate that. Kenny was just a really cool dude. He would give anybody who walked up to him time to chat with him. He had a really good sense of humor, maybe he learned a little bit from being on Carson.😆💯
Thanks Art for sharing your memories of the great Ken Norton. Even in these TV appearances he seemed like a humble, hard working, and good-natured man. It's one thing to drive a Rolls Royce, it's another thing entirely when you drive THE CHAMP'S Rolls Royce!
I can’t believe he ate twice a day when training. Sounds like he overtrained, I wonder he got short circuited by every big puncher he fought. He had good conditioning to fight guys who weren’t great punchers like Ali.
@@joebiggs4387 Yes, Norton was a devastating puncher. Between him and Frazier, I think both were a contributing factor in Ali’s later dementia. Ali also fought way too long.
It's amazing and surprising how Ali recognized Rubin Hurricane Carter, who decades later was found innocent. A movie was made depicting Carter's case. Norton and Ali were fantastic in this Carson interview. Thanks, Johnny, for the memories! All three R.I.P.
He was granted a new trial 2 times (3 total), and convicted convicted 2 times the DA finally gave up and didn’t retry a third time after the judge granted another retrial due to misconduct by the prosecution. The movie was sympathetic to his plight. There are numerous articles/books written about his case which lay out the facts and conclusion he was most likely guilty. So he may have been released by a judge and the DA decided not to retry due to previous departmental misconduct, but he was never found innocent. And the evidence clearly points to guilty, look at the evidence not the Hollywood movie.
I remember that my late Dad used to watch Johnny's show every night when he had the chance when we were back in the States during the '70s and I also watched it with him if I was still awake. This episode with Ali and Norton was a fun watch. Rest in peace Johnny, Muhammad, Ken and Ed. Thank you for the childhood memories, gentlemen.
Of course he was. Ken Norton was a very respectable and upstanding black man and Ali was never going to act silly with him in front of a white audience. Hence the joke he made when he was weighing in.
This is the second to the last generation of black men raised by their fathers, so they knew how to conduct themselves like gentlemen. Nowadays, most black males are raised in fatherless homes, so they act catty and emotional like women. If this meeting took place today, it would end up in a brawl.
Man you won't ever see stuff like this on tv ever again.. Two upclass gentleman days before a war and hanging out like best friends...No hype... No trash talk... Nothing but respect! ❣
Class, charisma all gone. Look for a photo of Norton chasing Ali in the boxing trunks with socks and dress shoes on at Yankee stadium before there last fight. Hysterical!
@@lwtomoha4728 I'm sure Ali was sincere in his support of Carter. And so was Bob Dylan. He wrote Hurricane, the only Dylan record I've ever bought. Great song and great lyrics. But unfortunately Dylan already in 1975 quit playing the song live. He must become aware that Carter, who was free on bail, wasn't all-love as Densell Washington later claimed. Very violently Carter had beaten a women into the hospital. She had head back and internal damage. This woman by the way was one of the people who campaigned for him to be free. It didn't take long for the public to become aware of Carter's violent personalty and crime record etc. Anyway, most of the celebraties, if not all, that supported Carter all of a sudden were gone. Non of them, as far as I know, not even in the internet age, has ever admitted that their support of Carter was most likely a mistake. Ali didn't say anything, and Bob Dylan didn't play Hurricane anymore.
My dad sat and broke bread with Muhammad Ali in the late 80's at his home in the Berrien Springs, Mi area. Muhammad and his wife were two of the kindest hosts to my dad and he appreciated the experience of meeting Ali.
And had truly sharpened skill and followed a fight plan until it needed to change. Always recall Ken saying he had a fight plan for Foreman but when he seen how big George was at that time, he forgot the entire plan!!
Jhonny Carson was the typical aggressive Irishman Alie had to raise his hands to get respect. Jhonny was afraid to insult him. Ed .was deathly afraid. Ali acted as a free Man. Norton just show boating.
@@alan30189 That's how you see it.Jhonnny Carson was just as racist as any of the rest of them It was not Alie's or Norton's Idea to come on T.V.in their robes. I saw no showboating in Ali.
Muhammad Ali was always an interesting person. But he had What it took to be the greatest and he knew it. And I admire him for his perseverance and strength. He was a legend in his own time. And he lives on in the hearts of those who knew greatness. Rest in peace Muhammad Ali. You are missed. Amen
@cliff we all have our own opinions which we are entitled to I was a teenager when I seen Muhammad Ali and the man had charisma. It was confident and by the time he got done talking his audience was hyped. I found him to be most enjoyable. And very good on his feet. Happy New Year
Yes he was! I’ll never forget the play he made in Super Bowl 27. He made a stop on the Buffalo Bills running back, not Thurman Thomas, but it was third down and the bills ran it up the middle and Norton was the only one there and he stopped him at the goal line and drove him backwards! It was awesome! That was when Ken Norton Junior became a star!
This type of show doesn't exist anymore. Kimmel and Fallon's political shows are garbage. Love the comradery between Norton and Ali. Classy, light hearted and respectful. This video is a treasure.
Man, Ali and ken made this so entertaining. What happened to such professional and organized viewing. This was just so remarkable everything involved. The TV shows are not like this anymore.
I was very ill as a child in 1971 during the Fraser fight I wanted to have a body like ALI’s ...my pop said you have to get out the hospital first I trained my whole life with his physique in mind I’m 63 now in weigh 210 lb and I’m 62 ... i’m a bit shorter but man I feel great ... thank you Ali ... you are the greatest because of your sportsmanship and love for people
This show was aired 4 days before my 17th birthday and I remember watching it....I don't remember the fight, though. They were both great athletes, great boxers. Wonderful show, guys. Thanks for the memories! P.S. I found that full fight on RU-vid and Ali won by split decision- it is a GREAT fight! They were both warriors .
There may have been decades with great heavyweights, but i cannot think of a greater era for heavyweights than that period. Ali, Frazier, Foreman, Shavers, Norton, even Jimmy Ellis and Ron Lyle...what a time.
All of the Top10 fighters would beat Tyson Fury : Ali , Frazier , Norton , Ernie Shavers , Formen , Larry Holmes ...then the next generations of the 1990's-2000's of Tyson , Holyfield , Bowe , Lennox Lewis , Morrison , Michael Moorer , Ike Iebuchie , Bert Cooper , Peter Samuel etc... !!!
@@mwilliams1330 How about Jimmy Young. He beat everyone on that list but Ali got the decision. Shavers got the draw in the 2nd fight. A lot of competition in the 1970s heavyweights
What physical specimens these 2 men are… sheesh 😱 Also.. at 19:30 Ali brings light to Reuben “Hurricane” Carter (played by Denzel Washington decades later). Supreme example of why he is admired far beyond what he did inside the ring ✊🏾
Both were geniuses. Ali was advocating agendas in every sentence that are still being discussed decades later. They were both respectful of each other! That was good!!
@yougotactionsportshandicap357 Different styles. Norton was awkward. He had that cross guard defense and threw his jab from his hip. He'd turn that jab over to a left hook. Even the Cassius Clay version of Ali had trouble with a left hook. Styles make fights. Ali would beat Holyfield
@ Charlie 502 I agree. Ken Norton could take a punch. He fought some tough customers throughout his career and won a lot more than he lost. He was KO'D by legitimate POWER HITTERS. George Foreman / Shavers, 2 ( both who KO'D other quality fighters) of the most prolific power punchers the sport has ever seen and Gerry Cooney ( in his old age and semi retired). Beyond that Kenny had a winning record. Not many men left the ring under their own power against Shavers and a Young prime Foreman. For those he claims that he had no punch resistance is a perception that lacks proper context. Norton was a very hard hitter/ counter puncher. If he was an MMA fighter he would have been a very formidable striker and a lot more well rounded in punch delivery than most who are rather crude in their delivery. I would wager being the athlete that he was, he would have thrived in the UFC.
@@garycollier6950 Norton just had problems with big punchers, boxers he gave hell though. As for MMA, if he avoided the big hitters he'd be a good fighter.
Gosh how gracious and witty and respectful they both are. They both must represent the high point of heavyweight boxing in that amazing age. I don't know much about Ken, but he was such an amazing physical specimen, even Ali must have felt humbled. Truly impressive examples of character and manhood. RIP, and thank you. God bless both of these good men. Australia
@@Raughwe The fact that he is a womanizer which is not to his credit. This kind of behavior has directly contributed to the destruction of the family that in turn has led to so many other problems in our society today.
I met Ali twice , first time at Miami International Airport he was there to fight, I was around 11 years old, Im 70 today. My dad sent me over to this tiny coffee shop to get his autograph, I had no Idea who he was, as I walked into the shop, he was sitting on a low spin type bar stool, he spun around just as I walked up to him, I think he saw me walking up in a mirror behind the counter, and asked me how I was doing, I asked if I could have his autograph, he said sure do you have a piece of paper, I said no, he asked do you have a pencil, I said no. His huge body guard handed him both, he asked me what my name was, told him Charles, And he wrote.....To Charles the young man who has nothing but this autograph, Mohammad Ali, slash. Cassius Clay. He was a very nice person. 2nd time was when I was 16 and going to Merchant Marine School, In piney point Maryland, 1968, he was there to visit his Olympic Coach, he was the schools physical fitness coach and trained boxers also. And again great guy.
My Dad used to save the autographs I would get, he was a pilot and I used to hang around the airport, I had alot of autographs. When I was 17 me and my Dad had a complete falling out over the Vietnam war. I never talked to him again ever, after he died I asked my brother, which I hadent talked to in at least 28 years. He basically said he didnt know anything about the. A autograph collector in Houston where I lived, he owned a huge fence company, he had maybe 75 hanging up in his huge office. He told me if I could put my hands on it, he would give me 10,000 for it, he had never seen where he had signed both names.
@@charlesmiller7861 superb story which year Ali signed both names. Muhammad Ali / Cassius Clay ?? So interesting to check why he did that , my profil s name is Kassius Klay .. since Ali has never forbidden anyone else than him Ali , to call himself as Kassius Klay with 2 K ! His father and mother kept to call themselves Clay anyway !!!
But there was one other who had the smoothness, class, charisma and huge laughs that could run the show almost better than him which is why he never spoke to her again after she got her own show....Joan Rivers!
Ali mentioning the guys case at the end shows he's way bigger than boxing. His heart was made big by God to share with everyone who was on earth at the same time as Ali.
WOW…almost 50 years ago… This was the best TONIGHT SHOW ever.. It leaves today’s for dead.. All gone now., sadly.. Remember Ken Norton was in MANDINGO.
It always amazes me how much more articulate people were back then. Listen to Frazier, Norton, Foreman, Ali...all these guys are better spoken than most white collar, college educated people of today.
@@kybelianNorton & Frazier used to spar with each other. They had the same trainer in Eddie Futch so they vowed not to fight each other. I'd take Norton by decision. When Ken Norton "beat" Jimmy Young that fight was for the championship. That's why they fought 15 rounds instead of 12. Ali had already been stripped. They just hadn't announced it yet
Ali was on a different level of human beings. Almost godlike, not being blasphemous. This video is over 40 years old yet you can still feel his energy. I can only imagine being in the same room with him.
I agree with this this is when T.V. was worth watching with 3 former Champions because Johnny Carson was the champion of late night T.V. as well and of course the Greatest of All Time Muhammad Ali and then Ken Norton they had 3 fights may God Bless all 3 of them that are no longer with us.
Throw in some 'Kirshner's Rock Concert' and 'Midnight Special', I'd be able to go with this type of programming til my last breath. Both TV and radio suck today, and has for the past 30-35 years. Thanks for this.
Tyson Fury has brought heavy weight boxing back in a big way. He's the biggest champion in history, with the most god given talent. Undefeated against a lot of great opponents.
I had dinner with Muhammad Ali after an exhibition vs Luke Capuano in Chicago in 1979. After the match I was invited by a friend of my fathers (who was involved in sponsoring Capuano ) to meet for a late dinner at the Four Torches restaurant. Shortly after we sat down Ali and a few of the people with him sat down right across the table. It was the best brush with greatness I’ve ever experienced. He was engaging, funny and crazy smart.
I was never much of an Ali fan but must admit he was one hell of a boxer, and it was very difficult watching his slow decline health wise. May they all rest in peace.
Ali did have a huge ego, but he was the real deal when inside the ring with an opponent. It is a shame about his heath issue.....Cerebral Palsy I think. RIP to all that have passed.
Ken Norton, what a gentleman ! Cheers to an Incredible 1970s Heavyweight Division ; - ALI - FRAZIER - NORTON - FOREMAN - HOLMES Hon mentions ; - Quarry - Shavers - Spinks - Cooney - Lyle Great Time for Heavyweights ; 🥊🥋🏆🏅
Kudos to Mohammad Ali and Ken Norton, and Johnny Carson for having them. They fought 3 days later in Los Angeles, and Ali won the rematch. . I missed the original show because I was stationed in Germany in the US Army, but I did get to see re-runs of Sea Hunt with Lloyd Bridges on AFN. :0)
@@shable1436 no I’m not saying he was mad, the country I am from mad means like that’s insane he said it and now everyone talks about it, we phrase words differently here lol
Legendary TV presenter Johnny Carson; may his dear soul rest in eternal peace. What a dexterous way to handle two formidable fighters all on one show!!!!!!
Wow, Ali was such a transcendent figure that he was able to generate exposure on the top late night talk show in the world, to a man like Ken Norton, one of the more underrated Heavyweights of all-time. This is back when Boxing was almost if not just as big and respected as MLB and the NFL.
Well you missed Ken Norton and he was great. Norton was a color commentator and even doing fights when he fought. Norton also was in like 10 movies. He had charisma also
NORTONS PHYSIQUE WAS AN INSPIRATION FOR ME, IN THE SUMMER OF 1974 I STAYED IN THE GYM, THANKS KEN. He really had a bad style even though he fought Ali very good. He was to light against a big young George Forman.
It was reported that when preparing for a fight, Ken Norton would do road work (jog) wearing work boots. I've tried it before, and it's five times the workout as jogging in sneakers made for running. Ken Norton was a beast, one of my all-time favorites.
Wow! I had no idea this existed until it popped up! So glad I got to see Ali in such a personal situation. You can see his charisma & gamesmanship throughout this session from his UFO stories to "I only trained for this fight" to his talk during the weigh in about his weight in various fights. Great shout out to Hurricane!
Norton let Ali be Ali, and Ali gave Norton respect. It's crazy to see Nortons physique and he only weighed 204. And the shootout to Hurricane was cool as hell.
Respect how well behave they were. So sad how Ali was silenced after being this powers a speaker!!! POWERFUL speaker!!! He really could have been great in just a field with words alone. Also Norton was great commentating on fights. This was great to see. Rest in peace to them both....
Just as its NOW becoming acceptable to take the UFO phenomenon seriously on mainstream tv In 1973, Ali was talking calmly & seriously about it on the biggest talkshow in the US! While the audience giggles & guffaws at him!! Dude had amazing courage inside & out 💪
