Forty years after rising to the top of the boxing world and outdueling Muhammad Ali, Ken Norton lost his final fight -- a battle following a stroke -- at a Nevada medical facility, a friend said.
He was 70 years old when he died Wednesday at a Veterans Affairs' medical facility in Henderson, Nevada, according to Gene Kilroy, who had managed Ali and more recently visited Norton as he recovered from a stroke.
While some younger people may know him best as the father of former Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers linebacker Ken Norton Jr., the elder Norton was one of the most prominent figures in all of sports during the 1970s -- in large part because of his consistently great bouts with Ali.
Their first showdown, in 1973, ended with Norton earning a split-decision victory -- and breaking Ali's jaw in the process. But Ali got his revenge six months later, winning their rematch in another split decision.
The two fighters faced off one more time in 1976 at New York's Yankee Stadium, with Ali again taking the win in what Norton's website calls "a highly disputed split decision."
Yet he was more than a boxer. Starting with Dino De Laurentis' film "Mandingo," Norton appeared in about 20 movies. He also fathered five children, including his namesake, now a linebackers coach with the NFL's Seattle Seahawks.
Norton also became close friends with Ali, whom he visited in the hospital the day after their first bout. According to Kilroy, Ali told Norton, "You hit so hard."
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