1976 Muhammad Ali vs. Ken Norton III Fight Contract Signed by Ali....

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1976 Muhammad Ali vs. Ken Norton III Fight Contract Signed by Ali.

"It was crazy, you've never seen anything like it," said Bob Arum, the fight promoter. "Pockets being picked, watches ripped off." This third meeting of Heavyweight legends Ali and Norton found New York City in the midst of a police strike that turned the scene outside Yankee Stadium into something resembling the fall of Rome, as roving gangs of hoodlums preyed upon the fans brave enough to step off the subway. Nearly a third of ticket holders simply turned around and headed back home. The 108 ticket sellers manning kiosks outside the House That Ruth Built sold just ten tickets to walk-ups in total. "It was anarchy," said Jerry Izenberg of the Newark Star-Ledger. "It was a disgraceful evening."

Sharing that opinion, but for a decidedly different reason, was Ken Norton, who outshone the Champion and eight-to-five favorite Ali in every CompuBox statistic and yet fell to a unanimous decision. Boxing Monthly magazine rates the contest as the fifth most disputed title fight decision in history, and while Ali endorsed the ruling publicly, he admitted to Mark Cronin in October of 1976, "Kenny's style is too difficult for me. I can't beat him, and I sure don't want to fight him again. I honestly thought he beat me in Yankee Stadium, but the judges gave it to me, and I'm grateful to them."

But if justice was lacking in the finale of this famous trilogy, the result spoke to the unparalleled relevance of Ali to his sport, a fact that Norton himself acknowledged as a fairly reasonable rationale for gifting him the decision. Ali was candid about his declining skills in the aftermath and spoke of retirement, but he'd fight six more times, winning half of those bouts, including a third Heavyweight Championship. But in many ways the bout marked the end of an era, both for Ali and for the old Yankee Stadium, which would never again host a boxing match.

Presented is the contract that brought the two Boxing Hall of Famers together for a bout "...held at Yankee Stadium, New York, New York, or Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, on a date during the period from September 1, 1976 through Sept. 30, 1976..." Both fighter's contracts appear, each eleven typed pages in length. Ali signs the final page of his version along with manager Herbert Muhammad and president of Madison Square Garden Michael Burke. Norton's contract is signed by Burke and Norton's manager Robert Biron. Small handwritten modifications are initialed by Burke and/or the fighters' representatives. A single page at the end of each contract, signed by Burke alone, assures the performance of Madison Square Garden Boxing, Inc.

The contracts survive without a single condition defect of any concern, with all signatures as bold as the date of their application. Full LOA from PSA/DNA. Full LOA from Beckett Authentication Services.