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Yankee Stadium: The Last Gladiator Fight at The Bronx Colosseum
- Damian Ali
- Sep 11
- 6 min read
Updated: Sep 13
The final clash of a trilogy at 'The House That Ruth Built,' set against a turbulent 1970s New York, ended in controversy, but honor and respect endured.
Press photo of Muhammad Ali with Ken Norton in New York, 1973. Ali points to his jaw where Norton broke it during their March 31 fight.
While millions tuned in to watch Margaret Houlihan announce her surprise engagement on MASH, a historic event was unfolding in the Bronx. On the night of September 28, 1976, Yankee Stadium looked every bit like the ancient Roman colosseum.
Inside the ring, two gladiators, Muhammad Ali and Ken Norton, faced off in their third and final bout, a fight that ended in controversy and marked the end of an era for the old ballpark.
Outside the stadium, the borough itself was said to be burning. New York in 1976 was a city in turmoil. The fiscal crisis had nearly bankrupted City Hall the year before. Police officers were protesting stalled contracts. Crime was surging. Between 1970 and 1980, more than 80 percent of buildings in the South Bronx were destroyed by fires, many the result of arson schemes.
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Roughly a quarter of a million residents were forced to leave their homes. The cuts were so deep that 12 fire companies in the South Bronx were closed between 1974 and 1976, leaving whole neighborhoods unprotected.
Abandoned vehicles and debris in a vacant lot beside apartment houses/1970 Eagle Avenue, Westchester Avenue, Bronx, New York-Courtesy of Camilo J Vergara/Library of Congress
Two months before the fight, David Berkowitz carried out his first shooting in Pelham Bay. At the time, most didn't realize it marked the beginning of a pattern. The attack seemed random, and no one suspected a serial killer; his identity wouldn't be known until the following year. Sadly, when people thought of The Bronx, these tragedies were what they remembered.
A lot was happening in The Bronx in 1976, but ironically, the phrase "The Bronx is burning" that was coined in the same stadium would not be used until the 1977 World Series. Even in 1976, though, the media had already painted the Bronx as America’s permanent ghetto, a label that kept visitors away and damaged the borough's reputation.
Yet amid the chaos, American culture offered escape. Disco and rock ruled the radio. Wild Cherry’s "Play That Funky Music" was number one on the pop and R&B charts. Walter Murphy’s "A Fifth of Beethoven" turned a symphony into a dance floor anthem. The Bee Gees, Diana Ross, and the Steve Miller Band filled the airwaves with rhythm and energy.
Even the skies above Mars carried a note of wonder. On July 31, NASA released an image from Viking 1 that appeared to show a face carved into the Martian surface. The "Face on Mars" sparked speculation and fueled the imagination.
Muhammad Ali and Ken Norton fighting at Yankee Stadium, Screenshot from broadcast footage of Muhammad Ali vs. Ken Norton III, Yankee Stadium, September 28, 1976/editorial use
Against this backdrop, Muhammad Ali, 34, entered Yankee Stadium in white trunks as the reigning heavyweight champion. Ken Norton, 33, wore blue. He was Ali's familiar rival, the man who had broken his jaw and defeated him three years earlier. Their trilogy stood at one win each. The final bout promised to settle the score.
Before the fight, both men spoke with confidence but in very different tones.
Ali declared, "It shall not go over five. No way. He's got to leave. He might go in one."
Norton countered, "If it goes five rounds, it will be rough. If it goes fifteen rounds, it will be rough. Because Ali prepared for this fight, and I prepared for this fight."
For fifteen rounds, they fought under the lights of the Bronx. Norton kept throwing an effective overhand right, and when it connected, it seemed to catch Ali off guard more than once. But Ali responded with quick flurries of punches, landing combinations that slowed Norton's advancement.
By the numbers, Norton was the more effective fighter, landing 286 punches out of 635, compared with Ali's 199 out of 709. He also connected with more power shots, 192 to Ali's 128.
Watching it today, one thing is clear: both men weren't afraid to stand in close, toe-to-toe, but they measured their attacks with respect for each other's power. The exchanges often had the feel of a street fight; Ali and Norton could be heard shouting at each other as they traded punches. When the hardest blows landed, the crowd roared to its feet.
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Both boxers, seen exiting the ring, refused to answer questions. Screenshot from broadcast footage of Muhammad Ali vs. Ken Norton III, Yankee Stadium, September 28, 1976/editorial use
When the final bell rang, many ringside thought Norton had done enough. The judges scored the fight for Ali by unanimous decision, 8–6, 8–7, and 8–7 on the cards.
Ringside commentators tallied differently. Red Smith called it for Norton 10–5, Stan Hochman had it 8–6 with one even, and Frank McGee scored a 6–6 draw with three even rounds. "So we are all agreed, gentlemen, that Norton is the winner," one of the broadcasters said, before correcting himself to note McGee's draw.
As the decision was announced, boos poured from the stands. Later, it was reported that of the 21 sportswriters polled after the fight, 17 believed Norton had won. Ali himself later admitted, "I honestly thought he beat me in Yankee Stadium." Norton never forgave the decision. "I was robbed," he said, a grievance he carried with the judges for the rest of his life.
What stood out to me while learning about the history of this trilogy was not just the intensity of their fights, but the deep bond behind their rivalry. Ali and Norton fought fiercely in the ring, but once the gloves came off, their mutual respect was clear. This mix of competition and friendship, I think, truly defined their relationship.
Following their initial bout, Norton went to see Ali in the hospital, where Ali was recuperating from the broken jaw injury sustained during their first encounter. Years later, after Norton's near-fatal car accident, he said Ali was one of the first to appear at his bedside. Even when unconscious, Norton's friends and family recalled that he responded when Ali spoke to him. Their rivalry was fierce, but the admiration between them endured.
Original Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY: Courtesy of Carol M. Highsmith-Library of Congress
Ali walked away with six million dollars plus a share of revenue; Norton earned one million and a smaller cut. The live gate was announced at $3.5 million, underscoring the financial weight of the event even amid the city's turmoil. Promotional materials touted an attendance of "over 30,000," but it was reported that in reality, only about 19,000 fans made it into Yankee Stadium.
Looking back, Ali and Norton's third fight feels less like a sporting event and more like a snapshot of America in the mid-1970s. Inside the ring, a legendary champion barely escaped defeat.
As for the backdrop that night in 1976. Outside, reports claimed the Bronx was on fire, but Bronxites were fighting to save their borough. Police were protesting, and the city itself was struggling for survival. At the same time, pop songs, sitcoms, and space images reminded people that life still had its lighter and stranger sides.
It would be 34 years before the Bronx saw another night of championship boxing. On June 5, 2010, the new Yankee Stadium hosted its first fight, when Miguel Cotto defeated Yuri Foreman in front of a roaring crowd. But for those who remember Ali vs. Norton 3, the 1976 bout remains the last great spectacle at America’s original colosseum, a night that captured both the spirit and the chaos of a city on the brink.
From what I've seen and read, the debate reignites whenever someone like me watches the fight for the first time. Everywhere I've looked, past and present, the opinions, from experts to everyday fans, are divided to this day. Think about that for a second. Isn’t that what you’d call legendary?
Thanks for reading!
Keep life interesting, stay channel surfing
— Damian Ali
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