On June 9, 1978, the late Ken Norton Sr. made the first defense of his World Boxing Council (WBC) Heavyweight Title against the hitherto unbeaten Larry Holmes at Caesars Palace Sports Pavilion, Las Vegas. Norton was awarded the WBC title in March, 1978, after Leon Spinks reneged on a prior agreement to face him and opted, instead, for a lucrative rematch with Muhammad Ali, whom he had suprisingly outpointed, by split decision, at the Hilton Hotel the previous month.
Norton, 34, was past his prime, but vastly more experienced than Holmes, 28, so started 6/5 favourite to retain his 84-day-old title. However, it was Holmes who made the early running, using his exceptional hand speed to win four of the first five rounds. By contrast, Norton started slowly and it was not until the sixth round that he started to hurt his opponent. Remarkably, having lost four of the first five rounds, Norton won five of the next six.
In rounds twelve and thirteen, Holmes responded, landing a succession of heavy shots as Norton, once again, covered up. Thereafter, Norton went on the offensive, once again, landing six unanswered punches to Holmes’ head and body at the end of the penultimate round and starting the final round in similarly aggressive fashion. Holmes fought back, launching a late flurry which, momentarily, looked to have Norton in trouble and the fight ended with the pair slugging it out, toe-to-toe, in the centre of the ring. The result went to the judges, with Holmes winning by split decision, and the minimum margin, 143-142, 143-142, 142-143.