<P> In his first defense of the WBC title on June 9 , 1978 , Norton and new # 1 contender Larry Holmes met in a classic fight . After 15 brutal rounds , Holmes was awarded the title via an extremely close split decision . The three judges ' cards were as follows : 143 -- 142 for Holmes , 143 -- 142 for Holmes , and 143 -- 142 for Norton . The Associated Press scored it 143 -- 142 for Norton . The March 2001 edition of The Ring magazine listed the final round of the Holmes - Norton bout as the 7th most exciting round in boxing history . As noted above , Holmes - Norton is ranked as the 10th greatest heavyweight fight of all time by Monte D. Cox , a member of the International Boxing Research Organization ( IBRO ) . Holmes went on to become the third - longest reigning world heavyweight champion in the history of boxing , behind Joe Louis and Wladimir Klitschko . Years later , Holmes wrote of his experience that this was his toughest match in over 70 contests . </P>
<P> In his first defense of the WBC title on June 9 , 1978 , Norton and new # 1 contender Larry Holmes met in a classic fight . After 15 brutal rounds , Holmes was awarded the title via an extremely close split decision . The three judges ' cards were as follows : 143 -- 142 for Holmes , 143 -- 142 for Holmes , and 143 -- 142 for Norton . The Associated Press scored it 143 -- 142 for Norton . The March 2001 edition of The Ring magazine listed the final round of the Holmes - Norton bout as the 7th most exciting round in boxing history . As noted above , Holmes - Norton is ranked as the 10th greatest heavyweight fight of all time by Monte D. Cox , a member of the International Boxing Research Organization ( IBRO ) . Holmes went on to become the third - longest reigning world heavyweight champion in the history of boxing , behind Joe Louis and Wladimir Klitschko . Years later , Holmes wrote of his experience that this was his toughest match in over 70 contests . </P>
who won the fight between norton and holmes
who won the fight between norton and holmes
Holmes
Holmes