Robert Norton
Encyclopedia
Robert Norton is a British
professional boxer
who competes in the cruiserweight division. He is the current holder of the British
cruiserweight title and is a former holder of the Commonwealth and WBU
cruiserweight titles.
. By April 1997 he had compiled an unbeaten record of 17 wins against no defeats and only one draw (against Chris Woollas) and had earned a shot at the Commonwealth cruiserweight title. He travelled to Northern Ireland
to challenge holder Darren Corbett
in December 1997 and lasted the full 12 rounds in what was to be an unsuccessful attempt. The defeat to Corbett was to be his first as a professional.
's version of the cruiserweight title. He challenged the reigning champion South African, Jacob Mofokeng and registered a majority decision over 12 rounds to lift his first career title. The reign would not last for long however as a challenge by another South African fighter, Sebastiaan Rothmann, in his first defence ended in a new champion and a second career defeat for the man from the Midlands after the fight was stopped in the 8th round.
, Tony Booth
. Three more victories followed against Darron Griffiths, Lee Swaby
and Paul Bonson before lining himself up for a second tilt at the commonwealth crusiserweight title against current champion Mark Hobson
. Also up for grabs during the fight in September 2003 was the vacant British title. However, when Norton tried to challenge at championship level he came up short and Hobson won the fight with a unanimous decision over the full 12 rounds.
One fight only in 2005 and one fight in 2006 saw two further victories against journeyman
opponents before in March 2007 Norton challenged Tommy Eastwood for the vacant English cruiserweight crown at the Mercia Park Leisure Centre in Coventry
. The fight was won when the referee stopped the contest in the 8th round handing victory and a third career title to Norton
to fight Serbian
Enad Licina. The fight resulted in a fourth career defeat for the Englishman as he lost a unanimous decision over eight rounds. It wasn't until October 2008 that Norton fought again, this time in a challenge for the vacant British cruiserweight title previously held by recently retired Mark Hobson
. The fight took place in the Meadowside Leisure Centre in Burton-on-Trent and saw Norton claim the title at the second attempt against London's Micky Steeds.
In February 2009, Norton defended the belt for the first time against David Dolan
. The fight at the Aston Leisure Centre in Birmingham
was also for the now vacant commonwealth title belt. In an exciting fight which saw a total of five knockdowns, Norton became a two belt champion as he earned the judges votes via a unanimous decision. On 13 November 2009 Norton defeated former European title challenger Ismail Abdoul in a non-title fight before meeting Dolan
again on 15 January 2010 at the leisure centre in Altringham. In another close fight, Norton once again managed to hold on to the title when the judges scored the contest a draw.
Norton chose to give up his Commonwealth title when it was felt he would not be able to meet his mandatory challenge against Australian Dominic Vea. The fight, due to take place on Vea's home turf in Australia
, did not appeal to Norton who said “Does anybody want to go 12,000 miles to fight? Especially when I was the man with the title and they should have come here to face me." Norton chose instead to concentrate on his British title saying that the most important thing for him was to "win the lonsdale belt outright".
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
professional boxer
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
who competes in the cruiserweight division. He is the current holder of the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
cruiserweight title and is a former holder of the Commonwealth and WBU
World Boxing Union
The World Boxing Union is a boxing sanctioning body.Until recently it was fully recognised by the British Boxing Board of Control as a legitimate sanctioning body.WBU titles were particularly well recognised in Europe and Africa....
cruiserweight titles.
Early career
Norton started his professional career in September 1993, with a 2nd round win over Stuart Fleet in WalsallWalsall
Walsall is a large industrial town in the West Midlands of England. It is located northwest of Birmingham and east of Wolverhampton. Historically a part of Staffordshire, Walsall is a component area of the West Midlands conurbation and part of the Black Country.Walsall is the administrative...
. By April 1997 he had compiled an unbeaten record of 17 wins against no defeats and only one draw (against Chris Woollas) and had earned a shot at the Commonwealth cruiserweight title. He travelled to Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
to challenge holder Darren Corbett
Darren Corbett
Darren Corbett , nicknamed Raging Bull, is a Northern Irish professional boxer. Corbett's weight fluctuated significantly throughout his career and although he had some fights at both heavyweight and light-heavyweight, the bulk of his contests and his success came at cruiserweight.-Amateur:Corbett...
in December 1997 and lasted the full 12 rounds in what was to be an unsuccessful attempt. The defeat to Corbett was to be his first as a professional.
WBU Champion
Norton bounced back from his first career defeat to register two back to back wins before lining himself up for a shot at the World Boxing UnionWorld Boxing Union
The World Boxing Union is a boxing sanctioning body.Until recently it was fully recognised by the British Boxing Board of Control as a legitimate sanctioning body.WBU titles were particularly well recognised in Europe and Africa....
's version of the cruiserweight title. He challenged the reigning champion South African, Jacob Mofokeng and registered a majority decision over 12 rounds to lift his first career title. The reign would not last for long however as a challenge by another South African fighter, Sebastiaan Rothmann, in his first defence ended in a new champion and a second career defeat for the man from the Midlands after the fight was stopped in the 8th round.
British and Commonwealth title challenger
In response to losing the title Norton took a year out and returned in September 2000 with a win over journeymanJourneyman (boxing)
A journeyman boxer is defined as a fighter who has adequate boxing skill, but does not have the caliber of a contender or gatekeeper. Outside of boxing, a "journeyman" is a trader or crafter who has completed an apprenticeship, but is not at the level of a master craftsman...
, Tony Booth
Tony Booth
Anthony or Tony Booth may refer to:*Antony Booth, British actor*Tony Booth , American country and western singer*Anthony Clarke Booth, recipient of the Victoria Cross...
. Three more victories followed against Darron Griffiths, Lee Swaby
Lee Swaby
Lee Swaby is a professional heavyweight boxer from Lincoln, Lincolnshire.-Professional career:Swaby began his sporting career as a kickboxer aged 14. He trained at the 'Still Kickboxing Gym' in Lincoln city. Swaby's trainer invited him to attend a trial to join the fighters class. This trial...
and Paul Bonson before lining himself up for a second tilt at the commonwealth crusiserweight title against current champion Mark Hobson
Mark Hobson (boxer)
Mark Hobson is a British former professional boxer fighting out of Huddersfield in England. He competed in the cruiserweight division and is a former British & Commonwealth cruiserweight champion and former world title challenger....
. Also up for grabs during the fight in September 2003 was the vacant British title. However, when Norton tried to challenge at championship level he came up short and Hobson won the fight with a unanimous decision over the full 12 rounds.
Route back to contention
Following the Hobson defeat, Norton returned to the ring in April 2004 with a win over journeyman Greg Scott-Briggs. A victory over former opponent Chris Woollas followed before in December 2004 he met experienced Paul Bonson for the second time in a challenge for the British Masters cruserweight title. Norton claimed his second career title after stopping Bonson in the 6th round.One fight only in 2005 and one fight in 2006 saw two further victories against journeyman
Journeyman (boxing)
A journeyman boxer is defined as a fighter who has adequate boxing skill, but does not have the caliber of a contender or gatekeeper. Outside of boxing, a "journeyman" is a trader or crafter who has completed an apprenticeship, but is not at the level of a master craftsman...
opponents before in March 2007 Norton challenged Tommy Eastwood for the vacant English cruiserweight crown at the Mercia Park Leisure Centre in Coventry
Coventry
Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
. The fight was won when the referee stopped the contest in the 8th round handing victory and a third career title to Norton
British and Commonwealth champion
Norton's next fight after being declared English champion was in December 2007 when he travelled to SwitzerlandSwitzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
to fight Serbian
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
Enad Licina. The fight resulted in a fourth career defeat for the Englishman as he lost a unanimous decision over eight rounds. It wasn't until October 2008 that Norton fought again, this time in a challenge for the vacant British cruiserweight title previously held by recently retired Mark Hobson
Mark Hobson (boxer)
Mark Hobson is a British former professional boxer fighting out of Huddersfield in England. He competed in the cruiserweight division and is a former British & Commonwealth cruiserweight champion and former world title challenger....
. The fight took place in the Meadowside Leisure Centre in Burton-on-Trent and saw Norton claim the title at the second attempt against London's Micky Steeds.
In February 2009, Norton defended the belt for the first time against David Dolan
David Dolan
David Dolan is a British professional boxer who has competed at both heavyweight and cruiserweight. As an amateur he won a gold medal at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in the super heavyweight division...
. The fight at the Aston Leisure Centre in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
was also for the now vacant commonwealth title belt. In an exciting fight which saw a total of five knockdowns, Norton became a two belt champion as he earned the judges votes via a unanimous decision. On 13 November 2009 Norton defeated former European title challenger Ismail Abdoul in a non-title fight before meeting Dolan
David Dolan
David Dolan is a British professional boxer who has competed at both heavyweight and cruiserweight. As an amateur he won a gold medal at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in the super heavyweight division...
again on 15 January 2010 at the leisure centre in Altringham. In another close fight, Norton once again managed to hold on to the title when the judges scored the contest a draw.
Norton chose to give up his Commonwealth title when it was felt he would not be able to meet his mandatory challenge against Australian Dominic Vea. The fight, due to take place on Vea's home turf in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, did not appeal to Norton who said “Does anybody want to go 12,000 miles to fight? Especially when I was the man with the title and they should have come here to face me." Norton chose instead to concentrate on his British title saying that the most important thing for him was to "win the lonsdale belt outright".