03/18/1978 - Ken Norton

Kenneth Howard Norton Sr. (August 9, 1943 – September 18, 2013) competed from 1967 to 1981, and held the WBC world heavyweight championship in 1978.

When the WBC  ordered a match between the new champion Spinks and Norton, its number one contender. Spinks however, chose to face Ali in his first title defence, instead of facing Norton. The WBC responded on March 18, 1978, by retroactively giving title fight status to Norton’s victory over Young the year before and awarding Norton their championship, which split the heavyweight championship for the first time since Jimmy Ellis and Joe Frazier were both recognized as champions in the early 1970s.