Answer by taking a quote from the following article:

Norton was an outstanding athlete at Jacksonville High School. He was selected to the all-state team Football team on defense as a senior in 1960. His track coach entered him in eight events, and Norton placed first in seven of them. As a result, the "Ken Norton Rule", which limits participation of an athlete to a maximum of four track and field events, was instituted in Illinois high school sports.

Norton built up a steady string of wins, some against journeyman fighters and others over fringe contenders like the giant Jack O'Halloran. He was learning and improving. But he suffered a surprise defeat, ironically just after The Ring magazine had profiled him as a prospect, at the hands of heavy hitting Venezuelan boxer Jose Luis Garcia in 1970. It was justifiably Garcia's career peak. But Garcia was overpowered, both then as rated contenders, in their rematch five years later.  Norton was given the motivational book Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, which, as he states in his autobiography, Going the Distance, changed his life. Shortly before he died, Norton stated "Think and Grow Rich changed my life dramatically. I was going to fight Muhammad Ali. I was a green fighter, but yet I won, all through reading this book." Upon reading Think and Grow Rich, he went on a 14-fight winning streak, including the shocking victory noted above over Muhammad Ali in 1973 to win the North American Boxing Federation heavyweight champion title. To quote Norton from his autobiography noted above, "These words (from Napoleon Hill's Think and Grow Rich) were the final inspiration in my victory over Ali: Life's battles don't always go to the stronger or faster man, but sooner or later the man who wins is the man who thinks he can." Norton also took a complete course by Napoleon Hill on gaining wealth and peace of mind. "It can be related to anybody, to be the best in a career, to think positive", said Norton.  An article which appeared in The Southeast Missourian discussed that Norton credited Napoleon Hill's philosophy for his success. To quote from the article, "Norton says he's a believer in Napoleon Hill's philosophy, that a person can do anything he puts his mind to. 'So I train for my fights,' he says, 'mentally as well as physically. One thing I do is only watch films of the fights in which I've done well or in which my opponent has done poorly.'"  Norton once said, "In boxing, and in all of life, nobody should ever stop learning!"

was he married?