 He had a tentative contract with Muhammad Ali in 1976, but the fight never materialized.Instead he met and defeated lower ranked contender Larry Middleton, fellow Minnesotan Scott LeDoux, Bunny Johnson and veteran Chuck Wepner among his five 1976 fights, all wins with two KOs.Having a 38-0 record with 32 KOs he fought the future champion Ken Norton in a prime time network television bout in May 1977.