 In 1996 he moved back up to heavyweight and scored a revenge win over an aging Tony Tucker; however, a long legal battle with Don King saw him lose his WBA mandatory #1 challenger status and instead of a challenge to King-promoted champion Evander Holyfield, Norris was forced to fight 6'7" King-managed heavyweight Henry Akinwande in an eliminator.Akinwande stayed at long range and scraped a decision over Norris.Once again a heavyweight title fight escaped Norris.