How would a young Earnie Shavers or Larry Holmes do against the top heavyweight boxers in 2019?

Holmes could potentially beat everyone in the top ten, but probably avoids Usyk like the plague. Fury would give him major problems IMO. Could also see someone like Hunter giving him problems too. Holmes was occasionally quite inconsistent.

Shavers probably doesn't make a dent in this current top ten. Too small, sloppy and flawed to beat anyone good, although he might knock a couple of them down. I can see him knocking down Whyte then getting KOed, knocking down Fury then getting KOed or outpointed, knocking down AJ then getting brutally KOed, things of that nature.

 

Holmes beats anyone. Especially against AJ, always felt he’d have a field day with him.

Shavers loses to top3, and to Usyk. But he’d have a punchers chance against anyone, small HW or not.

 

Shavers would be better off @ cruiserweight as his vaunted power, proven against hopeless undersized cans, wouldnt carry him far against today's skillfull heavyweight behemoths.
His glass chin and poor stamina sure aren't doing him any favors either.

 

He'd fit right in at Cruiserweight.

 

Yep, nobody there is as skillful as Larry Holmes bar Usyk and even Usyk got tagged up more often than Larry.

 

Yes I'm sure he'd be terrified of a guy who hasn't beaten a top 50 HW.

OP - Holmes likely beats them all although the size differential gives the top 3 some kind of a chance

Shavers could potentially KO anyone but I'd make him underdog against the top 3, he's pretty much 50/50 against the rest, could go either way.

 

Holmes maybe. Shavers gets beat by any top heavy today.

Outside chance at landing the bomb on Joshua.

 

Shavers was a hundred times the fighter dillian Whyte is who is currently a top hw. Give me a break none of these out of shape fools are cut from that kind of cloth. Joshua just got battered around the ring by lazy obese slob of a fighter

 

Shavers just isn't durable enough to hang with any of these guys. I think Shavers vs Whyte is about 50/50.
Wilder gets there first and KO's him.
Fury toys with him.
Joshua and Ruiz are both significant favorites over him.

 

Ruiz is a fat slob. He wouldn't have been a contender in the 70s. Neither would Whyte. These guys are out of shape and have no nuance to their games. Laughable you think they stack up so we'll

 

Holmes wouldn't be 'terrified' of Usyk but he'd recognise him as a very live threat, and coupled with his being a southpaw I think Holmes would have avoided that work while he could. Too much potential for an upset. He'd also understand that CWs are to all intents and purposes small but legit heavyweights of the type that he fought throughout his career (including Shavers) and that Usyk clearing the division out would signal very real possibilities of doing the same to the division above.

Wilder's size differential would be about as relevant as Coney's.

Shavers might nab one or two good wins over someone like Hunter or Joyce, but more often than not he'd find himself getting beaten down. His power was enough to knock a lot of good fighters down but not to keep them down, and that wouldn't change in today's era.