Earnie Shavers - Hardest Puncher of All Time (R.I.P. 1944-2022)

Foreman had more power behind his shots than shavers, but he was right up there. RIP.

 

A good man in private life and a fighter who made the best out of what he had.

 

May well have been the GOAT for power.
Because there are diminishing returns at best above a certain size.
You look at the closest analogous physical skills to throwing a punch, like throwing or hitting a baseball, those who are measureably near the greatest are not the biggest strongest guys.
#1 all time flame thrower according to many Big Leaguers may well have been a 5'10"-5'11", 170-180 lb. non-hard body, [url]Steve Dalkowski[/url].
(A new article & book to me [url]here[/url], I will savor it, a cursory glance at the 5 chapters there I note Chapman's 106 was dialed down to 105.1, & a guy named Jordan hit the same #, & another minor leaguer 105.5, note Ryan & Feller may have been faster, & Dalko faster still...)

But IF he did not hit as hard or harder than some select SHW sized men, since everyone who fought him win or lose says he is the hardest puncher, it is unlikely that anyone near his size, including Foreman, threw as hard for single shots.

His combination of heavy & huge, bony hands hands, long arms, explosiveness, utter commitment to a shot, & superb form in one thing, marshaling his whole kinetic chain meant he was a once in a Blue Moon like puncher.

Came within 1 second of the title with Holmes, & close & debateably deserving vs. Ali.
RIP man who in so many other times & places-certainly with more belts available-would have been champ.

 

Those who fought both Foreman and Shavers would disagree.

 

A genuinely nice guy and a gentleman with enormous power in his fists.

I think this power is proven by the right hand he landed on Ali in the second round of their fight.
He didn't seem to have everything behind it (unlike when he floored Holmes) but it still almost took Ali's head off.

I think my favourite moment from the interviews Shavers gave was from the Facing Ali documentary. Shavers seemed to have a slight hesitation or impediment when he spoke but when he talked about his fight with Ali, he said:

'He took some shots from me, boy, that's unbelievable'

and he said it with such conviction that there was no hesitation or impediment.

Here's a timestamped link to it:

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Shortly before Shavers' death, I looked him up online and found articles from 2001 that advertised his autobiography. They actually gave his home address on the Wirral for those interested in being placed on the mailing list for a copy.

Being curious, I looked up the address and was saddened to see that a boxing legend was, at one stage, living in a tiny bungalow.

I don't mean to be judgemental but, considering the risks that fighters take, I'd prefer to see them enjoying the rewards of the sport rather than living in a way that suggests that the money they fought so hard for has long gone.

But being happy is far more important and Shavers always seemed happy and content with his life.

RIP.

 

RIP.

 

Similar to Norton but perhaps not quite as outstanding, I recall reading that Earnie was quite the all round athlete in High School.

As was the case for the multi faceted Norton, they had to introduce the Pugguy Rule at my school also - to limit my across the board domination.

Give me a “P”, give me a “U”, give me a “G”…etc. ),

 

I got to have lunch with Earnie Shavers a few years ago on Fourth of July.

My brother called me and told me he was part of a small group (six to eight people) who were taking Shavers to lunch — he was passing through town on his way back home from some kind of church/preaching engagement (I’m not sure if he preached/shared his story or maybe it was his wife … I forget) but some boxing people here were gathering with him.

I shook his hand (which was massive and all bone) and didn’t say much, just sat back and listened. He was gracious and told a few stories. Was in very good humor, laughed a lot. I remember thinking when I shook his hand that if he clocked me with that even at his age he’d cave in my face, haha.

I know we picked up his tab and thanked him for joining us.

 

You’re a lucky man. Picking up Earnie’s tab would be nothing compared to the honour and pleasure of meeting the man.

On the other hand, the prospect of shouting James Toney for lunch just to be in his presence, might give one cause for serious pause in order to mentally calculate if there is, in fact, a “net” gain to be had.

Earnies hands weren’t just big but also boney as you noted. His protruding knuckles made for a nice, god given, face splitting, serrated edge.

 

That's cause Shavers put everything behind a punch, while Foreman rarely could, since he wasn't as explosive. Also, Foreman had bigger hands, thus the area he impacted was bigger, which diminishes how one feels the punch. The smaller the contact area, the more it hurts.

 

Shavers didn't put everything behind a punch that hurt Ali far more than anything Foreman landed on him.

Maybe Shavers was just a harder puncher.

 

I think he was instinctively dodging Ali's left hand.

 

Shavers punching power was dramatic it was like something written for a movie. The Williams KO is just ridiculous. He hit him so hard that Williams didn't even really feel the full effect until he started walking to his corner and collapsed!