The thing is Chief Cooney was only stopped by hall of famers. Shavers was wacked in his prime by Ron Stander a bum in 1 round. Shavers had a glass chin, no skill and no stamina. He gets wacked in a around or 2 at best.
I would have loved to have seen both of those fights.... I think Cooney would have kicked Shavers' ass early, but would have struggled mightily against Page, perhaps even lost. Of course if Greg showed up like he did against Berbick, fat and deconditioned, Cooney might have gotten him..
there were several fights Cooney was going to have and then pulled out. There was: Shavers Page Weaver I think it all came down to his management being afraid he would get beat and lose the Holmes payday they had coming. Remember before Holmes could fight Cooney he had to get through 3 fights the WBC already had lined up for him. So instead of having Cooney fight during that time they made him sit out and wait for a Holmes fight which was a terrible idea. I think Cooney would have beat Shavers and Weaver and like you said it depends on which version of Page shows up.
Whoever connects first wins. I think Earnie beats Gerry to the punch with his handspeed. Also, Shavers was a better athlete with much better two fisted power. This isn't something I'd put money on though. It's an intriguing matchup.
Yes, I have heard of a WBA title fight with Hercules that never came off because they were able to put the Holmes deal together for a much, much larger purse. Frankly, I think the fast starting Cooney might have had a chance of stopping the slower starting Weaver early under the right circumstances. Cooney with the WBA title and a win over Weaver would have made things interesting in the early 80's.
Looking at what Quarry did to Shavers early, I think the much larger, stronger and faster starting Cooney would be death of Shavers. Bad match for Earnie.
Again, I wouldn't place a bet on the outcome. Ellis also had Earnie going in the corner before the referee's break gave Shavers the opening for that right uppercut. Admittedly, it's a hazardous judgement call on my part.