Earnie Shavers - ESB's Undisputed king of power.

I'm not sure if he was "robbed", but from memory it was a fairly close fight and you could give Shavers the nod.

I suspect had he won even a minor belt he'd have a lot less detractors. It's funny because if Amir Khan didn't win any titles people would still have to acknowledge his speed. Similarly, chin and stamina are intangibles that are undeniable even if a guy has a horrible record. But when it comes to power, that usually sparks heated debates.

I definitely agree Holmes was good at making guys who lacked in some areas look bad. It was the well rounded technicians he struggled with. That's probably why he often either put on a clinic or went life and death with guys.

 

I think Shavers would have definitely got the nod if it weren't for the last round. Even such, I thought he'd done enough to get the win.

Shavers had the misfortune of being around in a strong era. I mean, his two title shots were against Ali and Holmes. How much worse luck can you get? Had he been around in a weaker era, he'd definitely have grabbed a belt.

 

To be fair though, this version of Ali he faced is nothing to rave about. 1977 Ali is likely in the weaker half of the lineal champions.

 

First round KO for Jerry Quarry!!! And remember folks...it's been mentioned before....Shavers had stamina issues....didn't carry his power into the later rounds...never had a KO past the 7th round...and didn't have the knack of coming up with the BIG punch when he needed too...He had Ali and Holmes hurt...couldn't put 'em away!!!

 

He did have a ko past the 7th round before so..

 

We've told him this about 10x for over a year now but he keeps repeating it. It's impossible for him to have not seen us correct him yet he keeps saying it over and over. We not only have a record of the fight it's on YouTube (Roy Williams).

Especially for a slugger who lacks speed, stamina, timing, and finishing ability, he did remarkably well against those two for a guy whose plan A, B, and C was to knock the opponent out with a barrage of heavy blows. He had absolutely no chance of winning outside of a punchers chance.

Within the 70's, he might have been able to steal the championship from post FOTC Frazier and he could have caught Foreman with a nasty shot (although in a long drawn out slugfest I'd definitely favor Foreman). Had he gotten to Norton before Holmes it's almost guaranteed he would have been champ. In other eras, he'd definitely have a chance of grabbing an ABC title in the 80's or the post Klitschko watered down era. Guys like Weaver, Smith, John Ruiz, Seldon, Charles Martin, Stiverne, etc would have been food for Shavers.

 

Shavers vs Williams. What a fight!

Earnie didn’t just show later round power - he literally turned it completely around with a single power shot.

In rd 10, Williams picked up from the battering he was giving Earnie in the latter part of rd 9. Shortly into rd 10, all but out, Shavers was given a standing 8 count. At that point, though Williams was somewhat fatigued, he looked okay and he certainly wasn’t the floppy rag doll he was soon to become.

Shortly after the standing 8, Williams was belting Earnie all over again along the rope but then Shavers ripped a SINGLE right hand counter - a real beaut - Williams legs dipped - that drained most of the life force from Williams - suddenly Williams looked like he had little control of himself, threw some awkward shots here and there but really on auto pilot while still on his feet.

Earnie eventually pounded him for a reciprocal standing 8 - we all know how Williams collapsed dramatically thereafter - that was recorded as KO, not a TKO, right? Williams certainly wasn’t getting back up in time.

Of course Williams gave Holmes a real good stoush in his last bout prior to - very good jab which Larry found very disconcerting and I think he hurt Larry on more than a few occasions.

Question: Was Roy Williams ever knocked down otherwise? I’ve never read that he was.

 

As far as I know, nope he wasn't. Which makes Shavers KO particularly impressive that he was the only man to floor and KO him whilst simultaneously displaying frightening late round power that came out of nowhere.

 

Well if that’s the case (no other KDs), you bet and you can see that Williams was one super tough SOB anyway vs Holmes and Shavers.

Henry Clark also had that tell tale loss of body control when he was hit by Shavers in their rematch.

Another excellent performance by Earnie and on that occasion he actually did finish his opponent off in fine style - durable Clark having only been stopped by Liston and Norton otherwise.

 

Bump

 

This content is protected

 

Earnie Shavers did fight his way up the ladder as a top contender should, he even put a prime Larry Holmes on the canvas in Sept 1979 before being stopped by the WBC Champion. Shavers did visibly shake World Heavyweight Champion Muhammad Ali on Sept 29 1977 in front of a nationally televised crowd viewing it live on NBC from Madison Square Garden that night. When Ali attempted to dance, he took a thunderous Shavers right hand, stopping a moving Ali in his tracks. Ali though came close to scoring a knockdown in round 15 as Earnie was out of gas, Shavers held on only to lose a unanimous 15 round decision. To Earnie's credit, he did not fall prey to the Rope A Dope which Ali was starting to use as his staple in his title defenses, Shavers just backed away when Ali was laying on the ropes covering up, daring Ali to meet him in ring center.

 

As to Shavers I remember one day when you told me the right hand that dropped Holmes was a hook as I replied to you it was an overhand. These are Shavers words:

"If I had one fight, one moment, I could do over, it’d be in the second fight with Larry Holmes,” a reflective Shavers recalled years later. “The punch I had been trying to land all night finally found its mark. An OVERHAND right caught Holmes flush on the button, and down as if he had been deboned. As I headed to the neutral corner, Holmes didn’t stir. I was the heavyweight champion of the world. All my troubles were finally over. It was the greatest feeling I’d ever had. And it lasted for five whole seconds".

 

I believe Ali had said Foreman was the most powerful, Liston the most intimidating and Frazier the toughest. Anyway I think Foreman had the heaviest hands but Shavers had more snap when he turned one over. That's what put guys to sleep. The explosion right on the target where as with Foreman they see more of his punches coming but it still a thud type of effect.