Earnie Shavers - ESB's Undisputed king of power.

I don't think it was only Ali or Holmes standing in his way. He'd already lost to men like Stallings. Granted he was depressed at that point in time, and hadn't fought in over a year, but even considering that, It's a terrible loss. He'd also lost to men like Lyle, Quarry, etc. He likely would've lost to both Foreman (well definitely) and Young as well.

He had Top Tier Power, heart of Gold, and an excellent chin, but lacked stamina, ring IQ (at times he presented excellent ring IQ, but not nearly enough), consistency, and fundamentals.

 

Yah, & let is accentuate the fairly obvious to the non-oblivious: Lyle said nobody hit like Shavers, even Foreman-yet Jones cites Lyle as an authority that somehow he hit the hardest lol!

I am waiting for the woefully undiscerning to use Shavers' losses against him.
As if overall & finishing ability somehow is the same thing as pure power-or even the ability to land effectively & efficiently.

 

Shavers is a perfect example of why we should not fixate on raw power. Guys like Foreman, Wilder, Baer, Louis or Liston were more effective punchers and had probably just as much power as him.

 

Of those you mentioned, the best fighter Louis had the least raw power.
But a superb combination puncher.

The kid in us will always be interested in raw power.
I do not think any of those you mentioned had quite as much as Shavers.
For example, in this thread I said that not only everyone who fought him said he hit the hardest-guys who fought from the '60's-'90s-but somebody else said many of them also fought Foreman.

So why do you say Foreman likely had as much power, when nobody who fought them both agreed?

 

And they all have felt the punches of:

Ron Lyle, George Foreman, Mike Tyson, Tommy Morrison, Bernardo Mercado, Frank Bruno, Joe Frazier, Sonny Liston, Gerry Cooney, Jeff "Candy Slim" Merritt, Gerrie Coetzee and Oscar Bonavena

In conclusion, Shavers hit harder than all of the guys mentioned above

 

A few? 6/11 of them fought Foreman. That's more than a half compared to the one who didn't

 

“Every time he hit me with a jab, it was like getting hit with a night stick. His right hand was like a sledgehammer. It felt like a whip cracking against my head, a lightning bolt stinging me. I kept telling myself this is unbelievable, this guy is the real deal." - Ron Stander

 

I like the fact you noticed his chin. He took some of the best punches from Ali, Holmes, Lyle, Mercado, Sims and was not easily put down. He was a terrific combination puncher with good uppercuts and straight rights. Plus, Earnie Shavers is probably one of the greatest crowd pleaser in the history of the HW division.

His terrific wars with Lyle, Sims, Mercado, Williams, Cobb and Ali are must see fights. He had three great one rounders against Ellis, Quarry and Norton. His bout with Holmes (2) was amazing as well as his battles against Jimmy Young and Ron Stander which were spoken highly in boxrec. Here's some info of their bout:

Jimmy Young vs. Earnie Shavers (2nd meeting)
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Jimmy Young 200 lbs drew with Earnie Shavers 208 lbs by SD in round 10 of 10

• 
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• Date: 1974-11-26
• Location: Capitol Center, Landover, Maryland, USA
• Referee: Harry Cecchini 45-46
• Judge: Larry Barrett 47-44
• Judge: Tom Kelly 47-47

"Earnie Shavers, 210, Warren, Ohio, ran into a tiger in Jimmy Young, 197, Philadelphia. Shavers had stopped Young in an earlier meeting and for a couple of rounds last night it looked like he might repeat. Young was down in the 4th from a vicious left hook but got up and weathered the storm. In the 5th, Young started coming. He blasted Shavers with both hands and in the last two rounds it looked like Earnie might go at any moment. The majority of those at ringside felt Young was a handy winner but the verdict was a draw. Referee Joe Cecchini gave his vote to Shavers, 46-45, while one judge saw it for Young 47-44 and the other judge had it even at 47 points each." -Cumberland Evening Times

The Stander fight was simply a come around win from The Bluff's Butcher. He took all of Shavers bombs and to knock him out in round 5.

Shavers is one of the most exciting fighters in HW history. Along with Satterfield, Holyfield, Louis, Snipes and Joe Frazier.

 

Excellent post!

You forgot John Ruiz!

 

I think you meant Ernie Terrell!