Earnie Shavers vs 1974 Foreman & 1991 Foreman

Guys like Tua, Sanders, Ruddock, Smith, all these power punchers would probably give a better account of themselves than Shavers. Earnie would get folded in like 2 or 3 rounds. The distraught Cooney that Foreman beat would be a massive threat to Shavers

 

The early rounds would be interesting and George would really need to use his jab. Young George didn't always do that. Also, anytime young George threw a left hand, he threw it from his hip and his right hand was by his other hand. When he threw a right hand, it was from his hip and he dropped his left. So he is going to take some shots from Shavers. But he will also hit him back because Shavers apparently liked to get hit; he was no defensive wizard. Young George had a better chin so he would win.
Old George used his jab, had a solid chin and sometimes he blocked punches. It would be pretty easy for him.

 

Chaotic disorganized puncher vs. Collected precise puncher.

I go with Foreman all the way.

 

I see Earnie knocking him down and hurting him more than Lyle ever did. But 70s George would get him in 5.

90s George gets swole up bad but survives the power stops him in 7.

 

Yep, because Old Foreman is way smarter and tougher than Young Foreman.

Sure Ernie can win if he plays it safe and stays away just snipping points; but I suspect Ernie will be too carried by the idea of KOing Foreman, gets too close and eventually pulls a Moorer. Thus I still give Old Foreman the advantage versus Ernie.

 

Nah, Smith was garbage. Ruddock and Sanders could be as vulnerable as Shavers too.

 

They have more physical/technical attributes than Shavers

 

What on earth did Smith or Ruddock do that made them "technically" superior to Shavers?

 

Ruddock had a far better jab, measured and probed with it, could fight going both ways, parried punches, superior timing overall while Shavers had no mobility and couldn't disguise his punches as well. Ruddock is bigger, faster, has a better chin.

What doesn't Ruddock do better than Shavers ? Maybe the right hand ? I'm certain he destroys Earnie

Shavers is better than Smith but less stamina, size, and I'm not sure what notable traits shavers has over him besides power and pressure. He lost to Bob Stallings in his prime, he was very reliant on that power

 

Ruddock abandoned his jab like a dead beat dad going out for milk and cigarettes. The Ruddock who developed his power with the smash and became a thrilling slugger and the Ruddock who had a crisp sharp jab were two entirely different boxers.

For what it's worth, Shavers also had a decent jab when he bothered to use it. He once boxed a guy's head off when he hurt his right-hand.

Not sure if Ruddock had a better chin than Shavers when he he was demolished by Lewis in just 2 rounds. He wasn't known for his durability and digging deep to win fights, I think he lost every fight where he got dropped.

Shavers wasa better body puncher, better inside fighter, and yes WAY better at throwing the right hands: cross, overhand, uppercut, etc. Shavers was also the better finisher.

Smith was hot garbage. The only things I give him over Shavers is his chin and raw physical strength, and neither of those things are "technical skills", they're just physical attributes. I asked you what does Smith do technically better than Shavers? The answer is nothing. Smith was a mindless slugger who blocked with his face.

 

People really overstate how bad Ruddock’s boxing skills got, yes they declined over the years but before Lennox killed him Ruddock was visibly a much better boxer than Shavers.

 

Ruddock had destructive uppercuts in the pocket shown against Tyson and he could punch from more angles. He still showed more mobility than Shavers in almost every fight and him abandoning his jab is an oversimplification he didn't use the jab anywhere near as much but he still used it plenty against his opposition when he wasn't exchanging or posting his lead hand. Ruddock was a superior counter puncher, his hooks were tighter, he had better coordination. Shavers is not entirely a better inside fighter, the Roy Williams fight shows it, Ruddock was a good at controlling his opponents in the clinch, faster combinations when he wants to be speedy, threw explosive sneaky uppercuts too. He had slightly superior defense stepping back, holding a guard up close, smothering, parrying, avoiding counter hooks after throwing his smash in close range. Shavers has better fundamentals, power and more punches in his arsenal but thats it. Ruddock would be the more difficult fight for Foreman imo

Shavers was demolished in a round by someone who didn't hit nearly as hard as Lewis. He got floored and lost to Bob Stallings in his prime.

Compare Ruddock vs Page to Shavers vs Mercado. Shavers is a better brawler up close but not as smart and was vulnerable to counters like against Quarry. Commentators were saying Ruddock was just a brawler but im certain he smokes Shavers

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Shavers is a better inside fighter than Smith, combination puncher and steps into his right hand. Their defense is equal. Their jabs were equally effective against their opponents. Do you really believe Shavers does better against Foreman than someone like Bonecrusher Smith ? I can see that but not Ruddock

 

Keyword here is "was".

Ruddock fell in love with his power. Floyd Patterson tried to fix a lot of his technical issues when he went to his camp, but to no avail.