Earnie Shavers vs Primo Carnera

He wouldn't have been more intelligent in utterly gassing himself in the first few rounds and then having nothing left in the late ones to end the fight. Punchers running out of steam and being easier to deal with is a tale as old as time. Baer at least paced himself diligently.

 

I am still leaning towards Shavers to win this one.

However it is not the one sided beatdown someones are imagining.

 

I don’t know. Shavers had his weaknesses but I’m not totally sure how good Carnera ever really was either. I’ll compromise by saying Shavers might have stopped him early or Carnera might have prevailed late.

 

I lean towards Shavers in this fight, but I wouldn't want to have to bet on it.

 

So far it seems like Shavers by a hair.

Get it? Shavers? Hair?

I made a funny.

 

See Shavers-Tiger Williams. Earnie would have early trouble reaching Primo's chin, but Carnera's body would be a huge target, and front running would suit Shavers just fine. It's not as if Earnie couldn't pace himself and vary his punching power in the way Foreman wasn't seen doing (aside from Peralta).

Paul Gallico wrote that Primo could take it to the body all day long, but this is Shavers. Earnie was only dropped around half a dozen times in his career, and he got up to win one of those (over Jeff Sims). Shavers had a trio of tenth round knockouts, sent Tillis into a ninth round face plant, and won rounds 13 and 14 over the GOAT in ruining Ali's life (as Larry Holmes has emphasized on camera).

Ron Lyle stated that Earnie was an extremely smart and sharp puncher. Would Carnera have enough to rally after spotting a huge lead? I just don't see it. Shavers was much the better puncher aside from power. He's the jackrabbit starter in this one, and Primo would simply fall too far behind to catch up.

 

55/45 favor of Shavers…can c Primo winning w his ability to get back up being what it was. Shavers stamina was so bad and Primo did KO better fighters than Shavers. Think either way this fight stops at or before round 7 I think it slightly more likely Shavers gets the win but it’s really a toss up

 

Shavers scored multiple stoppages past the 7th round, including a KO, as opposed to the multiple TKO's he scored after the 7th round, vs Chuck Leslie in the 10th round of their contest.

 

Along with Tiger Williams. Rochelle Norris was also a tenth round stoppage for Earnie, and in his first major win, he knocked Vincente Rondon out of the ring as time expired. The severely underrated Bob Stallings decked him in round nine, but Shavers had enough left to get up and reach the final bell. (Most would take it for granted that if he was floored that late in a bout that he wouldn't be able to continue.)

Showed surprising skill with a bruised right hand in decisioning Henry Clark in Paris. Unlike Foreman, he was perfectly capable of planning for the distance. Arguably did better than Norton at Yankee Stadium with Ali in MSG. (I had Muhammad the winner over Norton in their rubber match, 10-5. Ken won his five rounds big, but I had Ali winning all the close stanzas. Norton needed three more rounds like the five he won, but Kenny apparently didn't have it in him. Seems most commentators on YouTube who watched the entirety of their rubber match are surprised to have Ali the clear winner 9-6 or 8-7. At school the next morning, the kids felt Ali deserved the decision over Norton, but that Shavers beat Muhammad.

Jerry Quarry was correct in labeling Earnie as a front runner, a situation which only changed with Jeff Sims, although that one monstrous right almost pulled it out for him with Tillis (who has repeatedly said on camera that Tyson "hit like a homo" in comparison). No question Quick was never hurt by Tyson, and I had James the winner over Mike, 6-4 in rounds, while what Shavers did to him in round nine was infinitely more devastating than the flash KD Mike decked Tillis with