Earnie Shavsrs vs Dillian Whyte

55-45 to Whyte. Whyte is hittable and if Shavers could hit something he could destroy it. On the flipside Whyte is powerful himself and considerably bigger than Shavers who wasn't hard to find himself.

 

Shavers would send Dillian Whyte into another dimension

 

Whyte has a considerable size advantage and Shavers wasn't the quickest or most subtle fighter but I think at the end of the day Whyte for me isn't slick, quick or crafty enough to avoid the bombs although he does have a realistic chance in this one, Earnie did not have the greatest chin in the world and DW can hit.

 

Shavers, the more well known banger but doesn't make him an clear favorite here imo. In fact I see it fifty fifty. Would be explosive!

 

If you had asked me 2 or more years ago I would have picked Shavers without hesitation. Even 1 year ago after the Povetkin loss I wasn't sure if his chin would hold up. But Whyte has improved from his caveman swing for the fences days. He actually uses his jab more and isn't overly eager to go for the KO when he has his man hurt. He has improved his defense and stamina and is more well rounded now.

Shavers is still a major threat and can turn things around with 1 shot. But I would have to favor Whyte 60-70% of the time. Shavers often gassed out if he didn't take you out with the first knock down and he himself was very hittable (although his chin is underrated). Shavers didn't really have a plan B and while Whyte was no master of adaptation he has become a slightly more refined 2 dimensional fighter lately.

 

Underrated chin? Dude was stopped by Larry Holmes and was punched out by Ron “The Bluffs Butcher” Stander, a Nebraska beer drinker who was more of a bar room brawler than a puncher

 

Shavers could gas out here, but I'd wager on him getting to Whyte sooner, rather than later.

Shavers W KO.

 

If Shavers was on his best night he'd KO Whyte.
But Shavers could lose to almost anyone on a poor night.

 

Yes, underrated. He broke his hand against Stander. A limited slugger like Shavers losing his best hand made him go from being 1 dimensional to 0 dimensional. That would be like a rhino losing it's horn and expecting it to beat a Hippo. Not happening. Both were young inexperienced sluggers and Shavers punched Stander in the forehead and it all went down hill from there. Could have happened to anyone.

Holmes stopped him on his feet only after he gassed and had a bloody face due getting thumbed in the eye and nailed by dozens of razor sharp Larry Holmes jabs and flush right crosses to the face.

Shavers was knocked down in the 1st round against the devastating puncher Jeff Sims. He turned things around and KO'd Sims in the 5th.

Shavers beat the 6'5 230 pound Roy Williams after being dangerously close to getting KO'd himself. Shavers was floored in the 10th, got up and was completely helpless against the ropes as Roy pummeled him mercilessly before he somehow found the grit to take Roy out with an incredibly dramatic come from behind KO. He hit Roy so hard he walked away from Shavers and then simply collapsed as a delayed reaction.

What's very noteworthy about Shavers' endurance is how many contenders/champions he faced so close to each other. The Bugner fight was less than 6 months after the Sims fight, and then he faced a prime James Tillis just 1 month later (with a a stay busy fight between both bouts). After beating Roy Williams less than a year later he fought Ali for the title and went 15 rounds without going down. In his very next fight he went 12 with a prime Holmes. After 3 stay busy fights he beat Norton 1 year after the Holmes loss and then rematched Holmes the same year he beat Norton.

The wear and tear on Shavers body from so many training camps and back to back fights against skilled name opponents must have been crazy. So yes, I stand by what I said, his chin is underrated. He was a throw back fighter having 4, 5 6+ matches a year, took on all comers, and paid his dues patiently waiting for his shot at glory. He got a late start as a boxer and spent much of his early amateur and pro years still working in a factory to support his family which only put more wear and tear on his body. He's honestly an American icon of hard work and endurance and deserves a movie.

 

So you're telling me that if you get up after kissing the canvas to win a fight, it means that you have a strong chin? If so, why boxing fan have deemed Tommy Morrison a glass chinned fighter? The Duke was sent to the canvas multiples times by much better fighter, much better competition, yet ,most of the time, he got up to win the fight. But They still claim he has a weak chin..
Having a strong chin is one thing having a fighter's heart is another...

 

I would bet the under.

 

Shavers by brutal KO

 

This is actually one fight where I'd favor Whyte but only just. Shavers could KO him but the same can be said inverse. Whyte will use his 250lb telephone pole jab and will likely land his punches more accurately that Shavers would.

But Shavers could definitely take him out. As i said I'd only slightly favor Whyte

 

Well Tommy had a lot of unlucky circumstances. Against Lennox he was facing a guy 240 pound skilled behemoth who hit like a truck. I think I read he hurt his hand as well. For what it's worth Lennox needed to land 154 punches and 8 knock downs to stop an already compromised Morrison and Morrison was not counted out. The problem was not his chin, but rather his lack of defense and the fact Lennox was a much more well rounded fighter. Nobody gets up 8x against Lennox Lewis with a weak chin.

Against Bentt I think he got caught cold early before he could really warm up and never recovered after being badly hurt. It happens with guys who have really fast hands. They can catch you with shots you don't see coming and really buzz you even if there isn't a lot of weight on the shots. I know from experience, sharp fast punches can rattle you and then you have no idea what's going on.

Mercer hit pretty hard and had a chin of cement. If both guys are aggressive come forward fighters, usually the more durable one is going to win. No shame in that knockout loss, just an inevitable train collision.

Morrison had only been stopped 3x. For what it's worth he got off the floor to beat the hard hitting Ruddock in an epic slug fest. He dealt with a broken jaw to eventually stop Joe Hipp, no glass jawed fighter would be able to do either of those things. He got off the floor twice to beat Williams and survived a fight with an old Foreman using lateral movement and defense. Anyone saying he had a glass jaw hasn't watched his fights. If you want to say he had suspect stamina and leaky defense that would be a correct assesment.

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As for your initial comment about kissing the canvas meaning you have a good chin, that is not what I said. What I'm saying is that if someone is facing a skilled ranked opponent and/or a big puncher and you manage to avoid getting KO'd you obviously have an above average chin. A weak chinned fighter would not be able to take the blows Roy Williams landed on Shavers that was a gruesome war in the trenches.

We must also clarify what we mean by "chin". I always defined it as the ability to take X amount of blows without getting KO'd. This is separate from "Stamina" which is simply your energy levels that deplete as the fight goes on and as you throw punches. A separate category would be "heart/endurance" which is an x factor relating to determination, will power and the ability to recover. Shavers had a good chin, he got nailed by some vicious shots from big men like Cobb, Lyle, Williams, etc without going down and from sharp fast strikers like Ali, Holmes, etc. He did however have pretty poor stamina and had to learn how to pace himself to avoid gassing out. I believe the Quarry fight is the only one in which he was stopped early without being gassed out, and he was stopped on his feet in that fight. Like Morrison vs Bennt, he got caught early before he could warm up and didn't use responsible defense (he admitted he should have backed off and didn't).