Rahman was better. Unfortunately, he was also better at finding odd ways to lose or draw fights he should've won.
Both have the power to knock eachother out. Shavers hit harder and had more chin on him. Rahman was larger and a better boxer. Shavers is the favorite, Rahman wins in an upset
Both guys had a tendency to lose fights they should win on paper. However, both had wicked power in their right hands and could occasionally pull off amazing upsets. Whoever gets knocked down first will have a huge advantage for the rest of the fight as neither guy had good defense and both had bad recovery. I would lean toward Shavers as he had a bit more power and has actually managed to work some very brutal fights after being dropped such as against Sims and Williams. He had a wider variety of punches, the uppercut and even a hook. As long as he paces himself and only pulls the trigger when he sees an opening, he should be slightly favored to win. For Rahman, he should use the jab and fight a more cautious fight, taking advantage of his better stamina and fundamentals. If he sticks to boxing rather than brawling, he could stop shavers at some point in the mid-late.
Rahman's failing against Oleg is all you need to know. Twice over, Rahman couldn't figure out a limited glass jawed slower boxer with a lethal right cross. Rahman could box the perfect fight get tagged with one heavy right and start falling all over the place. If Rahman is to win he must jump on Shavers and never let him attack, but when has he ever shown that kind of confidence in his offense? He boxed Oleg like a scared puppy, and it took several rounds of Lewis literally pawing and backing up with his hands down for him to finally commit to his punches.
An excellent slugfest for several rounds. I picked Rahman by stoppage as I think he has the potential to outlast Earnie in a shootout. But I wouldn’t bet money on it either
I go with Rahmen. He had a good jab and some power of his own. I see him setting up the big right and finishing Ernie early.
