I go with the consensus. Shavers could potentially hurt Joe early on,but Frazier would knock Earnie out before 5 rounds had elapsed.
Shavers is not without a shout. A slow starter will always face a risk against a fast starter with an absolutely murderous punch.
True, but Shavers will have to go all out like he did against Ken Norton because otherwise Frazier could very well survive the onslaught and start "smoking", at which point Shavers has little to no chance of winning.
Frazier's problem is that he took a lot of shots. He bobbed and weaved but he ate a fair few on his way in. He'd probably beat Shavers in a rocky fight, but he's bound to get hit and hurt along the way. Shavers has a puncher's chance against anyone, but against a fighter who comes right at him and is open to big shots that chance is increased. Shavers problem here is that Frazier was a beast and could wear Shavers down pretty quick when the pace quickens.
Agreed. Joe could well hit the deck early, but no one punch was ever going to stop him, and Earnie was not a great finisher. Now, as for stopping Shavers in five rounds or less, Earnie took a prime Lyle, Holmes, Cobb and Mecado beyond this distance. Lyle and Mercado were bigger punchers than Frazier, while Cobb was physically stronger. Once Joe had Earnie going, he would be more relentless than all of them put together, but it would take more than five rounds before Earnie did buckle under.