dude I just watched that fight a couple of weeks ago and need to disagree. Both guys had horrible stamina in that fight and I don’t think slavers landed a punch to really drop him at the end. Horrific fight IMO
I have to admit, I practically broke my finger getting to this topic when I saw it. I love Earnie, but the Frazier who wiped out Jimmy Ellis wouldn't take long to catch up to Earnie. That said, it's kind of difficult to pick in the sense that Earnie had the means to knock Joe down, but (like anyone else) not knock him out. Joe, had he been tagged, would have gotten up, even if knocked down more than once, and that would have spelled Earnie's doom imo.
Earnie's power shots took SO much out of him it seemed at times they almost hurt him as much as the opponent (uh, maybe not lol). But there's a kernel of truth there. Earnie's knockdown of Larry...the latter's GETTING up and surviving, that is, wasted Shavers pretty much for the rest of the fight. There are other fights with Earnie that bear this out as well. There's a toll to be paid for being (besides perhaps Wilder) the greatest one-shot heavyweight puncher...it takes an extraordinary amount of energy to generate those selfsame punches. Even Deontay has to do a lot of measuring at times, almost as if he knows the price to be paid for skull-shattering power.
My point was never that shavers had great stamina, i was responding to the claim shavers had no late round ko's. He had a very numbing effect with his punches. Roy didnt even realize how badly he was hurt until he walked back to his corner and literally collapsed from the accumulation of damage and sheer exhaustion. He failed to beat the count. It was a legitimate ko. Frazier cannot make a single mistake and he better tighten his guard and keep moving his head from start to finish or he will be in serious trouble.
This is all true. What makes shavers so dangerous is that he abandons all caution and puts all his weight into his punches. This makes the body very tense and explains why he often gassed out. Excellent puncher, poor finisher. Ive never seen a boxer got more weight into a single shot like shavers. It was frightening just to watch. He said he developed the power while lifting bails of hay, chopping wood, and working in a warehouse. Its a very simple, repetitive motion but it gives you incredible wirey strength and back/leg muscles for leverage. He is also sneaker than people give him credit for. He often disguised the power punch during a combination or in a clinch and the opponent doesnt see it coming.
Exactly. Watch how he almost lunges into the punches. Takes a lot to swing your whole body around like that...especially when missing (evident in both Holmes fights...check out how hard Earnie tries to reach Larry in the first fight, and how done he was in that 12th round).
So a past prime Frazier got up 6 times against prime Foreman but a peak Frazier can't get up once against Shavers? OK.
Yeah I didn't get that either. Frazier made the fastest and most accurate heavy of all time miss frequently (by Ali's own admission) but he's going to be "right there to be hit" by Shavers slow and telegraphed punches. Makes sense
I have to agree, Joe Frazier is (like Holy, maybe even moreso) the definition of a Championship Heart. Foreman knocked the yee-haw out of him how many times? But he got up. How many other fighters could have taken those shots without either quitting or going unconscious? And I don't care what anyone says, Ali landed some punches with eeevil snap and intent in the first half of FOTC. I seriously doubt more than perhaps a handful of fighters in the entire world could have taken what he dished out on Joe in those early rounds (more than a few landed flush, folks). Joe would NOT stop. Earnie is, like Deontay (and to a slightly lesser degree Foreman), a scary guy to watch land flush. The velocity he achieved through full body rotation can seem astounding. But, and this is coming from a HUGE fan of both Shavers and Frazier, I STILL don't think he could knock Joe out. Frazier would keep coming, no matter how many times he got clocked, and Earnie couldn't have taken that hook twice in a row. Nuh-uh. If Quarry ended him like that...not much to think about there. My opinion, and to be honest I'd really be interested in counter-arguments. I might learn something.
Shavers could punch very hard. Look at Norton. He got up a couple of times against Foreman couldnt manage to against Shavers. George had thud power, heavyhands. Ernie had snap power.
With respect to your post, Earnie Shavers went 15 rounds with post Manila Muhammad Ali, on Sept 29 1977, in Madison Square Garden, sure he staggered the champ, but Shavers himself almost went down in round 15. When Earnie fought Ken Norton, Ken had lost his title to Larry Holmes by a split decision, on June 9 1978. When Earnie fought Roy Williams, good fight, but Williams was no Ali, Frazier, Norton, or Quarry, who kayoed him in round 1, in 1973. He could hit but his power was used up after 3 or 4 rounds in some fights. Just curious?
