Poor Earnie. That old and that long into his career he did not need to face hitters like Mercado and Sims. Should have just stayed with the boxer types like Tillis. Dug up an Evangelista or a one foot in the grave Lyle rematch. But back then it was real tough on earnie and those retina problems.
Yeah, Sim's did indeed get screwed. Then again, he was maybe the unluckiest heavyweight contender of modern time. I believe he had been shot a half dozen separate times by the time he fought Shaver's, and gun violence is what would eventually take his life years down the road. Shame, Sim's certainly had raw power comparable to the very best at heavyweight and it would have been interesting to see another big puncher get a shot. A KO1 over even a faded Shaver's would have been a great step in the right direction for his career, but they screwed him.
I'm sure i have an article back home where Earnie said he had a sleep in the dressing room prior to this one and for whatever reason wasn't woken up anywhere near early enough and was still waking up when he was dropped.
