...and he'd managed to stop Muhammad Ali in the second round in 1977,and against Larry Holmes in the seventh in '79. He almost accomplished it. Against holmes particularly. Would boxing history have been altered drastically,or in a minor capacity. I take the latter view as I feel that Muhammad and Holmes would have reversed the losses in quick rematches. How does everyone else feel ?
He is already heralded as most likely the biggest puncher, stopping Ali in the 2nd and Holmes in the 7th, there would be absolutely no questioning it, i think. And H2H people would be picking him over ALOT of guys that they wouldnt now. It wouldnt be so massive a thing though, because we wouldve said Ali was past it and Holmes had already schooled him, so it mustve been luck
Yes,The Greatest was way past even his 70's best by this point. So more,indeed,would have been made of his victory over a prime Holmes who'd previously scored a shutout win over him.
Earnie is not the type to face top 10 competition and have some losses in there. If he wins the title, he might get fed a few softies, but Earnie was no spring chicken in there himself and would lose within 2 or 3 years tops.
If Shavers dethroned Ali, Norton would absolutely not be in the IBHOF today. Otherwise, the marquee defense for Earnie besides a return with Ali would have been a title showdown with Young. This was the great dark horse heavyweight rivalry of the 1970s, and it was never satisfactorily concluded. Lyle is another potential rematch challenger, but this time, the younger Shavers manages to reverse the outcome Ron produced with difficulty at altitude in his Denver hometown. (To defend the title against Lyle, Earnie probably drags Ron to an Ohio homecoming, in Akron, Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Canton, Richfield, Youngstown, or even his residential Warren.) Had he managed to lift it from Holmes, the WBC's selectively enforced rule against immediate rematches would have likely been invoked. After Shavers, Larry defended against a succession of opponents who Earnie would have also defeated. Zanon was the first of these, and like Holmes, Shavers crushes him before losing the title back to Larry in a rubber match. As happened in actuality, Earnie would not be able to punch his way to another title shot. Beyond that, Shavers would displace Max Baer as the hardest puncher to ever hold the heavyweight title. Winning the championship puts him in the IBHOF, and probably freezes Norton out of it.