Why couldnt Shavers Finish Holmes?

Shavers was thumbed by Holmes in that fight and suffered a detached retina. It had to be repaired surgically after the bout.

His vision in the eye was blurred, flashing white spots and black spots.

So he was bleeding, his retina was detached, he couldn't see what he was swinging at, and he'd been punched in the head about 500 times before he landed that punch ... and there was 30 seconds left in the round.

The question isn't why he didn't finish him but how he managed to land that shot on the button to begin with.

Shavers swung for the rafters three or four times in that final 30 seconds, he just couldn't see what he was swinging at. And it looks like that, too. He's about six inches off every swing.

 

Shavers not only couldn't finish Holmes but Tex Cobb, Ron Lyle,Ron Stander,Bernard Mercado, who he had all on the floor except Cobb who he hit with everything but the kitchen sink, Shavers lost to them all by stoppage. Earnie could whack but he fizzled as a rule

 

Well, Shavers won the first three rounds against Mercado and dropped him in the third as well, and then, after the minute rest, the fourth round began and before a punch was thrown, there was a delay of three or four minutes while Earnie's glove was replaced.

And Mercado fought a lot better after the five minute break.

Same with Lyle. Shavers floored Lyle, Lyle got up at the bell, and the hometown timekeeper gave Lyle two minutes to recover before he started the next round.

Then there was the detached retina in the Holmes fight.

So, there are always two sides. (Stander, you've got to stop if you put him down. But he stood up to Frazier pretty good.)

 

Shavers was a guy who had a 100 mph fastball but thought home plate was a suggestion.

 

I've been guilty of doing exactly what Shavers did, he landed a big punch and he got excited. In turn he started swinging for the fences looking for the big finish. Instead the best thing to do in that situation is to throw a combination how you normally would, because if it lands while your opponent is already hurt it can put them down, going to the body helps too.

 

Several reasons. It happened near the end of the round. He was too slow. Holmes held. Also Holmes didn't put himself in a vulnerable postion again. That was an awesome punch but I have seen fighters hurt worse and survive. Holmes was staggering a bit upon rising, but no all over the ring or anything.

 

Well played, sir.

 

Maybe it's because Larry Holmes was a tremendous fighter with great recuperative powers who always found a way to survive and fight back hard. He didn't go 48-0 for nothing. Last time I checked, the only guy to stop Holmes in his entire lengthy career, including many fights and years against the world's best even in his 40s and after he was past it, was a prime Mike Tyson.

 

My thought was that Holmes was a champion in blood, bone, sinew and brain... while Shavers was a guy playing lottery tickets in each punch.

 

Shavers hit Holnes so hard he was instantly killed.
yet the blow had such a sudden shock that his braiaiaiiaain bounced around enough so that when he hit the camvas, the electrical impulses from the breain stem reverberated down to shock & restart his heart.

He has been a very successful Zombie for the last 36 some years.

 

Yeah, but Shavers had no footing against Cobb. Earnie was sliding all over the ring.

 

This & what Seamus said in the following post. Then add to the above that Holmes also had great survival instincts & mobility. When Holmes gets up here, even though he is stunned, his brain is still functioning to a degree that enables him to survive the follow-up attack. some fighters possess this more than others: Holmes was exceptional in this regard.

Holmes' mobility is also key; he doesn't stand stock still waiting for Earnie's follow-up attack; he is moving, moving and moving, even though his movement is somewhat un-coordinated due to the shot that landed, his head is a moving target that Earnie can't nail properly again.

 

I don't like Larry Holmes. Never have.

I think he was (and probably is) a cun t .

But he had a helluva chin and a lot of ba lls. He was far better than Ernie (whom I do like). So it would have been a bit of a travesty if he'd lost to an inferior boxer.

It's like Seamus said, three or four posts ago.