Earnie Shavers

Its true.Shavers packed a heck of a punch. Holmes said he's never been hit that hard in his life, Ali said Shavers hit just as hard as Foreman, and the rest speaks for itself.

bill1234 said:

Its true.Shavers packed a heck of a punch. Holmes said he's never been hit that hard in his life, Ali said Shavers hit just as hard as Foreman, and the rest speaks for itself.

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Yes Shavers had a whole lot of k.o.s,but I can't recall any real big wins except when he caught Norton in the first round.Also half his losses have come by k.o..

Shavers had chin issues. Other than that and his stamina and telegraphed punches he was pretty good.

I now now for sure that I can make it as a boxer! If a flabby, out of shape and unathletic bum can take up boxing training for the first time ever at 22 and have his first amateur fight 2 weeks later... win... and turn pro 2 years later... I can do the exact same bloody thing (if not similar) by starting full on bare knuckle straight down the line serious boxing training at 21... make the 2008 Olympic Boxing Team... win a Bronze or Gold Medal (I don't want Silver... it means you lose your last match)... and turn Pro by the end of '08!!!

No, don't get the wrong idea about Shaver's he was in great shape. He just lost his energy puting everything into one shot. He had next to no flab on him he was mucle bound.

bill1234 said:

No, don't get the wrong idea about Shaver's he was in great shape. He just lost his energy puting everything into one shot. He had next to no flab on him he was mucle bound.

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I'm gonna get all muscular!!!

No, don't get overly muscular like he did or you will have stamina issues.

Earnie had some big wins other then his demolition of Norton. He stopped the feared Roy " Tiger " Williams, former WBA champ Jimmy Ellis, long time contender Henry Clark and the talented Howard " Kayo " Smith. Tex Cobb said Earnie's power was unbelieveable. He hurt Ali several times during their fight. He had Ron Lyle all but out but the bell saved him. Lyle came back to stop Earnie in a thriller. I agree Earnie had stamina issues but for the first four or five rounds he was one dangerous dude.

I met Earnie a few years ago at a banquet where he was the guest speaker. What a great guy. Please take the time to read his book " Welcome To The Big Time " . Very, very good book.

Earnie

Earnie had some big wins other then his demolition of Norton. He stopped the feared Roy " Tiger " Williams, former WBA champ Jimmy Ellis, long time contender Henry Clark and the talented Howard " Kayo " Smith. Tex Cobb said Earnie's power was unbelieveable. He hurt Ali several times during their fight. He had Ron Lyle all but out but the bell saved him. Lyle came back to stop Earnie in a thriller. I agree Earnie had stamina issues but for the first four or five rounds he was one dangerous dude.

I met Earnie a few years ago at a banquet where he was the guest speaker. What a great guy. Please take the time to read his book " Welcome To The Big Time " . Very, very good book.

bill1234 said:

No, don't get overly muscular like he did or you will have stamina issues.

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Then what should I do? I gotta get strong and fit!

White Tyson said:

Then what should I do? I gotta get strong and fit!

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Exactly, sort of like Norton.

neverlast said:

Earnie had some big wins other then his demolition of Norton. He stopped the feared Roy " Tiger " Williams, former WBA champ Jimmy Ellis, long time contender Henry Clark and the talented Howard " Kayo " Smith. Tex Cobb said Earnie's power was unbelieveable. He hurt Ali several times during their fight. He had Ron Lyle all but out but the bell saved him. Lyle came back to stop Earnie in a thriller. I agree Earnie had stamina issues but for the first four or five rounds he was one dangerous dude.

I met Earnie a few years ago at a banquet where he was the guest speaker. What a great guy. Please take the time to read his book " Welcome To The Big Time " . Very, very good book.

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Nice post.If I heard it once I heard it a hundred times how well Shavers could punch.A puncher is always exciting to watch.I'm sure he is a fine man but my point was not many big names on his wins.
Jimmy Ellis was getting at the end of his career when they met,and I think Jimmy lost most of his fights after that.
Clark,Williams and Smith are not what you can call house hold names.If it's the Smith I'm thinking of he had a very short career.

Williams was one mean sucka. He used to be top sparring partner for Ali until Larry Holmes came to the Ali camp.

bill1234 said:

Exactly, sort of like Norton.

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Yeah... but he was a bit too lean... it got him destroyed by George Foreman... being too... lean!!!

Yeah, but thats sort of what you want to aim for though. His type of build could give you speed, KO power, and stamina.

Some quotes about Shavers power are

"He could hit you in the neck and break your ankle"
-Tex Cobb

"He's the only guy that hit me so hard that made me even think about quitting"
-Tex Cobb

"He hit me so hard my kin folk over in Africa felt it"
-Muhammad Ali

There are many more. Ali said he was the hardest hitter he ever faced and he fought Foreman, Frazier, Lyle, Mathis, Foster, and Bonevaea. Holmes said he hit harder than Tyson and Cooney. When Shavers challenged Foreman to fight him, Foreman said no, you hit too hard. Tyson denied Shavers a shot at the title because Shavers hit so hard. Everyone who faced Shavers said that he was the hardest hitter they ever faced, and that is coming from guys like Ali and Holmes who have fought numerous massive punchers.

The Hardest Puncher of All Time

There is a reason why Earnie is widely regarded as the hardest hitter whoever lived. However, he is also living proof that in fighting, hitting power isn't everything. Shavers could be fairly readily outboxed, and sufferd from stamina trouble.

I did a piece about him a while back. You can read that here.

Johboywalton said:

There is a reason why Earnie is widely regarded as the hardest hitter whoever lived. However, he is also living proof that in fighting, hitting power isn't everything. Shavers could be fairly readily outboxed, and sufferd from stamina trouble.

I did a piece about him a while back. You can read that here.

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Exactly. The side to side movers messed him up. He couldn't get firmly planted to land the big shots very often. I think his stamina issues had to do with him swinging from left and right field all of the time. Most fighters pick and choose their big shots, but not guys like Earnie, Foreman, and Tyson. They swung as hard as they could every shot.

Johboywalton said:

There is a reason why Earnie is widely regarded as the hardest hitter whoever lived. However, he is also living proof that in fighting, hitting power isn't everything. Shavers could be fairly readily outboxed, and sufferd from stamina trouble.

I did a piece about him a while back. You can read that here.

Click to expand...

Exactly. The side to side movers messed him up. He couldn't get firmly planted to land the big shots very often. I think his stamina issues had to do with him swining from left and right field all of the time. Most fighters pick and choose their big shots, but not guys like Earnie, Foreman, and Tyson. They swung as hard as they could every shot.