Earnie Shavers, The Most Feared Puncher in Boxing History~R.I.P.

[LondonRingRules]

--- Reported he passed today, September 1st, the day after his 78th birthday.

God Bless, from Fearsome to Beloved in retirement, he was a one off kind of fighter, here clowning with Ali in a prefight presser. He BTFO Ali in one of the scariest beatings in boxing history, but that Ali sadly had a chin to beat all that lead to his early decline.

[img]https://boxrec.com/wiki/images/f/fd/ShaversAli.jpg[/img]

[Ledhed1]

Another time and place, the sport is far different now. Had so many 10-rounders before he got his shot. Gave Ali and Holmes all they could handle. How are guys like that regarded now? Probably not as highly as they should be. So much scrutiny these days such guys get laughed off. Guys who come up short at the highest but accomplish pretty much everything else. I'd say such guys get more respect in retrospect than during their careers. I'm thinking perhaps of a guy like Luis Ortiz - whose career isn't over of course. But if he never attains the title, he should be remembered for giving Wilder a strong challenge if nothing else. Respect to the high level contenders; wouldn't have great fights without em. RIP Earnie.

[repsac]

R.I.P. to Earnie. Met him in 2019 at Canastota. He was actually one of the first fighters i met on my first trip up there. He was a gentle giant and very kind. Spoke to us for a bit, took pics and signed. He'll surely be missed. 

[Cableaddict]

At his funeral, as they lowered Ernie's casket slowly into its hole, the straps broke, sending his casket crashing to the bottom.

The resultant shockwave knocked all 158 attendees to the ground.

One final, mass TKO by the great Erne Shavers. Good one, Ernie !

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

OK, so I made it all up.

But, you know, it coulda' happened ........

[LondonRingRules]

On 9/1/2022 at 8:11 PM, Ledhed1 said:

Another time and place, the sport is far different now. Had so many 10-rounders before he got his shot. Gave Ali and Holmes all they could handle. How are guys like that regarded now? Probably not as highly as they should be. So much scrutiny these days such guys get laughed off. Guys who come up short at the highest but accomplish pretty much everything else. I'd say such guys get more respect in retrospect than during their careers. I'm thinking perhaps of a guy like Luis Ortiz - whose career isn't over of course. But if he never attains the title, he should be remembered for giving Wilder a strong challenge if nothing else. Respect to the high level contenders; wouldn't have great fights without em. RIP Earnie.

- - Also KOed Jennings, something Wlad couldn't do to undefeated Jennings though by Ortiz, he had lost a lot of confidence.

But Earnie had some big wins over Norton, Young, Ellis, and Bugner, and Harold Smith. Today he'd be a bigger star because of his willingness to fight all comers.

 

[WelshDevilRob]

Rest in Peace, Earnie.

Helluva contender with, possibly, the most power in Heavyweight history. Read recently quotes from him, where he felt he was not properly taught. He felt he was all about power and not for a fight more than six rounds, due to bad trainers. Focus was all about the power, which was incredible.

Fantastic career and some cracking wins, fought on too long like many. Lived in the UK, working as a doorman.

Got Ron Lyle's book, which is excellent. Must be a Shavers book out there?