VIDEOS PROVE CASE BEYOND REASONABLE DOUBT
San Francisco, CA– Having been around the boxing block a time or two, opinions are rarely unanimous when it comes to prizefighting. One notion that is never dismissed and discounted is that Earnie Shavers was the hardest puncher in boxing history! Now 69 years old, “The Acorn” as Muhammad Ali nicknamed him prior to their 1977 15-round war in New York’s Madison Square Garden. At one point and time, Shavers who went 74-14-1, 68 KOs, scored 44 KOs in his first 47 fights. Shavers, a gentleman the three times I met and interviewed him, signed early on with then “manager” Don King and the Donald’s connections propelled Earnie’s rise in the heavyweight ratings.
BEFORE WE CONTINUE HERE IS ROUND 15 & SHAVERS POUNDING ALI
NOW WATCH SHAVERS KNOCK OUT KEN NORTON IN ONE ROUND
STILL WANT TO ARGUE SHAVERS’ PUNCHING PROWESS
Now that you’ve seen how hard Earnie can punch, we’ll show you a 1:44 video displaying Shavers’ punching power, in one instance his knocking World heavyweight title fight against Larry Holmes down. Holmes told me that Earnie hit him harder than he had ever been in his life.
TEDDY BRENNER SAID ALI WAS THROUGH FIGHTING AT GARDEN!
After the Ali-Shavers fight, Madison Square Garden czar Teddy Brenner said he would never allow Ali to fight at the Garden again. Pushed by Dr. Ferdie Pacheco to retire, Ali refused and Pacheco left the Ali camp. Even Angelo Dundee, who was with Ali from day one until his last fight a UD 10 loss to the Trevor Berbick in 1981, Dundee told me that I couldn’t print this until he was gone, but that he too had implored Ali to retire after the Shavers bout.
NOT THE KLITSCHKO BROS, GEORGE FOREMAN, NOBODY OUT PUNCHES EARNIE!
When I asked Shavers about his coming ever-so close to knocking out two heavyweight champions, Muhammad Ali and Larry Holmes in title fights, Earnie just smiled and said, “Lady luck just wasn’t with those two times.” As humble a man as you’ll ever meet, Shavers now resides in Liverpool, England, the town that brought us The Beatles. There are a lot of questionable fighters in the International Boxing Hall of Fame, to name them would be disrespectful. One name I will mention is Ken Norton, who is not only in the International Boxing Hall of Fame, but the World Boxing Hall of Fame as well. If Norton, the only heavyweight champion in history who never won his title in the ring, nor did he ever have a successful title defense is there, then so should Earnie Shavers!
Pedro Fernandez