A Boxing Memory: Earnie Shavers

A Boxing Memory: Earnie Shavers

The final bell chimed for Earnie Shavers on Thursday 1st September 2022, the day after his 78th birthday.

Shavers had that rare gift, one that could change any fight trajectory in a split second. Even fighters who beat him, knew what they had overcome.

“Nobody hits like Shavers. If anybody hit harder than Shavers, I’d shoot him.” Words from Randall ‘Tex’ Cobb after their 1980 war. Shavers by that point was on the irreversible slide and only a few months removed from eye surgery. But they say the last thing a fighter loses is their power. Cobb knows that better than most. He won but at what cost?

“Hey man, that’s the hardest I’ve ever been hit in my life,” Ron Lyle testified after defeating Shavers in 1975 in a brutal savage brawl with both men hitting the deck.

 “He hit me and I was face down on the canvas hearing saxophonist Jimmy Tillis,” said Holmes in 1979 after surviving a right hand that threatened to end his reign as the heavyweight champion of the world with one punch. Holmes survived that moment of imminent danger. Shavers was never closer to being crowned the world heavyweight champion. Shavers would say that was the hardest punch he ever threw.

“Earnie hit me so hard, it shook my kinfolk in Africa,” Muhammad Ali said after surviving 15 rounds with one of the hardest punchers in boxing history. An Ali in heavy decline was rocked repeatedly by the heavy-handed Shavers in their title fight in 1977. Shavers had a strong 13th, an even better 14th. Ali found something to save his night. He needed to.

Even Sylvester Stallone when sparring with Shavers in preparation for Rocky III said one liver punch nearly killed him. Shavers was auditioning for the role of Clubber Laing that would later go to Mr. T.

Shavers is partially remembered for his defeats, but there were wins on his resume that deserve respect and remembrance. A one-round blitz of Ken Norton stands out, but alongside it are wins over Jimmy Ellis, Joe Bugner, Jimmy Clark, Roy Williams, and others.

Born August 31, 1944, in Garland, Alabama the entry to boxing came late for Shavers. He was 22 when he discovered his passion for boxing. A short stint of just 26 fights in the amateur ranks produced a National title before the decision was made to turn professional in 1969. Shavers had a snakes and ladders type career, a limited stamina pool limited his success. But he pulled out many a losing fight with the might of his right hand. Shavers hit the comeback trail more than once before one last fight and one final defeat in 1995 when he was 51. Sixty-eight of his seventy-four wins came by way of stoppage.

The best line of many about Shavers is probably assigned to Cobb:

“Earnie Shavers could punch you in the neck and break your ankle.”