Earnie Shavers: You Would Not Have Heard Of The Klits In My Day

Ernie Shavers STUNK and I have no idea why he gets so much credibility, because outside of his brutal power - possibly the hardest puncher to ever live, or at least top 3 - he really didn't have a whole lot going for him.

He routinely had shitty stamina, a shitty chin, lackluster skills and most importantly, very little heart. He was never a world champ, and is known mostly for losing efforts, such as dropping Holmes and giving a washed up Ali a good fight.

He has a pretty high opinion of himself for a guy who accomplished very little.

And I hate to break it to Ernie and anyone else who (erroneously) shares his opinon, two guys who are 6'6''/6'7'' with the skill set and athletic abilities of the Klitschkos are a tough night for any fighter who's ever lived. Lets not be stupid.

The balls on him to say he'd take Tyson or the Klitschkos. He wouldn't have lasted past 3 with any of them.

yeah but if ol' Earnie got in even 1 clean shot----those Klits aint gettin up off their faces like Larry Holmes dragged his KO'ed ass up off the canvass. Them Klits aint got the Larry Holmes/Muhammad Ali/George Foreman/Joe Frazier chins.

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Originally Posted by brocktonblockbust

yeah but if ol' Earnie got in even 1 clean shot----those Klits aint gettin up off their faces like Larry Holmes dragged his KO'ed ass up off the canvass. Them Klits aint got the Larry Holmes/Muhammad Ali/George Foreman/Joe Frazier chins.

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I'd say Vitali could take it, Wlad's chin is another story though. But if there's one thing Wlad does well now is keeping his china chin away from the big bombs. Ernie would have to take some live rounds himself to get that shot off, and I dont think his chin and heart would get him through that.

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Originally Posted by brocktonblockbust

yeah but if ol' Earnie got in even 1 clean shot----those Klits aint gettin up off their faces like Larry Holmes dragged his KO'ed ass up off the canvass. Them Klits aint got the Larry Holmes/Muhammad Ali/George Foreman/Joe Frazier chins.

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Joe Frazier stayed clear of big hitters , we all saw what Foreman did to him , as for SHAVERS 1 punch power , ive seen loads of his fights where he gets in the BIG shot and the guy doesn't fall , he would have had no chance against either of the Brothers Grim , well not much anyway.
both would KO him in a round , Quarry has been beaten 4 times before he fought Shavers , twice by KO , quarry was a 6 foot tall fighter with moderate power , Shavers went byebye in a round.

Are we just slightly underrating Shavers though? Here's some of him in his prime.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-_mJjONzns

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oVgH6sIBuc

i have said many times this era of boxing was amazing, mainly due to the charactors that were around and in particular Ali

because of the excitement of the time the boxers skills are massively overrated as well tho

Shavers and many other big names from then would have been linen up for the klits like the challengers are today

Shavers lost me when he said he would have KOd George Foreman and Mike Tyson. HE knows that isn't true or even half true.

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Originally Posted by El Kabong

Shavers could punch....that's it....do you understand the fucking punishment Lamon Brewster took from Wladimir? Brewster was getting HAMMERED by Wladimir before Wlad gassed out. Lamon Brewster, even the one that lost to Wlad in the rematch, would beat Earnie Shavers.

Shavers is 6'0, Lennox Lewis a guy who is 6'6 around 250 had to REACH to catch Vitali flush and he had trouble with it....how the fuck is Shavers going to connect with Vitali? Plus Vitali can take a punch too.

Earnie Shavers is a guy only known for his punching power and some of you are talking about him like he's A#1 king of the Sweet Science...no, he was a PUNCHER he wasn't Ray Robinson he was just a puncher, a great puncher, but in boxing the Sweet Science usually out matches raw power. Shavers wouldn't last long with either brother because they are smarter boxers AND more physically gifted. Shavers might be a great cruiserweight these days but he wouldn't last in this division.

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You're stretching it way to much there. And you know it

The Klits don't get enough credit. If you took them out of this era no one would be saying how shit this era is because you would have great title fights happening and no one would know they are b level fighters

I remember Ali saying without hesitation that Ernie Shavers was the hardest puncher he ever faced. I think of Shavers like i do Ron Lyle, they were at the top of the Championship but when they were promoted into the premier league they floundered. Shavers almost got there with Holmes in the 2nd fight, but at the end of the day Shavers was a good fighter not a great one.
If he thinks he KO''s both Liston and Foreman then i'm convinced he believes in fairies.
What he fails to comprehend is champions like Holmes actually get up from shots like that, i don't know how he did it? It's what makes the difference between champion and contender!
Shavers had two shots at Holmes and failed, sure he might've caught the Klits, he certainly had the power, but did he have the skills?

Some have gotten a little carried away here. Its not like he would not be able to compete with today's crop of lazy under achievers. Anybody today not named Klitschko would be in pretty tough with Mr. Shavers.
And lets be honest, the pre clinching Wlad that got stopped by Ross Purity could have easily been halted by Shavers. The post Manny Wlad is a different story. To bad Paul Williams never hired him. Its crazy because in a way Shavers is spot on about one of the brothers. Had Wlad not met a Manny Steward in the seventies, he would have been an ink blot. Vitali is competitive in any era.

I also think Earnie's chin is underrated. He took incredible punishment by Holmes in the first fight and never went down and even though he was stopped in the second he took some crazy shots.

not that im saying that shavers is a great fighter, but his power makes him obviously dangerous for anybody. heres the thing, other than the klits, these HWs are beyond bad. lets look at povetkin for example. he is ranked at least a top 5 HW and he is TERRIBLE! he isnt even alright. other than the klits, the rest of the division are at best C class fighters. there arent even B class fighters.

with that said, could the klits beat shavers? yes. could shavers beat the klits? yes. although wlad improved with steward as a trainer, he hasnt really fought anybody good since then whether or not you want to admit it. i would say that haye is definitely his best win which isnt saying much. his chin is just so weak that i cant see him taking more than one punch from shavers. wlad is also a hard hitter and could take out shavers early but i would still pick shavers to win.

vitali i would pick to beat shavers probably, but vitali is very easy to hit. he fights with his hands to his sides like ali but isnt anywhere as good or quick as him. i think that the volume of punches by vitali would probably win him the fight, but i couldnt count out shavers because vitali is wide open to getting hit and i dont care who you are, you cant get hit that many times by shavers and stand.

but he is right that the kits wouldnt be anything in the 70's. people forget that in the 30's and 40's there were multiple big HWs that were also skilled. they still got beat. the klits' size is very overrated IMO. they are good fighters but its no coincidence that they started dominated the division once lewis retired along with the rest of the decent HWs of the era.

As have been said before I think Shavers has a higher opinion of himself than he was.

There was no way he would have beaten a prime Tyson. Would have beaten Wlad ? If I my life depended on it, I would say no. I see Wlad busting him up on the outside and winning on cuts or late stoppage.