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Earnie Shavers: You Would Not Have Heard Of The Klits In My Day
Earnie’s top-three heavyweight KO artists:
“The three hardest punching heavyweights ever are: me, Ron Lyle and George Foreman. We were the three hardest ever.”
How Shavers would have done Vs. Iron Mike:
“I believe I would have KO’d Tyson. But Tyson, he would never have wanted any part of me. Because of Cus [D’Amato] – he warned Tyson about hard hitters like myself. He [Cus] wouldn’t have let him take such a fight.”
How Shavers would have done Vs. Foreman and Liston:
“Foreman, he never wanted to fight me either. I’d have stopped him in around four-rounds. And I believe I’d have KO’d Liston as well, he was too old and slow.”
Shavers Vs. the Klitschkos:
“I’ve seen a lot of their fights, and they’re okay. But in my opinion, if they had been around in my day, you would not have even heard of them. Myself, I’d have worked inside, then attacked the body first, to bring the hands down, and then I’d have gone to the head. I’d have landed shots to the heart, a left hook to the kidney, and then shot a right hand to the head. Then you’d have heard ‘Timbeeerrr!! I loved facing big, slow guys like that. I wouldn’t have had any problems with them. In fact, it’s not just me [who would have beaten the Klitschkos], guys like Ali, Holmes and Foreman, along with myself, we’d all have been way too much for the Klitschkos.”
Shavers’ own favourite KO:
“My personal favourite KO that I scored is the one I got over Jimmy Young in 1973. He was a real slick fighter, but I hit Jimmy clean and stopped him in the 3rd-round. That was the first time I fought him. The KO win of mine that really got me into the big time was my KO of Jimmy Ellis (also in 1973).”
Shavers on the best fighter he ever went in with:
“Ali was the best fighter I faced, hands down. He was better than Holmes and all the other guys. I’m grateful that I had the chance to fight great guys like Ali and Holmes. I realise I was part of a golden era.”
Shavers on his toughest pro fight:
“Roy Tiger Williams was a real tough guy. He was so durable, and he was a mean guy. He was so tough and relentless. I was down and hurt in the tenth-round of that fight but I stopped him that same round. That was such a hard fight for me.”
Shavers’ biggest career regret:
“I wish I could fight the second Larry Holmes fight all over again. In the 7th-round when I had him down and hurt, I wasted too many punches trying to finish him. I got excited and I got tired and he recovered. If I could do that fight over again I’d have been more patient and not gotten excited. I know I had him!”
Shavers on the hardest-ever puncher Pound-for-Pound (aside from himself):
“I’d say Tommy Hearns, he had brutal punching power! Then my old trainer, Archie Moore; he was so smart, and such a dangerous puncher. Archie really knew how to place his punches.”
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Re: Earnie Shavers: You Would Not Have Heard Of The Klits In My Day
He has a very high opinion of himself , for someone who was KOED by Jerry Quarry, he was a BIG puncher in his day.
Are you trying to tell me Wlad doesn't hit with as much power ? of course he does , he is massive in comparison to someone like Shavers , I think Earnie has taken to many shots to the chin.
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Re: Earnie Shavers: You Would Not Have Heard Of The Klits In My Day
Jerry Quarry was a fantastic fighter.
He could stand in there with anybody in the world. Perennial Top 4 guy, just missing that little extra something that makes the elite Top 3. He wasn't gonna beat those Top 3, but he got his pound of flesh from every one of them....
Shavers is a fantastic interview. Very well spoken, articulate. Good sense of humor.
He earned that hardest hitter rep the hard way, in the ring, against the best in the world in perhaps the greatest era of Heavyweights, and if all those Great Legends say Earnie was the hardest hitter, ya gotta believe it.
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Re: Earnie Shavers: You Would Not Have Heard Of The Klits In My Day
I think he underestimates Tyson's punching power and Tyson's ability to take a punch. Even in the Lewis fight, Tyson should have been gone by round 5, at least. The shots he took in the early portions of that fight would have felled a 30 ft tall Oak with a width of 20 ft around. Tyson took it and then went to the 8th.
I also think he underestimates Vitali's crafitness. I give him a better chance at Wlad than I do Vitali when Vitali first won the crown against Kirk Johnson.
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Re: Earnie Shavers: You Would Not Have Heard Of The Klits In My Day
I like Earnie and think he's one of the biggest punchers ever but he has clearly been eating out of aluminum pots to long.
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Re: Earnie Shavers: You Would Not Have Heard Of The Klits In My Day
Yyyyyyyeah I'm going to have to disagree with ol' Earnie here. 6'7 and 6'8 240+ pounds and Shavers was one of the smaller heavyweights even in the 70's. Earnie would never even touch Vitali and unless he got extremely lucky he would get battered by Wladimir. For fucks sake, Tex Cobb beat Shavers....granted Tex took a lot of punishment and wore Earnie down, but The Acorn didn't have much of a chin himself and he just wouldn't be able to take the punches from the Klitschko's.
This is par for the course I guess. You hear this kind of mess from many past fighters. Shavers was a puncher...not a champion....just a puncher. Wladimir and Vitali are CHAMPIONS. If Earnie Shavers was around today he might could earn a title shot but I think a lot of heavyweights would beat him. The best heavyweights Shavers would have a chance at are: Tyson Fury, Alexander Dimitrenko, Seth Mitchell, and maybe he'd have a shot at Povetkin or Adamek.
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Re: Earnie Shavers: You Would Not Have Heard Of The Klits In My Day
*he would've worked the inside...u can't touch either Klit, they kill u with the jab and pot shot with the right... basic stuff, but no so basic when the guys doing it r 6 ft 7 250 pounds and never get tired.
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Re: Earnie Shavers: You Would Not Have Heard Of The Klits In My Day
He is dead right. Lamont Brewster knocked out Wlad. Before emmanuel got a hold of him, he was just a big tall guy with suspect stamina and chin. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, there was a definite bias against guys as big as the Ks. They were considered too awkward and uncoordinated to be good fighters. Vitali would have been Buddy Baer; they were about the same size, liked to mix it up, though I would guess that Baer hit harder.
there is an idea that seems to be very popular that just because a guy is big, he hits hard, that because he is larger he necessarily hits harder than other less large guys. This is not true. This has been demonstrated many times. And when you are fighting smarter guys, like Shavers did, you are less likely to hit them. It is very easy to keep a guy at the end of your jab when his whole idea of how to close distance is to put his gloves in front of his face and walk forward.
I think Shavers would beat Vitali; he would kill the version that engaged in that 2nd rate amateur bout with Lennox Lewis. He would beat the pre-Stewart version of Wlad. The 'new and improved' version would be able, more than likely, to keep distance, keep Shavers at the end of his punches. And earnie would tire and get stopped.
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Re: Earnie Shavers: You Would Not Have Heard Of The Klits In My Day
Quote:
Originally Posted by
greynotsoold
He is dead right. Lamont Brewster knocked out Wlad. Before emmanuel got a hold of him, he was just a big tall guy with suspect stamina and chin. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, there was a definite bias against guys as big as the Ks. They were considered too awkward and uncoordinated to be good fighters. Vitali would have been Buddy Baer; they were about the same size, liked to mix it up, though I would guess that Baer hit harder.
there is an idea that seems to be very popular that just because a guy is big, he hits hard, that because he is larger he necessarily hits harder than other less large guys. This is not true. This has been demonstrated many times. And when you are fighting smarter guys, like Shavers did, you are less likely to hit them. It is very easy to keep a guy at the end of your jab when his whole idea of how to close distance is to put his gloves in front of his face and walk forward.
I think Shavers would beat Vitali; he would kill the version that engaged in that 2nd rate amateur bout with Lennox Lewis. He would beat the pre-Stewart version of Wlad. The 'new and improved' version would be able, more than likely, to keep distance, keep Shavers at the end of his punches. And earnie would tire and get stopped.
I don't buy it ,sorry chief , so you found a guy as big from the past , so fucking what.
Shavers was a big puncher , from an era where BIG George Foreman was 220 lb and 6'3
Fighters get bigger / stronger as do sprinters etc.
I personally think Wlad would have beaten any version of Clay you want to wheel out.
Just because it was a good era , doesn't mean you can put them at the top today.
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Re: Earnie Shavers: You Would Not Have Heard Of The Klits In My Day
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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Re: Earnie Shavers: You Would Not Have Heard Of The Klits In My Day
Shavers was nothing but a puncher, and probably over rated at that. But, beyond size, there is nothing special about either of the brothers. The 'skill' on display in the Lewis/Vitali fight was abysmal. It would have been comedic if it weren't a fight for at least part of the HW world title; that made it disgraceful.
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Re: Earnie Shavers: You Would Not Have Heard Of The Klits In My Day
Quote:
Originally Posted by
greynotsoold
Shavers was nothing but a puncher, and probably over rated at that. But, beyond size, there is nothing special about either of the brothers. The 'skill' on display in the Lewis/Vitali fight was abysmal. It would have been comedic if it weren't a fight for at least part of the HW world title; that made it disgraceful.
I don't think you can use the Lennox / Viltali fight as an example of both of their skills , it was a wild fight , but both have lots more than they showed that night.
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Quote:
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.
Agreed. Shavers had the big punch, but not the ring smarts--you can say the same thing about Quarry.
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Re: Earnie Shavers: You Would Not Have Heard Of The Klits In My Day
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Dark Lord Al
Quote:
Originally Posted by
greynotsoold
Shavers was nothing but a puncher, and probably over rated at that. But, beyond size, there is nothing special about either of the brothers. The 'skill' on display in the Lewis/Vitali fight was abysmal. It would have been comedic if it weren't a fight for at least part of the HW world title; that made it disgraceful.
I don't think you can use the Lennox / Viltali fight as an example of both of their skills , it was a wild fight , but both have lots more than they showed that night.
That's the problem I have with anyone who bitches about the current heavyweight division.
#1 Argument: "There's no action, they don't punch, they're afraid"
#2 Argument: "There's no skill, there's no talent, they don't know how to box"
When you bring up Vitali vs Lewis here's a few things to remember.
A) They had very little time to prepare to fight each other. Lewis was supposed to fight Kirk Johnson and Vitali was supposed to fight Cedric Boswell.
B ) They both to their credit threw caution to the wind and went out slugging.
Vitali has an awkward style his lower body movement is from his days as a world class kickboxer, his upper body movement is similar to Ali because he doesn't block punches, he just avoids them by leaning out of range. His offense is basic yet powerful and very effective. Every fight he's in he's the only time the opponent across from him will have seen that style so of course it will make for very awkward fights but Vitali vs Lewis was an epic fight to watch it had everything fans wanted but a clear cut decision as to who was better. Yes Lewis won due to the stoppage but he was getting his ass kicked around that ring and he was gassed by the end of the 6th because he knew the only way to win that fight was to keep at that cut.
And for those of you who say "other than size the Klitschko's have no skill", HORSE SHIT Wladimir is as technical a boxer as anyone can possibly be. Vitali has his own style but the effectiveness of his style is in his record every single fight he's been in as a professional he's ended ahead on the cards.
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Re: Earnie Shavers: You Would Not Have Heard Of The Klits In My Day
With all due respect to Shavers he would have been stopped by the current version of Wlad. He was a hard hitter and he fought in the best quality heavyweight division ever but he was not up there with Ali, Fraiser, foreman and Holmes.
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Re: 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.
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Re: Earnie Shavers: You Would Not Have Heard Of The Klits In My Day
The balls on him to say he'd take Tyson or the Klitschkos. He wouldn't have lasted past 3 with any of them.
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Re: Earnie Shavers: You Would Not Have Heard Of The Klits In My Day
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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Re: Earnie Shavers: You Would Not Have Heard Of The Klits In My Day
Quote:
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.
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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Re: Earnie Shavers: You Would Not Have Heard Of The Klits In My Day
Quote:
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.
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.
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Re: Earnie Shavers: You Would Not Have Heard Of The Klits In My Day
Are we just slightly underrating Shavers though? Here's some of him in his prime.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-_mJjONzns
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Re: Earnie Shavers: You Would Not Have Heard Of The Klits In My Day
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Re: Earnie Shavers: You Would Not Have Heard Of The Klits In My Day
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
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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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Re: Earnie Shavers: You Would Not Have Heard Of The Klits In My Day
Quote:
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.
You're stretching it way to much there. And you know it
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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
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Re: Earnie Shavers: You Would Not Have Heard Of The Klits In My Day
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?
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Re: Earnie Shavers: You Would Not Have Heard Of The Klits In My Day
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.
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Re: Earnie Shavers: You Would Not Have Heard Of The Klits In My Day
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.
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Re: Earnie Shavers: You Would Not Have Heard Of The Klits In My Day
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.
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Re: Earnie Shavers: You Would Not Have Heard Of The Klits In My Day
Earnie blew away Ken Norton in 1 round. Ali fought Norton for 36 rounds and couldnt do shit. Earnie floored a prime Holmes. Earnie went 15 rounds against Ali and many felt he outpointed Ali. Earnie won a slugfest with Ron Lyle, who was not only a great boxer but a monster puncher and a superb chin. Earnie was no joke. I think in ANY era Shavers is a threat.
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Re: Earnie Shavers: You Would Not Have Heard Of The Klits In My Day
after watching the povetkin fight, i change my mind. shavers would definitely KO wlad. povetkin is terrible and was able to get on the inside and get some punches off. shavers would be able to get the punches off and land them.
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Re: Earnie Shavers: You Would Not Have Heard Of The Klits In My Day
You no what? Shavers is spot on, in his era the Klitschkos would have remained amateurs and would of been flattened by Stevenson every time there was a chance of them being heard in the Olympics, if they were allowed to compete by the Soviet Union.
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Re: Earnie Shavers: You Would Not Have Heard Of The Klits In My Day
Ernie wouldn't land shit, and he would be gassed out early from all of Wlad's holding and leaning.
I don't think Ernie would be top 5 today. Chris Arreola would eat him alive like Quarry did.
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Everyones era is always better than the era they are not in. Same old story.
Bigger Size doesnt always mean a guy automatically has a bigger punch.
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Re: Earnie Shavers: You Would Not Have Heard Of The Klits In My Day
Quote:
Originally Posted by
imp
Everyones era is always better than the era they are not in. Same old story.
Bigger Size doesnt always mean a guy automatically has a bigger punch.
So you are saying 'the same old story' is right then?
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Re: Earnie Shavers: You Would Not Have Heard Of The Klits In My Day
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Britkid
Quote:
Originally Posted by
imp
Everyones era is always better than the era they are not in. Same old story.
Bigger Size doesnt always mean a guy automatically has a bigger punch.
So you are saying 'the same old story' is right then?
It's easy to talk shit about a boxer you're never going to fight
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Re: Earnie Shavers: You Would Not Have Heard Of The Klits In My Day
Quote:
Originally Posted by
El Kabong
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Britkid
Quote:
Originally Posted by
imp
Everyones era is always better than the era they are not in. Same old story.
Bigger Size doesnt always mean a guy automatically has a bigger punch.
So you are saying 'the same old story' is right then?
It's easy to talk shit about a boxer you're never going to fight
If Boxing has taught us anything it is easy to talk shit about anyone in the sport. That is why both of us have been around here for a decade!
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Re: Earnie Shavers: You Would Not Have Heard Of The Klits In My Day
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Beanflicker
Ernie wouldn't land shit, and he would be gassed out early from all of Wlad's holding and leaning.
I don't think Ernie would be top 5 today. Chris Arreola would eat him alive like Quarry did.
please tell me you did not compare arreola to quarry. quarry is known as one of the best fighters in history to never win a title. it would be a disgrace for arreola to win a title. you might as well say that david haye would out jab ali just like norton did. the comparison makes no sense.
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Re: Earnie Shavers: You Would Not Have Heard Of The Klits In My Day
Are we talking about Chris I-NEED-A-BRA Burrito-ola? Shavers would shave off his tits in 1 round.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mBE5wNwfO4
