Earnie Shavers definetly punched harder than tyson but he did not have the skills of a young mike tyson. When asked who hit him harder Tyson or Shavers, Larry Holmes said it was definetly Shavers and that he was knocked out by tyson not because he hit him hardest but rather he hit him in the right spots. young tyson would punch up and down, to the body and to the head and down would come the tree thats why his earlier knockouts were more devastating.

P.S. I am not suggesting that tyson would ko ali 4sure but the logic that if shavers couldn't do it so tyson couldn't does not hold much weight.