Earnie Shavers was one of the biggest punchers in boxing history who fought legends like Muhammad Ali and Larry Holmes.
He challenged for the world heavyweight title on two occasions, and 70 of his 76 wins came by knockout, with 23 of them in the first round.
His first world title attempt came against Ali in September 1977, where he gave a good showing and caught Ali with some big shots, but ultimately lost by unanimous decision.
Shavers then had his next crack at world honours in September 1979 against undefeated champion Holmes, in a rematch after the two fighters had initially met in March 1978.
Holmes was a comfortable winner in their first meeting, winning all 12 rounds and claiming a points victory. When they fought again, Shavers dropped Holmes in the seventh round, but the champion was able to recover and earn an 11th round knockout win.
Shavers sadly passed away in 2022 at the age of 78, but prior to his death, he told Boxing News who he deemed as the better boxer out of Ali and Holmes.
“I think Larry Holmes was the best fighter I ever fought. He was better than Ali. See, they both had great jabs, but Ali’s was a flicking jab; Holmes’ was a puncher’s jab! They were both truly great of course, but I give Larry the edge.”
In Ali’s penultimate fight when he was past his peak he took on Holmes in 1980, with Holmes claiming a dominant 10th round stoppage win.
Holmes also fought Mike Tyson in 1988, with ‘Iron Mike’ winning by fourth round knockout. Over 35 years since that fight, Tyson is set to return to the ring again to take on Jake Paul, in a clash that has divided opinion within boxing.
