Earnie Shavers
Earnie Shavers was born in Garland, AL on August 31st, 1945 and is the Boxer. At the age of 78, Earnie Shavers biography, profession, age, height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, measurements, education, career, dating/affair, family, news updates, and networth are available.
At 78 years old, Earnie Shavers has this physical status:
Amateur career
Shavers began boxing at the age of 22. Before turning professional, he had a short but memorable amateur career, winning the 1969 National AAU heavyweight title.
Shavers "has a heft punch" in March 1969, according to National Golden Gloves founder Tony Mange. Before being knocked out by the 230-pound (104 kg) West German Horst Koschemann, he had nine straight knockout victories before being knocked out by a single blow.
Shavers set a 20-26 amateur record as a heavyweight, with 14 knockouts (with half of them losing due to knockout).
Professional career
Shavers, nicknamed "Black Destroyer," won 44 of his first 47 fights by knockout; mainly against unstoppable resistance. There were 27 knockouts in a row, of which 20 were in the first round. With a unanimous decision loss in his 3rd fight against Stan Johnson, a replacement for Wayne West, and a 5th round KO loss to Ron Stander, he suffered setbacks.
After being hired by Cleveland-based promoter Don King to be his boss, he began to rise to the top of the heavyweight division. He won one over a rookie Jimmy Young, who later became a world championship contender. He rose to national prominence with a first-round KO of one-time WBA heavyweight champion Jimmy Ellis, who came to public attention. Jerry Quarry's first round was cut off, and journeyman Bob Stallings' progress was suspended. Shavers then had a ferocious match with hard hitting Ron Lyle, but it was ended after six brutal rounds. In a tense back-and-forth confrontation in which Shavers was almost knocked out, he knocked out tenacious hitter Howard King and beat strong prospect Roy Williams, a match Shavers maintained was one of his career's toughest.
On September 29, 1977, the Shavers defeated Muhammad Ali at Madison Square Garden. Shavers had a record of 54-51-1 going into the match, with 52 knockouts. Ali referred to Shavers as "The Acorn" because of his shaved bald head. The fight was broadcast on prime time television by NBC, which rarely saw prime time fights (ABC tended to get the Ali fights) and had the judges' scoring announced after each round to help prevent any controversial decision from being broadcast. Angelo Dundee, Ali's cornerman, begged Baltimore matchmaker Eddie Hrica to watch the game live in the dressing room and report on the scoring. Shavers hurt Ali in the second round with an overhand right. Ali appeared to be seriously injured, but Shavers reacted angrily. Rounds were swapped on the scorecard. Ali claimed the fifth round of the competition equitably. Ali had to win the first three rounds in order to advance to the final three rounds. In the 13th round, Shavers, whose stamina was suspect before the fight, came alive. He battered Ali about the ring on the 14th. "Ali was on very wobbly legs" before the 15th, according to Sports Illustrated boxing writer Pat Putnam.
"You don't look so good," Ali told Dundee that he had to wait three more minutes. You'll better get out and try this round." The two guys tagged each other in a tense final round, but Ali stopped firmly, almost knocking Shavers in the last 20 seconds. He was chosen unanimously. The following day, Garden matchmaker Teddy Brenner advised Ali that Ali would not return to the Garden to stage another Ali match. Brenner continued that Shavers deserved the nod against Ali. The contest was covered by Sports Illustrated, with "ALI'S DESPERATE HOUR" featuring a snapshot of Shavers scoring with an overhand right. Ferdie Pacheco, Ali's combat doctor, pleaded with Ali to resign after not knowing the punishment Ali had received against Shavers. Ali later stated that Shavers was the hardest puncher he had ever encountered, comparing him favorably to Joe Frazier and George Foreman. Ali also stated that "Earnie struck me so hard, it shook my kinfolk back in Africa" - a term Ali had used to describe other hard-hitting opponents.
Shavers, who were the No. 3 WBC contender, then fought for the title against No. 1. Larry Holmes, a 4th WBC champion, is at Caesars Palace for an elimination bout for the WBC world heavyweight title, with the winner taking on WBC heavyweight champion Ken Norton. On March 25, 1978, a brawl in Paradise, Nevada, broke out. Holmes was voted by a 12 round unanimous decision.
Earnie Shavers, a mandatory title eliminator, knocked out Ken Norton in the first round, widely considered as the best win of his career.
Shavers & Holmes met again on September 29, 1979 in the same city as the previous match between the two teams, this time for the WBC championship. In round seven, the Shavers knocked Holmes down, but the referee called the match a TKO victory for Larry Holmes after receiving a series of punches in the 11th round, who looked defenseless. Holmes, who is known for his ability to punch, later said that Shavers' knock-down blow in the seventh round was the hardest he had ever taken in his career.
The Holmes rematch was the last big fight for Shavers. He was denied in the eighth round by tenacious prospect Randall "Tex" Cobb in 1980. Shavers had undergone eye surgery for a detached retina prior to the Cobb fight. Since the majority of boxers resigned for good after this kind of injury, the majority of boxers returned to work for good.) A detached retina for a boxer was like an AIDS diagnosis, according to Nevada Athletic Commission Duane Ford. When he returned to Cobb for the battle, Shavers did not fully recover from the trauma. He never competed for the world championship again. He defeated Joe Bugner in 1982, despite being on the comeback trail. In the first round, the bugner was knocked down and was prevented by cuts.
After losing to Brian Yates in 1995, the Shavers continued to fight competitively for many years, eventually retiring in 1995. Many believed he should have resigned after losing to lower contender Bernardo Mercado. Sugar Ray Leonard had a similar retinal injury.
Two comebacks followed a fight in 1987 and two in 1995, in the second of which Brian Yates was KO'd by him in round 2. Shavers did well after losing, and they were able to do well.
Shavers has been ranked as one of the top ten punchers in boxing history by The Ring and others.
Shavers won a record of 75 games (69 by knockout, 23 in the first round), 14 losses (7 by knockout), and 1 draw.