1. Earnie Dee Shaver, best known as Earnie Shavers, was an American professional boxer who competed between 1969 and 1995.
46 Facts About Earnie Shavers
1. 2.
Earnie Shavers hurt Ali in the second round and knocked down Holmes in the seventh round.
3.
Earnie Shavers defeated former world champions Vicente Rondon, Jimmy Ellis, and Ken Norton, as well as three-time European heavyweight champion Joe Bugner and top heavyweight contender Jimmy Young.
4.
In 2001, Earnie Shavers released an autobiography, Welcome to the Big Time.
5.
Earnie Shavers Dee Shaver was born on August 31,1944, in Garland, Alabama.
6.
Earnie Shavers was one of nine children born to Curtis and Willie Belle Shaver, and worked on a cotton farm with his family.
7.
Earnie Shavers credited the strenuous labor on the farm for helping to build his muscular physique and formidable strength.
8.
Earnie Shavers attended Newton Falls High School, where he excelled in track and football.
9.
Earnie Shavers worked at the nearby General Motors assembly plant in Lordstown.
10.
In March 1969, National Golden Gloves director Tony Mange said Earnie Shavers "carries a hefty punch".
11.
Earnie Shavers had nine straight knockout wins before he was himself knocked out by the 230-pound West German Horst Koschemann.
12.
Earnie Shavers began to rise to the upper ranks of the heavyweight division after he hired Cleveland-based promoter Don King to be his manager.
13.
Earnie Shavers's wins included one over a novice Jimmy Young who later became a world championship contender.
14.
Earnie Shavers's progress was halted when he was KO'd in the first round by Jerry Quarry, which was followed by another loss to a journeyman Bob Stallings.
15.
Earnie Shavers then had a thunderous match with hard hitting Ron Lyle but was stopped after 6 brutal rounds.
16.
Earnie Shavers then knocked out hard hitter Howard Smith and beat powerful prospect Roy Williams in a brutal back and forward battle in which Shavers was nearly knocked out, a match Shavers maintained was one of the toughest of his career.
17.
Earnie Shavers fought Muhammad Ali at Madison Square Garden on September 29,1977.
18.
Ali later said Earnie Shavers was the hardest puncher he ever faced, comparing him favorably to Joe Frazier and George Foreman.
19.
Ali stated that "Earnie Shavers hit me so hard, it shook my kinfolk back in Africa" - a quip Ali had previously used to describe other hard-hitting opponents.
20.
Earnie Shavers, being the No 3 WBC contender, then fought No 4 WBC contender Larry Holmes at Caesars Palace for an elimination bout for the WBC world heavyweight title, the winner to face WBC heavyweight champion Ken Norton.
21.
Earnie Shavers knocked Holmes down in round seven and apparently in round nine.
22.
Earnie Shavers had not fully recovered from the surgery when he came back for the Cobb fight.
23.
Earnie Shavers continued to fight professionally for several years, retiring in 1995 after losing to Brian Yates.
24.
Earnie Shavers had a similar retinal eye injury as Sugar Ray Leonard.
25.
Earnie Shavers attempted two abbreviated comebacks - a fight in 1987, and two in 1995, in the second of which he was KO'd by Brian Yates in round 2.
26.
Earnie Shavers has been named among the top-10 punchers in boxing history by The Ring and others.
27.
Earnie Shavers finished his career in 1995 with a record of 76 wins, 14 losses, and 1 draw.
28.
Earnie Shavers was an exceptionally heavy puncher who stalked his opponents, setting them up for his thunderous right, which was responsible for many of his knockouts, although Angelo Dundee in a Sports Illustrated mid-1970s article said "He can get you out of there with any kind of shot", referring to Earnie Shavers's ability to inflict damage with a left hook, right cross or right uppercut.
29.
Several boxers famous for their tough chins had fallen to Earnie Shavers's punches, including Bugner and Ellis who were felled by his uppercut.
30.
Earnie Shavers would throw punches against any legal area he could reach, exposed or covered, relying on his tremendous power to wear down his opponents and exploiting any opening.
31.
Earnie Shavers's fighting stance produced a short and powerful image.
32.
Earnie Shavers moved to England to pastor a church there in the early 2000s.
33.
Earnie Shavers was on the Benny Hinn TV show several times.
34.
Earnie Shavers initially refused to hit Stallone with anything other than a soft jab.
35.
Earnie Shavers visited Ali several times and he said that he, Ali, and George Foreman became very good friends over the years.
36.
Earnie Shavers accepted the invitation of the Full Gospel Business Men's Fellowship International to preach at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester.
37.
Earnie Shavers worked in Liverpool in the UK, as head of security at Hannah's bar, where he was very much respected.
38.
On occasion Earnie Shavers was a troubleshooting referee in professional wrestling after his retirement.
39.
Earnie Shavers was a Patron of The Shannon Bradshaw Trust, a children's charity based in Warrington, Cheshire, helping children with life-threatening conditions, and their families.
40.
Earnie Shavers spoke to pupils at Barr Beacon Language College in Walsall.
41.
Earnie Shavers gave a speech on 26 February 2008 at The Streetly School in Walsall, which was based upon helping kids make the right decisions in life.
42.
Earnie Shavers was married to his high school sweetheart, Laverne Payne.
43.
Earnie Shavers has four daughters and one son from other relationships.
44.
Earnie Shavers made a guest appearance on the Irish TV program The Late Late Show hosted by Ron Lyle where the two fighters discussed their previous bout that had happened a month earlier.
45.
Earnie Shavers was a frequent visitor to the pub Roddy Bolands in Dublin.
46.
Earnie Shavers died at age 78 on September 1,2022, from a short illness at his daughter's home in Virginia.