Earnie Shaver's Potential

[Southpaw16BF]

the only HW's that should weigh over 245 or so are valuev and the klitschkos

really, we dont live in an era of "superheavies", just a few superheavies and the rest are plain fat

arreola should weigh in at 230-5, i dunno what he is thinking showing up looking like a beached whale

There is no dout Arreola carry's uneeded fat on him, and could easy drop a good few pounds. But up to now, he is doing pretty ok. But he dosen't really look the hardest of trainers in the gym, but he is pretty skillfull and strong and very heavy handed, and up to now seems to be doing pretty good.

He won the National Golden Gloves Light Heavyweight Championship In 2001 at the age of 20, weighing 178lbs. And now only 8 years later is weighing 255lbs.Which is even more of a sign to me he has let himself go as a fighter and is carrying uneeded fat on him.

[mickey malone]

I've read that book.. It's a superb read.. Starts off with Tunney Hunsucker & goes through the lot.. There's a whole chapter on Jean Pierre Coopman... That's how detailed it is..

With regard to Earnie Shavers potential, I think the toughest doorman on the Wirrel's about right.. Sorry if I've upset anyone, but Shavers was ONLY a puncher.. Gerry Quarry proved that & he wasn't exceptional.. He was always gonna be up against it due to the abundance of quality around at the time.. I'd say he hit about as hard as Bruno, but nowhere near as hard as Foreman..

[Miburo]

I'd say he fulfilled it, he came pretty far with such a late start in boxing on power alone.

[rorymac]

He had PUNCHING POWER.

[Clegg]

I'm a big fan of Shavers. Good trainer or not, he got to where he was by his God given gift of power. But, good trainer or not, he also was smart enough to know that he juiced out in a lot of his fights, so he should have known that was the one area that he could control. You can't train your jaw to soak up a punch better once you've had 50+ pro fights. But you can always keep your cardio in top form.
Another thing about Earnie...he's listed in lots of places as 6'1". He was really only 6'0", maybe a shade less. His size was small compared to a lot of the big giants, but he had more crack in his punch than most other heavyweights ever dreamed of having. He got the very most from his physical tools.

I agree, here he is with Nigel Benn (5'9 according to boxrec) and Kevin Lueshing (5'11 according to boxrec)

[JAB5239]

I've read that book.. It's a superb read.. Starts off with Tunney Hunsucker & goes through the lot.. There's a whole chapter on Jean Pierre Coopman... That's how detailed it is..

With regard to Earnie Shavers potential, I think the toughest doorman on the Wirrel's about right.. Sorry if I've upset anyone, but Shavers was ONLY a puncher.. Gerry Quarry proved that & he wasn't exceptional.. He was always gonna be up against it due to the abundance of quality around at the time.. I'd say he hit about as hard as Bruno, but nowhere near as hard as Foreman..

Quarry was an exceptional fighter who had the misfortune of having to compete in the toughest era in heavyweight history as well as bad skin. One of the best heavies to never win a title in my opinion. Like Shavers, Lyle and a few others, he was second teir compared to the elite of that era. But make no mistake, the man could fight and had a champions heart.

[mickey malone]

Quarry was an exceptional fighter who had the misfortune of having to compete in the toughest era in heavyweight history as well as bad skin. One of the best heavies to never win a title in my opinion. Like Shavers, Lyle and a few others, he was second teir compared to the elite of that era. But make no mistake, the man could fight and had a champions heart.

He was good alright, but I feel you rate him just a tad higher than me.. If he were around today, he'd have a belt for sure.. As it was there were about 9 defeats and a few draws on his record as he gamely fought in one of the toughest HW eras of all time..
I wasn't aware of his skin condition.. Many thanks for enlightening me.. Regards MM

[GJC]

Awsome puncher and in a lot of eras would have got a title for sure. Scary to think of him with a granite chin and stamina. As for superheavyweights, not another division we have got enough titles floating around.

[LondonRingRules]

I'm a big fan of Shavers. Good trainer or not, he got to where he was by his God given gift of power. But, good trainer or not, he also was smart enough to know that he juiced out in a lot of his fights, so he should have known that was the one area that he could control. You can't train your jaw to soak up a punch better once you've had 50+ pro fights. But you can always keep your cardio in top form.
Another thing about Earnie...he's listed in lots of places as 6'1". He was really only 6'0", maybe a shade less. His size was small compared to a lot of the big giants, but he had more crack in his punch than most other heavyweights ever dreamed of having. He got the very most from his physical tools.
I look at Earnie Shavers sort of a poor man's George Foreman. George had stamina problems as well, but his whiskers held up better than Earnie's did.
Foreman was matched well, with guys who would be in front of him. Except for Ali and Young, both extra-gifted boxers, he looked unbeatable. Shavers, on the other hand, once he saw that he was running out of gas and his power was also running on low, lost to guys that Foreman would have destroyed.
Bottom line in my opinion, he needed a better match maker more than a better trainer. But either way, a hundred years from know, people will still be talking about Earnie Shavers. Title or not, he's a great fighter in my book. He gave us lots of great moments to remember.

** Solid shout for Shavers Terry. Guy has fans everywhere and one of the most popular autographs everytime he shows up for IBHOF ceremonies.

Sir'enery another slugger also quite popular, was unable to finish Ali because his KD came at the bell. Ernie had both Ali and Holmes in the palm of his hand and they slipped away. Spot on about the criticisms of Ernie, he could've shown more discipline to improve his chances, however as the article noted, he was exploited for his pure, raw, country boy power and was shorted with inferior trainers and preparation. He was always complaining about the lack of class sparring partners where he might have been able to pick up some tricks naturally.

Much unrealized talent, but a bit overrated because of his menacing ring presence and raw power. Never really blasted out any of the top heavies save Norton who was right at the end of his career and always susceptible to big punchers much as Ernie was. Norton was the only win over a top 10 fighter that he had, another reason for being overrated.

The guy greatly underrated of this era is Quarry who also could have used some discipline. I'd say Quarry was actually the best pure boxer/puncher of the era and his chin was first class. He's a better fighter than many of the heavies in the HOF, plus when we see him guest announcing fights, a very sharp understanding of boxing that he was able to articulate to the common fan.

[Mersey]

Earnie Shavers lives on my road right now, no lies! lol