1987 Earnie Shavers vs Mike Tyson Fight was all but made until!!!

[Joey Giardello]

Jim Jacobs and tyson's team Pulled the plug on the fight and instead went with a tyrell briggs fight. I only just heard about this after reading a old interview with earnie shavers from boxing news magazine back in 1997.

[Scott9945]

In 1980 I saw a badly faded Shavers get KO'd by Tex Cobb. A 1987 fight with Tyson would have been an outrageous mismatch.

[BigStereotype]

That would have been the most pointless fight ever. Why would Earnie sign that?

[CarlosG815]

That would have been the most pointless fight ever. Why would Earnie sign that?

We know why Earnie would... The question is why would Tyson's team want anything to do with that? Unless there was absolutely no other option. Biggs was a much better opponent, thank god that fight didn't go through.

[Wild Blue Yonda]

That would have been the most pointless fight ever. Why would Earnie sign that?

Hell, I would sign for that fight, given the money it would net me. No doubt, Shavers had the same thought.

He of course would have been annihilated (even the young Shavers would stand little-to-no chance with a 1987 Tyson, IMO), but where else was he going to make that kind of money in one outing?

[BigStereotype]

Hell, I would sign for that fight, given the money it would net me. No doubt, Shavers had the same thought.

He of course would have been annihilated (even the young Shavers would stand little-to-no chance with a 1987 Tyson, IMO), but where else was he going to make that kind of money in one outing?

That's true. When I look at fights, it's always just the fights, the money doesn't even cross my mind.

[Wild Blue Yonda]

Of course, without a financial stake, that is natural for us, the fans (even though in modern Boxing, we are more & more exposed to the significance of finances, as fighters become increasingly open about playing out purse-splits in the public eye) to do. However, it's hard to overlook in the case of such an obvious mismatch as Tyson-Shavers, circa-1987.

It may be the last thing to cross our mind, but it was surely the first thing to switch the light on in Shavers'.

[TBear]

By that time in 87 Tyson was the unified champion and Shavers had been retired for over four years. Even before that retirement he was losing to the likes of a 17-10 Walter Santemore and George Chaplin. I doubt the sanctioning organizations and HBO would have approved it. Shavers did make a brief comeback in 87 so maybe there was speculation but I doubt it was nearly made.

[The Surgeon]

That would have been the most pointless fight ever. Why would Earnie sign that?

$$$$$$$$$$$$$ Bro. But he would earn every cent as Tyson would hurt him bad! I like Tyson to smash the best version of Shavers never mind the relic that was Earnie in 87!