Muhammad Ali and George Foreman co-starred in the Rumble in the Jungle in 1974, but both had plenty of other big names to come in their careers.
Ali would have fourteen more contests after knocking Foreman out in Kinshasa, Zaire, whilst the loser on the night would retire three years later but make a sensational and record-breaking comeback in the late eighties.
Of those final fights, Ali successfully defended his WBA and WBC Heavyweight belts against one Earnie Shavers in ’77. He would later identify him as the man who hit him hardest.
“Earnie Shavers. Yeah man. I didn’t really believe he was as good as it was. I predicted going in round 7. But he took all I had and he hit real hard.”
Foreman, who never faced Shavers, agreed with the sentiment from the outside looking in in an interview with Max Kellerman.
“Nobody can hit like Earnie Shavers. He had a crunch punch. Like a welterweight he brought it back, whap! If he happened to catch you you were gonna take a stroll down memory lane trying to remember what the hell am I doing here? And Earnie Shavers was the best as far as executing the punch.”
Shavers of Alabama had 23 first round knockouts in his two-and-a-half decade long career, finishing a total of 70 bouts early. It was his technique and recovery that let him down and saw him fall short in his two world title attempts, one to Ali and again to Larry Holmes.
Shavers, who was often called the ‘Puncher of the Century’, passed away at the age of 78 in September of 2022.
