Former rivals Muhammad Ali and Larry Holmes both agreed on who they believed was the hardest hitting heavyweight in boxing history.
After sharing the ring on a number of occasions as sparring partners, Ali and Holmes would eventually lock horns in October of 1980 for the world heavyweight championship.
Holmes got the better of his countryman on the night, stopping him in the 10th round of their clash at Caesars Palace in what was the eighth defence of his heavyweight title.
In a short video shared by Fighting Highlights, Holmes made no mistake in revealing two-time heavyweight title challenger Earnie Shavers as the hardest hitting opponent that he ever shared the ring with.
“I got hit by Earnie Shavers, the hardest puncher to ever, I thought, hit anybody. I still got the knock right here, 40 years later.”
Speaking in a separate interview, Ali was asked to reveal the biggest puncher that he ever crossed paths with, naming none other than Shavers who he faced back in 1977.
“Earnie Shavers. Yeah, man. Stronger than George Foreman and Joe Frazier. He hit hard. I don’t know why I picked on him that late in my career. I didn’t really believe he was as good as he was. I predicted I’d beat him in round seven, but he was really good. He took all I had and he hit hard.”
Known for his thunderous punching power, Shavers racked up an impressive 70 stoppages from his 76 victories, ending with a knockout ratio of 92.11%.
‘The Black Destroyer’ challenged unsuccessfully for the world heavyweight championship twice during his tenure, falling short to Ali in 1977 followed by Holmes in 1979, but famously had both men in serious trouble in each bout, rocking Ali and dropping Holmes.
