Earnie Shavers, a former professional boxer who fought Muhammad Ali for the heavyweight title, from the United States and competed between 1969 and 1995, passed suddenly on Thursday, one day after his 78th birthday. His boxing fans and family members were devastated by the news. Let’s see what happened to him and Earnie Shavers Cause of death in detail
How did Earnie shavers die?
Earnie Shavers has passed away today Shavers is considered one of the hardest hitters EVER after winning 68 fights by KNOCK OUT, RIP Champ On August 31, 1944, Earnie Dee Shaver was born in Garland, Alabama. Although his professional career spanned from 1969 to 1995, he fought largely in the 1970s. The talented boxer had a career record of 74-14-1 with 68 knockouts. Shavers competed for the heavyweight belt against Larry Holmes and Muhammad Ali. On September 29, 1977, at New York’s Madison Square Garden, he squared off against Muhammad Ali for the title. Ali prevailed through unanimous decision after 15 rounds.
Because of his shaved bald head, Earnie was given the nickname “The Acorn” by Ali before the fight. To win the fight, however, Muhammad Ali had to fight a compelling 15th round. When discussing Earnie’s punching strength later, he said one of his most famous quotes. After the battle, Ali remarked, “Earnie hit me so hard, it rocked my family in Africa.” Former heavyweight champion George Foreman said that Ron Lyle, Gerry Cooney, and Cleveland Williams dealt him the worst blows during an interview on “Late Night with David Letterman.” I never fought Earnie Shavers, thank goodness, Foreman said in response to David Letterman’s question regarding Shavers.
Earnie faced Holmes twice, the first time in a non-title fight at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas in March 1978, his first fight following his defeat to Muhammad Ali. In that contest, Holmes defeated Earnie by decision after 12 rounds. He then defeated Ken Norton to claim the vacant WBC championship. In September 1979, Shavers and Holmes squared off at Caesars for the WBC championship.
Earnie defeated Holmes in the seventh. In the eleventh, Holmes stood up and started to halt Earnie. Holmes claimed following the bout that Earnie’s knockdown blow was the hardest blow he had ever received.
Earnie Shavers Cause of death:
At this time, there is no information available regarding Earnie Shavers’s cause of death. The cause of Shavers’ passing has not been disclosed by his family, either. Although. after retinal issues were identified, Shavers retired in 1983.
Shavers relocated to Phoenix after retiring, where he spent a significant amount of time preaching after becoming an ordained Christian pastor. Earnie relocated to England to serve as a church pastor in the early 2000s. Shavers has been on multiple episodes of the Benny Hinn TV program.
Medico topics have made an effort to get in touch with his family and close friends to ask them about his death cause. There have been no answers as of yet. Once we get enough data, this page will be updated. More information on Earnie Shavers cause of death will be added soon.
Ali vs. Shavers Face-off
On September 29, 1977, Muhammad Ali and Shavers squared off at Madison Square Garden. Shavers had a record of 54-5-1 with 52 knockouts going into the fight.
In contrast to first impressions, Shavers had a shaven head, earning him the moniker “The Acorn” from Ali. The battle was shown on prime-time television by NBC, a network that didn’t often air fights in prime time (ABC typically got the Ali fights), and to help avert any contentious decisions, the judges’ scores were announced after each round. Angelo Dundee, Ali’s cornerman, would receive scoring updates from his friend Eddie Hrica, a Baltimore matchmaker, who was in the dressing room and watching the telecast. Shavers severely injured Ali with an overhand right in the second round.
Ali made his movements so dramatically that Shavers paused, thinking he might be acting. They switched round exchanges on the scorecard. Ali firmly prevailed in the fifth. Ali had to make it through the final three rounds to claim victory. Shavers’ endurance, which was questionable before the bout, improved in the thirteenth round. He beat Ali around the ring in the fourteenth round. Ali was “on extremely unstable knees” before the 15th, according to Sports Illustrated boxing reporter Pat Putnam.
Dundee informed Ali that he needed to continue for three more minutes “You don’t appear very good. You should take this round immediately.” The two men tagged each other during the tense final round, but Ali closed quickly and almost down Shavers in the closing 20 seconds. He received a unanimous victory. The following day, Ali was persuaded to retire by Garden matchmaker Teddy Brenner, who warned that the Garden would never again offer to organise an Ali bout. Shavers, in Brenner’s opinion, should have faced Ali.
The bout was featured on the Sports Illustrated cover, with Shavers scoring with an overhand right in “ALI’S DESPERATE HOUR.” Ferdie Pacheco, the fight doctor, also advised Ali to call it quits after observing the harm Ali had sustained from Shavers. Although Ali had previously used this humorous punch line about numerous other hard-hitting opponents, Ali later claimed that Shavers was the greatest puncher he had ever encountered, saying “Earnie punched me so hard, it shook my kinfolk back in Africa.”
Who is Earnie Shavers
Earnie Dee Shaver, better known by his ring name Earnie Shavers, was an American professional boxer who competed between 1969 and 1995. He died on September 1, 2022. Shaver, a two-time contender for the world heavyweight title, is renowned for having some of the heaviest punches in the sport’s history. He won 68 fights by knockout, including 23 in the opening round.
His career knockout percentage is 76.4%.
Shavers made two unsuccessful attempts to win the heavyweight title, falling to Larry Holmes in 1979 and Muhammad Ali in 1977, respectively. In the second round, he injured Ali, and in the seventh, he defeated Holmes. Vicente Rondón, Jimmy Ellis, and Ken Norton, as well as three-time European heavyweight champion Joe Bugner and top heavyweight challenger Jimmy Young, were all defeated by Shavers.
Ernie Shavers boxing career:
Ernie Shavers, a former heavyweight contender, is regarded as the best one-punch knockout boxer in history. Muhammad Ali was Shavers’s idol when he was a teenager.
He decided to follow in Ali’s footsteps and pursue a career in boxing. He won the AAU Heavyweight Amateur Boxing Championship in 1969, and in November of that same year, he turned pro. Before facing former WBA World Heavyweight Champion Jimmy Ellis in 1973, he amassed an incredible 44-2 record with 43 knockouts, 18 of which came in the first round. The previous champion was defeated by Shavers after one round.
Later, in the first round, Ernie defeated Ken Norton, another former champion. Shavers lost to Muhammad Ali and Ernie Shavers in his two efforts to win the World Championship. He left the ring in the early 1980s and made a comeback in 1995 at the age of 50. He was knocked out after winning a fight. Shavers wrote his autobiography after retiring, made numerous public appearances at boxing events, and spends many months of the year in England, where he has a sizable following.
- He Started boxing when he was 22 and after 2 weeks won his first amateur fight by a 1st round KO.
- Also, Credited as boxing’s hardest puncher of all time. Muhammad Ali once said “Earnie hit me so hard he shook my brothers back in Africa!”
- He was a Professional Wrestler.
Personal life of Shavers
Shavers tied the knot with Laverne Payne. They had five daughters from their wedding together: Cynthia, Tamara, Carla, Catherine, and Amy. Earnie also had four daughters and a son from other relationships: Natasha, Catherine, Lisa, and Latonya, and a son, Earnie, Jr. He had 24 grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Tributes to Earnie Shavers:
Shortly after the sad news of Earnie Shavers’ death was announced, his fans and close friends send their condolences to his family.
Danny Armstrong tweeted,
“Rest In Peace Earnie Shavers. Muhammad Ali said Shavers was the hardest puncher he ever faced. Ali fought their 1977 fight – his last title defence – while unconscious on his feet after taking this punishment from Shavers.”
Rest In Peace Earnie Shavers. Muhammad Ali said Shavers was the hardest puncher he ever faced.
Ali fought their 1977 fight – his last title defence – while unconscious on his feet after taking this punishment from Shavers.pic.twitter.com/r1x95tQ5QA
— Danny Armstrong (@DannyWArmstrong) September 1, 2022
Henry walter tweeted,
So sorry to hear of the passing of Earnie Shavers. I was lucky enough to meet Shavers in 2004. Really nice man and very down to earth. I still have his autograph which I treasure. RIP champ 🙂
DAZN boxing tweeted,
One of the hardest punchers in boxing history Earnie Shavers has sadly passed away at the age of 78. RIP Champ
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Lavanya (Senior Editor) is a full-time content writer with almost 5 years of experience and a part-time teacher. She joined Medico Topics on the Breaking News trainee scheme in 2022 and now works on MedicoTopics.com. As a lifelong learner, She is constantly curious about learning new things and passionate about sharing knowledge with people through her writing and teaching.