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Here Comes the Boom: Earnie Shavers Vs Ken Norton

Were you shocked by Shavers destroying Norton in one round?

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Shavers-03-550x480By Kevin “The Voice” Kincade

The last thing to leave a fighter is his punch. That’s one of the more popular chestnuts in the world of fisticuffs; and, it’s probably one of the truest. When fighters pass their prime, they, like all of us, succumb to the ravages of time. First the reflexes, then the hand speed and foot speed, the head movement, the ability to take a punch; it’s like watching someone age in double time. To a professional athlete, time is of the essence, for a career in that field, especially boxing, doesn’t last long in the great scheme of things, so they have to make it count. A friend of mine once told me the ideal decade of life is the 40’s. You’ve got far more wisdom and experience than you did in your teens or twenties; but you’ve still got enough good health before things start “breaking down” to enjoy life to the fullest. Well, while most men very well could be considered in their “prime” in their 40’s, in the hurt or get hurt business, where a man has to be a finely tuned machine, 40 might as well be 60; and by March 23,1979, both Ken Norton and Earnie Shavers had already crossed the top of the hill.

For the last four years, Ken Norton had been listed as the # 1 Heavyweight contender in the world. That’s a long time to be on top. Make no mistake about it, he had earned that right. Ever since the Caracas Caper when George Foreman dismantled him in two rounds, Ken Norton began marching back towards the top, undeterred. The only two losses on his record since Foreman came against Ali in their third bout, a match up which many felt he won, and his title losing effort to young Larry Holmes, which he lost by one point on a split decision. In his last fight, against young Randy Stephens, Norton looked as he should against a man with only 15 fights; and stopped him in three. Though, in reality, he was just shy of his 35th birthday, minus a little hand speed, Ken Norton presented the same image of a fighter who’d been at the top of the game since his upset win over Muhammad Ali in 1973.

Earnie Shavers was the same age, though neither were listed as such. Earnie wasn’t the boxer that Norton was; but, then again, nobody really was the boxer that Norton was. That quirky, crab-like style of his, along with his indomitable will to win might have just been what kept Norton looking as good as he did in the ring, or, it could have been the match-ups. Either way, he was on top, just under the champ.

While Ken Norton’s style was an anomaly, with Earnie Shavers, you knew exactly what you were getting. He may not have had the best jab, or foot movement, or defense, or even combinations; but if he hit you solid with that right, you were the deadest S.O.B. in the cemetery.

Both Shavers and Norton had fought their way out of obscurity to get where they were: # 1 and # 2, respectively. Both had jumped into the spotlight in 1973; but Norton had been better able to hold on to his luster. Shavers burst into the spotlight with his 1st Round destruction of former W.B.A. Heavyweight Champion Jimmy Ellis; but no sooner had he created a buzz than Jerry Quarry returned the favor in less time than it took him to take out Ellis and shut it down.

Earnie got close again in 1975 when he fought Ron Lyle in Denver and dropped him towards the end of the 2nd; but Lyle was somehow able to get off the canvas and overcome the “Black Destroyer” with his own dynamite in Round 6. It was only after Shavers had given Ali a life and death struggle for the crown in ’77 that people really began to appreciate him. He’d disproven the myths of his stamina by going 15 in a war. Even though Larry Holmes had thoroughly outboxed him in his last big bout a year ago, fans still gave him a chance because of his proven big punch.

As everyone knows, Norton’s rise to prominence began with his monumental upset over Ali six years ago when he shut the Louisville Lip, breaking his jaw in the process, and then followed it up with the closest of split decision losses in a rematch. While one would have thought his two round destruction at the hands of George Foreman would have put his career on the rocks, the Napoleon Hill Award Winner for positive thinking proved that what one believes, one can achieve by besting # 3 ranked Jerry Quarry in one of the finest performances of his career and following that up with stopping the only other man to knock him out, Jose Luis Garcia.

A few more wins and he was back in the ring with Muhammad Ali for the Heavyweight Championship, giving better than he got for 15 Rounds, causing the announcers to presume a title change was in order, only to end up losing a fight in the eyes of the judges which many thought he should have won. After proving he was no one’s stepping stone in destroying undefeated star on the rise, Duane Bobick, Norton earned one more important win over Jimmy Young and the WBC handed him the championship on a silver platter, a championship belt he lost in a thrilling war by only one point via a split decision. Now, he was one win away from getting a chance to regain that title.

But that is when, as the British say, everything usually goes pear-shaped.

The key difference, outside of the obvious, styles, between the two, was how they initially responded to crushing defeats. Norton, after the loss to Foreman, rebounded with more determination, while Shavers, after his loss to Quarry, seemed to get stuck in neutral, as his confidence seemed shaken enough to slow him down for a few years. The showing against Ali in Madison Square Garden, though, seemed to rebuild that championship desire within, that key belief in self.

Earnie Shavers was convinced Norton had been ducking him for the last two years. After his loss to Ali, after coming so close, he wanted to prove he deserved another chance and defeating Norton was a sure fire way to get Ali back in the ring, or so he thought. If nothing else, it would show the world that the Ali fight was no fluke, that he really was one of the best. At that time, though, Jimmy Young and Ken Norton were at the top of the “must fight” list for Ali, due to the controversy of his decision victories over them. So, Young and Norton fought each other while Shavers signed to fight undefeated up and comer, Larry Holmes, to whom he lost. Now, partially thanks to the man challenging Larry Holmes in the main event this evening, Ossie Ocasio, for knocking Young out of the # 2 slot, Earnie was back in the picture and on the verge of possibly his last chance at a title. Only Ken Norton stood in his way of revenge against Holmes and a dream fulfilled.

Another chestnut in boxing is “styles make fights”. Ken Norton had looked his most impressive against boxers and counterpunchers. The way he drug his right foot behind him ensured Ken Norton didn’t’ have the best mobility to his left or going backwards. While his defense and jab worked well when sparring with an orthodox fighter who was no more aggressive than he, it was a handicap when someone, unafraid of the receipt began raining punches down upon him with impunity. Once George Foreman got him hurt in Venezuela, he couldn’t get away. One must imagine that the keenest of boxing scribes, the ones who began to pick Shavers by a stoppage, contrary to the odds, must have recognized this.

While Shavers had fought in a manner of one trying to conserve his stamina against both Ali and Holmes, he used no such caution against a prey who was not fleet of foot, against a man whom he was sure he could hit, for he believed he could knock out any man with whom his great equalizer met; and Ken Norton did himself no favors in his ill-conceived idea to mimic Ali’s rope-a-dope, which had worked so well on Foreman in Zaire. Once Norton retreated to the ropes, one almost immediately got the feeling he was playing Russian roulette with a full chamber. Before the first round was halfway gone, the answer to the question of whether or not Norton had chosen a sound strategy came in deadening staccato bursts.

You could almost read the thoughts of ringsiders as they watched the assault begin through their instinctively cringing faces: “Here it comes….Here comes the boom.”
….and there went Ken Norton’s run at # 1.

The last thing to leave a fighter is his punch; and no one who ever threw leather had a punch like Earnie’s. Larry Holmes had been served notice.

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