After losing to Muhammad Ali on September 29, 1977, Earnie Shavers didn’t lose a step in his career. His fine performance against the champ actually helped it, so much so that he was matched with Larry Holmes on March 25, 1978 in Las Vegas, with the winner promised at shot at the WBC championship. Leon Spinks had upset the world on February 15, 1978 by defeating Ali, and immediately balked at the prospect of facing the number one contender Ken Norton in his first title defense. The WBC stripped Spinks, and awarded the title belt to Norton. Ken became the only Heavyweight Champion of the World who didn’t win the title in the ring.
Larry Holmes had been a sparring partner for Ali for many years, and was a talented boxer with a great jab. He took Earnie to school in their bout, and easily won a twelve round decision. Larry would go on to fight and defeat Ken Norton on June 9, 1978, and hold the title for seven and a half years.
Four months later it was back to the drawing board for Earnie, when he easily stopped Harry Terrell in Virginia Beach in one round. Three months later and another knockout for Shavers, this time over John Girowski in Hampton, Virginia in four. Earnie fought once more in ’78, traveling to Saginaw, Michigan on December 4, this time knocking out Harold Carter in three.
It is often said in boxing that “A heavyweight is always one punch from redemption.” No one did that statement apply more than it did to Earnie Shaver, whom Muhammad Ali had nicknamed ‘The Acorn.’
On March 23, 1979 at the Las Vegas Hilton Center, Earnie was signed to fight Ken Norton on ABC’s Wide World of Sports. Shavers knocked out Norton in the first round, and was once again a viable contender for the title. Earnie’s power was incredible, and he could knock out anyone if he caught them clean. His fantastic showing in front of national television audience proved Shavers was far from done.
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