This is the next in my blog series ‘Mythical Matchups’. The bout is between George Foreman and Earnie Shavers. My imaginary bouts all take place at Caesar’s Palace Outdoor Arena in Las Vegas, with the great Mills Lane as the referee.
George Foreman was born on January 10, 1949 in Marshall, Texas. After a difficult youth, George joined the Job Corps, earned his GED and discovered boxing. He developed quickly as a fighter, and won the gold medal at the 1968 Mexico City Olympic Games. HIs first pro fight came on June 23, 1969 at Madison Square Garden in New York, where he knocked out Don Waldhem in 3 rounds. Foreman built up an impressive knockout record before signing to challenge Joe Frazier on January 22, 1973 in Kingston, Jamaica for his heavyweight crown. ‘Big’ George overwhelmed Frazier, knocking him down 6 times in 2 rounds to capture the title.
He would defend it twice before losing his belt to Muhammad Ali in October of 1974 in the ‘Rumble in the Jungle’. After retiring in 1977 following his loss to Jimmy Young in March of that year, Foreman retired for 10 years, and became an evangelist. In March of 1987, he began an incredible comeback at age 38 that culminated in on November 5, 1994 with his knockout of champion Michael Moorer, making him the oldest heavyweight champ in history at 45 years old.
As a fighter, George had tremendous knockout power in either hand, and a plank of a jab that was good as any in heavyweight history. He amassed a total of 68 knockouts, and retired in 1997 with a record of 76-5.
Earnie Shavers was born on August 31, 1944 in Garland, Alabama. His family moved to Youngstown, Ohio, where Earnie began boxing at age of 22, and had a short amateur career before turning professional. HIs first bout was on November 6, 1969 against Silas Howell, which he won with a first round knockout. Shavers won 44 of his first 47 fights by knockout, and rose in the rankings on his punching power. He stumbled a few times against a few name fighters, but finally met Muhammad Ali on September 29, 1977 at Madison Square Garden in New York. Despite losing a unanimous decision, Shavers hurt Ali badly on several occasions, and gained the respect of a live worldwide audience. He fought for the title a second time two years later against Larry Holmes, but was stopped in the 11th round after dropping the champion with an thunderous right hand in the seventh. Earnie continued to fight until March of 1983, then foolishly returned in both 1987, and 1995 for three more bouts. He retired with a record of 76-14-1, with 70 knockouts.
A fight between the huge punchers would have certainly been exciting. I see a similar bout to the action-packed Foreman-Lyle fight in January of 1976, where both men hit the canvas on several occasions. In my opinion, George was a little too big and powerful for Earnie, and would have outlasted his onslaught of blows, and knocked him out in seven rounds.
I love thinking and writing about what might have happened if boxing’s best actually met in person in the ring. There’s no right or wrong in this stuff, and it’s all just for entertainment’s sake.
A travesty to me is that Earnie is NOT a member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota, New York. George was inducted in 2003, but sadly passed away in March of 2025. Earnie also died in September of 2022, leaving just memories for boxing fans to enjoy. If two of the all-time great heavyweight sluggers had actually met in ring center, no boxing fan would have been disappointed.
FOLLOW ME ON TIKTOK AT kensoldtimeboxingchat
LISTEN TO MY PODCAST ON SPOTIFY ON AT kensoldtimeboxingchat
FOLLOW ON INSTAGRAM AT kensoldtimeboxingchat
