Jimmy Ellis vs Earnie Shavers 18.6.1973

Former WBA World heavyweight Champion, Jimmy Ellis, vs the most devastating puncher of the 1970s, Earnie Shavers. Ellis was nearing the end of his illustrious career whereas Shaver's was arguably at his absolute best. More info below... Shavers had, and still has, one of the best knockout records of all time in boxing. His record at the time was 44-2 with 43 of his 44 wins coming by way of KO! It looked very impressive on paper, but argument could be made that he had not beaten anybody of note and that Ellis was his first true test after 4 years as a professional. Jimmy Ellis had turned pro all the way back in 1961 as a middleweight. He was a talented boxer possessing good foot work, hand speed and power but he was often overshadowed by his contemporaries, men such Rubin Carter, Don Fullmer and then eventually Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. With Ellis struggling at middleweight, he instantly turned his sites to the heavyweight division in 1965. The move was a good one, because in 1967 he was picked to compete in an 8 man tournament to crown the next WBA World Heavyweight Champion. After stopping Leotis Martin, out pointing Oscar Bonavena and then just scrapping past Jerry Quarry by majority decision, Jimmy Ellis was crowned the new WBA World Heavyweight Champion. His first defence of the title was in 1968 against former 2 x Champion, Floyd Patterson, in Sweden. It was a controversial outcome, with the ref as sole decision maker, he awarded the fight to Ellis but many at ringside felt Patterson had won and the result was loudly booed. Ellis would not be so lucky in his next defence against the NYSAC recognised World Heavyweight Champion, Joe Frazier... Ellis had been out of the ring for 15 months when stepped in against Frazier in 1970. For the first 2 rounds Ellis was able to keep his distance as Frazier tried to bob and weave his way in close but then in the 3rd he started to get tagged and in the 4th he was dropped twice before being saved by the bell. Ellis decided to not come out for Rd 5 and wisely retired on his stool... Ellis stayed busy after the loss and picked up a good win over George Chuvalo in 1971, using his speed to out box the rugged Canadian and earned a shot at the vacant NABF heavyweight title. His opponent however would be former stable mate and friend, Muhammad Ali. Ellis tried his best to keep up with Ali but after 3 Rds Ali started to pull ahead and eventually scored a 12th Rd TKO. Over the next couple years, Ellis fought mainly nobodies, picking up 8 easy KO victories. His record heading in against Shavers was a still respectable 38-7. The fight between Shaver's and Ellis was short and ended unexpectedly. Ellis appeared to have the better of Shavers for a majority of the 1st round, pinning him against the turnbuckle and unloading some heavy shots but nothing landed flush enough to put Shaver's down. After the ref had separated the two, Shavers met Ellis in centre ring and with 1 single uppercut he ended the fight. Ellis dropped to the canvas unable to gather his legs to stand and was counted out. Shaver's had once again proven why he was one of the most dangerous men in the division... The win propelled Shaver's into more high profile fights but this also exposed him slightly to. In his very next fight he was stopped in the 1st Rd against Jerry Quarry and in 1974 he suffered an upset decision loss to Bob Stallings and then drew with Jimmy Young, whom he had previously knocked out in 3 rounds just over a year earlier. In 1975 he was stopped in 6 by Ron Lyle but then Shaver's picked up a few decent wins through '76 and '77 to earn a shot at the World Heavyweight title, now held by Muhammad Ali. Shaver's gave a good account of himself but Ali's superior footwork and dynamite chin prevented Shaver's from being able to knock Ali out and he lost the decision. Shaver's was then picked to face Larry Holmes in a WBC World Heavyweight title eliminator in 1978 but lost a very one-sided 12 round decision, not even winning a round on 2 of the 3 judges scorecards. Shaver's biggest win came in 1979 against former WBC World Heavyweight Champion, Ken Norton, brutally dismantling him within 1 round. The win earned Shaver's a rematch with Holmes, who was now WBC World Heavyweight Champion, but once again Shaver's was outclassed and this time stopped in Rd 11. From 1980 onwards Shaver's was no longer seen as a top contender in the heavyweight division and with the exception of Joe Bugner and James Tillis, was content to fight nobodies until he retired in 1983. Shaver's did return to the ring in 1987 and then again in 1995 at 50 years of age but he finally called it quits after being knocked out by a 21 year old Brian Yates in Nov 1995 to end his career with a 74-14-1 record with 68 KO's!

Added 16 Sept 2026