Larry Holmes has singled out a former opponent, who also fought Muhammad Ali, as the man that ‘nobody wanted to fight’ in the heavyweight division.
‘The Easton Assassin’ claimed his WBC title in 1978, edging a split decision against Ken Norton before making a remarkable 19 defences as world champion.
Along the way, Holmes picked up the IBF strap and remained unbeaten until 1985, when a points defeat to Michael Spinks ultimately saw his decorated career take a downward turn.
Before that, though, the American had defeated the likes of Earnie Shavers, Gerry Cooney and Tim Witherspoon, all of them representing credible opponents during his fruitful title reign.
Shavers, in particular, was considered a truly devastating puncher, which is why Holmes suspects that several of his counterparts actively avoided him.
Holmes and Shavers first squared off in 1978, with the former securing a points victory to emerge from their fight as the WBC mandatory challenger.
Shavers, having previously lost to Ali, went on to amass a string of five wins – including a first-round stoppage of Norton – to become the WBC mandatory challenger himself.
By then, Holmes was reluctant to rematch the formidable knockout artist but nonetheless honoured his mandatory obligation and, after suffering a seventh-round knockdown, was able to claim an 11th-round stoppage victory in 1979.
In a later interview with Lehigh Valley Sports Scene, Holmes admitted that he never looked forward to fighting Shavers.
“I never wanted to fight Earnie, because Earnie had that power. He’s always dangerous.
“Ain’t nobody wanted to fight Earnie. Joe Frazier, George Foreman [and] Muhammad Ali didn’t want to fight him.
“None of them wanted to fight Earnie. He always had that punch, [so] you always had to watch yourself [with him].
“After he knocked out Ken Norton, I had no choice but to fight Earnie.”
During his time as a ferocious contender, Shavers repeatedly accused Frazier and Foreman of swerving him.