Before He Died, Earnie Shavers Finally Named The Hardest Man He Ever Hit

Before He Died, Earnie Shavers Finally Named The Hardest Man He Ever Hit Earnie Shavers knocked out 68 men across his career, and heavyweight champions admitted they feared him more than anyone else in the sport. Larry Holmes said Shavers hit harder than Mike Tyson. George Foreman thanked circumstance for never facing him. But when Shavers himself was asked who he hit hardest, he didn't name any of the men he destroyed. He named Muhammad Ali — the one man who took his cleanest punch and refused to fall. In round two of their 1977 title fight at Madison Square Garden, Shavers landed the shot of his life. Ali was hurt, genuinely hurt, and talked his way through it, disguising the damage until his legs recovered. Shavers backed off. He believed the performance. Decades later, he still carried the regret. This is the story of the hardest punch Muhammad Ali ever survived, and the man who never forgave himself for not finishing it.