Shavers Talks the Talk by Daniel Mole Mar 12th 2008

Former Knockout King, Earnie Shavers, has been sharing his inspirational story with a host of schoolchildren in the West Midlands. Shavers' tale is certainly an interesting one. The American heavyweight, known as the 'The Acorn' and 'Black Destroyer', compiled one of the most amazing records in boxing history as he recorded almost 30 consecutive knock-outs during a career that ended with a record of 74 (68)-14-1. Shavers was more than just a big hitter though, twice fighting for the heavyweight title. His first ended in narrow defeat at the hands of Muhammad Ali at Madison Square Garden in 1977. After the fight, Ali was famously quoted as saying: 'Earnie hit me so hard, it shook my kinfolk back in Africa!' Shavers was back in title action two years later as he challenged Larry Holmes at Caesars Palace. He rocked his opponent in the seventh but Holmes recovered to stop Shavers in the eleventh. That wasn't the end though, as Shavers continued to box until 1983. After boxing, he became an ordained Christian minister and moved to these shores in 2000. Now a church pastor, the 62-year-old also tours the country with his inspirational talks to schools and community groups. His latest appearance saw him talking to youngsters at the Barr Beacon Language College in Aldridge and at The Streetly Specialist Sports College. Neighbourhood Sergeant Mike Cresswell from Aldridge police station managed to attract Shavers to the area and explained just how beneficial his words of wisdom were. “Earnie is a bit of a legend among my generation and he proved to be a big hit with school pupils too,” he said. “The children were talking to him about his fight with Muhammad Ali. “ “But he stressed how important it was that children make the right decisions, saying no to drugs, no to booze, no to crime. “He made a success of his life by staying on the straight and narrow and the children were really interested in his talk. “He is an excellent role model.”

Go back Comment on this article | Send to a friend | Print

There are no comments. Click here to be the first who comment on this article.