Shavers, left, poses with Muhammad Ali in Nov. 1973. The Ring Magazine via Getty Imag “Earnie hit me so hard, it shook my kinfolk in Africa,” Ali said after the fight.

Muhammad Ali has gone, Jimmy Ellis and Jimmy Young, Joe Frazier, Ken Norton, Ron Lyle, Jerry Quarry have all gone and, on Thursday, September 1, 78-year-old Earnie Shavers passed away.

He fought Ali for the title on Sept. 29, 1977 at Madison Square Garden in New York. Ali won a 15-round unanimous decision. Ali had dubbed Shavers “The Acorn” before the fight because of his ...

Ali was not the only heavyweight impressed with Shavers. Shavers fought heavyweight champ Larry Holmes twice, the first time being a non-title bout on March 25, 1978 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas ...

Earnie Shavers shook Muhammad Ali several times with right-hand punches, his chief weapon, in their 15-round bout at Madison Square Garden in 1977. Both men were wobbling at the final bell.

Earnie Shavers looks down at Muhammad Ali in the 14th round of their world-championship heavyweight fight on Sept. 29, 1977, at Madison Square Garden in New York. (AP Photo) ...

Shavers’ next, and final, shot came against Ali’s successor Larry Holmes, who had defused Shavers in a 1978 title eliminator. This time, though, Shavers caught Holmes with a huge, seemingly ...

American challenger Ernie Shavers, right, follows through with a right to the head of Heavyweight Champion Muhammad Ali, during their title fight in Madison Square Gardens, New York, Sept. 29, 1977.

Earnie Shavers, a hard-punching heavyweight boxer who stood toe to toe in title shots against Muhammad Ali and Larry Holmes, died Thursday. He was 78.

Challenger Earnie Shavers, right, follows through with a right against champion Muhammad Ali during the fourth round of their boxing bout in New York’s Madison Square Garden, Sept. 29, 1977. (AP ...

Earnie Shavers, whose thunderous punches stopped 68 fighters and earned him heavyweight title fights with Muhammad Ali and Larry Holmes, has died. He was 78.

Earnie Shavers, who earned a reputation as the hardest puncher in the game during a golden era of heavyweight boxing in the 1970s, died Thursday, a day after he turned 78. The cause of death is ...