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Earnie Shavers, one of boxing’s hardest punchers, dies at 78

FILE - Earnie Shavers walks to a neutral corner after he knocked out Ken Norton in the first round of their March 23, 1979, boxing bout in Las Vegas. Shavers, whose thunderous punches stopped 68 fighters and earned him heavyweight title fights with Muhammad Ali and Larry Holmes, died Thursday, Sept. 1, 2022. He was 78. (AP Photo/Jim Palmer, File) FILE - Muhammad Ali, right, faces Earnie Shavers in a heavyweight boxing bout at New York's Madison Square Garden, Sept. 29, 1977. Ali retained his title by unanimous decision. Shavers, whose thunderous punches stopped 68 fighters and earned him heavyweight title fights with Ali and Larry Holmes, died Thursday, Sept. 1, 2022. He was 78. (AP Photo/File) FILE - Former heavyweight champion Earnie Shavers talks to the media at a Heavyweight Legends roundtable in Los Angeles on Nov. 30, 2018. Shavers, whose thunderous punches stopped 68 fighters and earned him heavyweight title fights with Muhammad Ali and Larry Holmes, died Thursday, Sept. 1, 2022. He was 78. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File) FILE - Challenger Earnie Shavers drives a right hand to the head of heavyweight champion Larry Holmes during their title fight in Las Vegas on Sept. 28, 1979. Shavers knocked Holmes down, but the champion defended his title with an 11th-round win. Shavers, whose thunderous punches stopped 68 fighters and earned him heavyweight title fights with Muhammad Ali and Holmes, died Thursday, Sept. 1, 2022. He was 78. (AP Photo/File) FILE - 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. Shavers, whose thunderous punches stopped 68 fighters and earned him heavyweight title fights with Ali and Larry Holmes, died Thursday, Sept. 1, 2022. He was 78. (AP Photo/Ron Frehm, File)
Earnie Shavers, one of boxing’s hardest punchers, dies at 78