Tremendous puncher, but tired after the early rounds, and had some discipline issues in the ring. 

He had an overhand right that would have sent anyone to dreamlane. He was one of the hardest punchers. But he tired early and could not escape a jab. I could have hit him and I used to have trouble catching my kids to spank them. But if he hit you you were asleep.

i think Earnie should be ranked higher because Ali said he punches harder than Foreman(mind you i use to believe that Foreman was the hardest puncher ever) and Liston. And Larry Holmes said that he punches harder that Mike Tyson. even though i believe that Tyson's punching power mainly comes from speed and timing more than from brute strength like Foreman and Shavers

JW, you're right about it being close between him and Big George Foreman. These two may just about be the two hardest hitting heavyweights ever. The only difference is when it really counted Foreman connected, winning two titles with Knockouts. The difference between good and great.

At heavyweight,I think it's between him and Foreman.

He hit like a sledgehammer. The Shavers-Lyle fight, Shavers vs. Roy Tiger Williams fight, and the Holmes vs. Shavers fight were amongst the three best I ever seen. The bald-headed Shavers (dubbed the Acorn by Ali) was a family man, was an expert pianist, and today is doing quite well on the speaking engagement circuit. It's one of the rare instances of a boxer having a happy ending.