Mandalay Bay / Friday Night before Rios vs. Alvarado II, StripSteak Restaurant
?Say hello to George Chuvalo. He?s a good man.??Earnie Shavers, aka The Black Destroyer
Pieces of their existence, DNA chunks large and small, splattered on a canvas, art of a different nature, are left in such non-gala opening locals of a high school gym in Newton Falls and Fitch High School in Youngstown, Ohio. Globetrotting they go, loneliness of thought filled violence, past and to come, propelling them towards Mecca, or in their particular case Madison Square Garden. The Gladiator Club, from Earnie Shavers to George Chuvalo and to all of those others of such exclusive travel club. They know of each other, and of this club unspoken and not formally worded, by the travels only they have endured. The travelers of soul stealing defeat, of glorious victory, with their exclusive Gladiators club of unbreakable respect remaining strong and steadfast against time, acknowledge each other in their own silent ways.
Welcome to the Big Time?Earnie Shavers
As I take the escalator up from Luxor?s front desk area to meet Earnie Shavers for steak dinner over at StripSteak, at Mandalay Bay, I can?t seem to rid myself of a song that ?Chapter 81? Ted was humming this morning out in the desert as we ripped our dune buggies around in the sand and rocks. ?I?ve been through the desert on a horse with no name?in the desert you can remember your name cause there ain?t no one for to give you no pain la la lalalalala?? Only in America! ?81? looks like an older version of Eric Roberts in that ?The Killers? video ?Miss. Atomic Bomb.? He?s been in the desert and Earnie Shavers is currently making home here in Las Vegas, in the desert.
A young boy named Jackson is being quietly admonished by his mother for staring at ?The Black Destroyer?.?He?s big in?t he Mr.? exclaims Jackson as Mom quietly smiles and says ?Jackson leave those men alone!? Well, yes, Jackson he is big. ?Welcome to the Big Time,? Earnie Shavers? life story, is one of the better books I have had the pleasure of reading. Inscribed on the inside of Earnie?s book, given to me a few years back, the consensus top ten ranking all time KO king has written ?Peace?.
As I look at the man with the broad shoulders and broad fists and the big smile, such thoughts certainly don?t match first round annihilations handed out to the likes of Jimmy Ellis, Jimmy Young, and Ken Norton. They certainly don?t match the extreme violence of his toe-to-toe war with Ron Lyle, where Lyle was left draped accordion style from a Shavers? left hook thrown from the hip. Lyle, saved by the bell, came storming back for KO victory under circumstances certainly not to Earnie?s liking. Nor does one have ?Peace? in mind watching the back-to-back wars with Larry Holmes, ?Tex? Cobb, and one of my all time favorite wars right here in Las Vegas, the 10th round TKO of big Roy Williams; Williams walking away from Shavers like a drunk down on a waterside dock, and then falling face first. Seventy- four wins and sixty-eight knockouts, a record measured of extreme violence, and yet you will not find a friendlier class act than Earnie Shavers.
As we walk across the concourse between Luxor and Mandalay Bay, I comment that at 67 years of age Earnie still looks solid and fighting ready hard. In fact he advises that he maintains what he always maintained during his fighting career with that being a weight hovering around but never exceeding 230 lbs. which during his fighting days was stripped down to that 210 range of fighting destruction
I introduce Earnie to three pretty girls, reception, at StripSteak. ?This is Earnie Shavers, he is a famous Heavyweight boxer.? Quite clearly they do not have a clue, otherwise, who Earnie is but this big black bald powerhouse is a presence coupled with that friendly smile.
Dinner Notes?1 to 7 and endless
We both order a T-bone and asparagus and some cranberry juice. Two hours later and my mind is filled, and fulfilled and it is amazing how articulate and thoughtful and razor sharp Earnie is after all those wars:
1. Jeff Merritt: ?One of the hardest punchers, could have been a great one.? 2. Larry Holmes: ?A good friend. Incredible fighting heart. In their prime, his size, length, jab, he probably beats Muhammad.? 3. Don King: ?I have nothing but good things to say about Don King looking back. Don King was very good to me.? 4. Archie Moore: ?A great teacher and a real advocate of trying to out-psyche your opponent. He taught me a lot of little tricks.? (Both Earnie and I have a good laugh as I mention that one of those tricks was to pull the other guy?s head down with his left hand, let the opponents natural instinct to pull upwards take over, and then at the last minute let go of your left, to avoid foul, while throwing a vicious right hand uppercut. It certainly worked against Jimmy Ellis for the stunning first round KO to put Earnie on the ?Big time? map and was a staple of Earnie?s attack as was his potent left hook low to the body, outside, and immediate right hand over the top following. 5. Regrets: ?The Ali Fight. If you watch that fight Mike, again and again, you will see that I had Muhammad hurt bad a number of times. I should have pushed harder to finish him off but Muhammad was a wonderful guy to fake you out and disguise his being hurt by way of clowning, talking?? 6. Ron Lyle: ?Ron said I hit him harder than anybody including George (Foreman). I had him down and out, or ready to go and the bell rang. The sixty-second break between rounds was stretched to two minutes. I can tell you I never fought in Colorado again.? 7. Ron Stander: Earnie Shavers record during one point was 45 wins with 44 KOs and during this period the only other loss, other than Stander, was in his third fight against a smooth boxing Stan Johnson. Stander came into the fight 9-0 and was a well known prospect as was Shavers at 12-1 with 12 KOs.
?Well, The Bluffs Butcher, as he was known, you have to know something Mike, the guy had a head like marble. He was an extremely tough guy and to be honest he could whack quite a bit as well. I broke my right hand in the third round. This was a tough, tough guy and with proper training to bring out more of his boxing skills he could have been something, really something special!?
I could have conversed with Earnie for days and given his personality he probably would have accommodated me one way or another. He?s simply that kind of guy. Pure class! ?Well thanks for dinner champ, that was nice,? says Shavers. I have a good laugh and explain that I grew up watching Earnie?s fights, usually side by side with my dad, who passed a few years back, and exclaim to Earnie that he quite clearly has no idea what a huge pleasure in fact it has been for me. The ?thanks? is all on me.
As we get up to leave from our table our waiter, who has been efficient but very quiet through the whole night, interjects, ?Mr. Shavers I just wanted to say what a great pleasure it was having you at my table tonight. I sat with my dad as a little boy, at Caesars Palace and watched you fight. It was a real honor, again, having you here tonight!? How about that! In the desert they remember your name.
We head our separate ways and Earnie says, ?Have a good trip back to Toronto. Hopefully we will see each other up at the Hall of Fame Induction weekend in June.? (In fact, Earnie will be attending.) ?Say hello to George (Chuvalo), he?s a good man.? I will, and do, one week later. As I leave Earnie still has not told me, but promises to do so shortly, what kind of vitamins and health regime he is on. The man looks great.
George Chuvalo?The Last Gladiator!
?Earnie says hello George.? I am in a limousine with George Chuvalo and a few other gents (a full story in itself and for another time). We are heading to the once a year ?Shaw Festival? Pro Boxing show, $1000 per head, at the historic Royal York Hotel. I will leave it to THE MAN CLARENCE GEORGE to do what he does best and lay down the story of Tunney, Shaw, and the Shaw Festival Theater. As the limousine winds its way into Toronto, George and I are speaking about his 1965 Ring Magazine Fight of the Year against Floyd Patterson. I have watched that fight many times and still, each and every time, have George winning. Patterson, so depleted after the fight, ended up passing out in his dressing room shower. And how about the first Ali fight in Toronto? Well, let?s put it this way; it wasn?t George who had to check into the hospital afterwards.
George Chuvalo, 75 years old had 90 plus pro fights. In another era he probably would have been the king of the bare-knuckle champions. Unbreakable. His record includes a variable who?s who of fighters including Jones, Bonavena, Quarry, Ellis, Cleveland ?Big Cat? Williams, and of course Frazier, Ali, and Foreman. George is as tough as nails and as tough mentally and physically probably as any man that has walked this earthly planet.
?Fuck me, and I?m sorry right there George because I know you don?t like the swearing, but how do you do that?? I ask. You see I?ve been in George?s company a number of times and almost always George, who is as razor sharp as any Toronto Bay Street Litigator, has this uncanny ability to pull out of nowhere specific dates, locations and bang-on scenery descriptions. A longtime friend, in the limousine, chuckles and advises that George, who graduated near the top of his high school class, has always been like that. George adds on, ?I?m still pretty good but not like I used to be.? Good lord, the man had 90 plus fights, and is age 75. His speech patterns are smooth, steady and precise.
As our limo finally hits downtown Toronto I am quietly looking at George and recalling one of the best documentaries I had the pleasure of viewing, being George?s life story, up to the first Ali fight, ?The Last Round.? There is a book coming out in October (listed on Amazon already) titled ?Chuvalo: A Fighters Life. The Story of Boxing?s Last Gladiator? by George and Murray Greig. ?The Last Gladiator? is doing up his tie as our limo rides along and as I quietly watch him that word ?UNBREAKABLE? keeps coming to mind.
Back in ?65 Chuvalo was ranked #4 in the world. Most of his contemporaries of that class have long gone to wherever one goes after this earthly existence; Liston, Patterson, Folley, Machen, and from a future class a few years forward from George, Bonavena, Quarry, Frazier. Three times George and Sonny were to be each other?s dance partner and three times they mutually wanted to fight. The first two did not come about for various reasons and the third time Sonny was ?unavailable? permanently speaking.
There?s a pre-fight meet, greet and snack eat to this $1000 head boxing affair. The ?Fat Cats? greet George and he is as gracious in response time and time again. He was probably doing this thing way back in ?65 back when the Righteous Brothers were charting their big hit ?You?ve Lost that Lovin? Feelin? but like the Righteous Brother George doesn?t miss a beat as he speaks to various people. His crusade, righteous in his efforts against drug abuse, born of pain and loss, continues daily. Back in ?65 it was ?All the Way? with Steve Lawrence, ?Blame it on the Bossa Nova? with Edie Gorm? and perhaps for George ?Hell Bent for Leather? by Frankie Laine. In another era George would have gone ?all the way.? I often wonder what a Chuvalo vs. Marciano brawl would have ended up like. Tonight, 48 years removed from 1965, in another era, but still his, unbreakable George has just made some ?Fat Cats? universe. The late ?40?s gent dressed in an Armani suit (I asked since he was enquiring of my custom-made black Area Forte leather shoes?what can I say!) with a little photo op session completed with George is in seventh heaven, whatever the hell that is. I ask of George ?do you have any idea how you just impacted that guy. He was thrilled!? George in response states, ?Well, I try to visualize it as if I was a young man meeting a person, an Athlete, or somebody that I really, really admired, and, well, I hope I act and respond the way I would have wanted that person to have acted to me.? That, in its very essence, is George Chuvalo, in his clear and articulate response.
Later in the evening, as the guest of honor (they do this boxing guest of honor every year and last year it was Gerry Cooney, and in years past it has included Joe Frazier, Boom Boom Mancini, Leon Spinks, etc.) George is introduced in the Boxing ring as the icon that he is. There are no notes to his speech. He is smooth and seamless in his comments and thoughts. ?It has been a pleasure meeting and speaking with so many of you tonight and I want to thank you for inviting me. I was speaking to someone earlier tonight and I would like to say how nice it is, and I am truly honored and humbled, to say that it is always so nice to be remembered?
The night ends and as the limo driver drops George off at his home he asks if Earnie Shavers will be at the Boxing Hall of Fame Induction weekend this year. ?Mike, when you talk to Earnie say hello for me. He?s a good man.? Both Earnie and George will be at the Boxing Hall of Fame Induction Ceremonies next week. Be sure to go up and say hello. They are both class acts and members of ?The Gladiators Club of Unbreakable Respect.?
Personal stories of Shavers and Chuvalo, and so many others, magnified and transmitted by the savagery of the squared circle. A circle for some, but not by any means to all, of enduring faith, persistence, pain, hope, tragedy, glory, all set out bare boned between the ropes. To all of that, and so much more as a life, the measure of respect to those of the Gladiator Club. The club, unwritten in its fistic exclusiveness, recognized fighter/gladiator to gladiator/fighter. Say ?Hello.? Yes, they, we, remember your names. We are the storytellers but they are the story.
NEXT WEEKEND: INDUCTION WEEKEND AT THE INTERNATIONAL BOXING HALL OF FAME. TABLE ?12? SATURDAY NIGHT GALA DINNER AND MEMBERS OF THE GLADIATORS CLUB IN FULL SWING!!!!
