Ali survives Shavers, then wins the 15th

By September 1977 Muhammad Ali was 35 and winning fights with his head as much as his hands. Earnie Shavers was 32, had a record of 54–5–1, and had knocked out more than fifty of his opponents. It was his first world title fight. Ali told a writer beforehand that he was worried about how tired he had become and about how hard Shavers hit.

The conventional view going into the fight at Madison Square Garden was simple. Shavers had to win early. He had never been beyond the tenth round. Ali had gone 15 many times.

The second round

Shavers nearly did it. In the second round he hit Ali so hard that one writer thought it looked as though Ali might be decapitated. Ali's chin held. Then he did something only a very experienced fighter would think of: he pretended to be more hurt than he was, so that Shavers could not tell whether he was being lured into a trap.

Shavers did not go all out. He may have been worried about his stamina if the knockout did not come. The moment passed.

Watching the scores

The fight was broadcast by NBC, which showed a running scorecard on screen. Ali's trainer, Angelo Dundee, had someone in the dressing room watching it and relaying the scores. By the 12th and 13th, Dundee knew Ali was ahead and could afford to rest.

It nearly cost him. Shavers found a second wind in the 13th and hurt Ali again. Again the chin held.

The 15th

Shavers started the last round strongly and landed hard shots. Then Ali rallied. He staggered Shavers against the ropes, almost put him down, and kept landing clean punches until the final bell. Pat Putnam of Sports Illustrated wrote that "the fifteenth round against Shavers was as magnificent as any round Ali ever fought."

The judges scored it 9–6, 9–6 and 9–5 for Ali. One of them, Eva Shain, was the first woman to score a world title fight. The crowd booed the decision. Shavers had landed more punches, 266 to 208, and outlanded Ali in eight of the 15 rounds.

The cost

The most significant thing to happen that night came after the fight. Ferdie Pacheco, Ali's doctor, quit. He said Ali's kidneys were "falling apart".

Ali fought on, on and off, for four more years. He won only once more, when he beat Leon Spinks in their rematch. The night against Shavers shows both halves of the late Ali at once: the craft and nerve to survive and win, and the price of every round it took.