There was a more practical reason for having only one heavyweight for sparring. They were afraid of getting hurt. As Shavers's former manager Joseph "Blackie" Gennaro said, "It's hard to get a heavy because Earnie sends them home."

In these sessions, light heavyweight Cookie Wallace provided an imitation of Ali that resulted in Wallace sacrificing his upper mandible for Shavers's benefit. Wallace taunted Shavers, a la Ali, and stuck his face out to receive Shavers's blows in a crude and masochistic simulation of Ali's "rope-a-dope" technique.

After each round Wallace staggered to the outside of the ring, gagged out a rude mass of blood from his mouth, and returned to combat with a gapped tooth sneer to wallow in the next round of punishment at the hands of Shavers.

Las Vegas and Toots Shors' Bar haven't placed their bets against Ali. They have heard that Ali is fat, and slow, and that a washed-up heavyweight named Jimmy Ellis floored him twice in sparring sessions.

But the word is out that the stories are just another Ali con. Ali knows how to train and is such a master of psychological warfare that he knows exactly what it takes to win. Ali's strategy on the small piece of canvas, and his ability to take a punch, could be the determining factors in this fight.

Shavers has never gone more than ten rounds and the closest he has ever been to

Impressive as this all sounds, the boys in a fight of this magnitude was when he would listen to a radio in the locker room after a preliminary bout. He may be too pumped-up when he comes out; he may throw too many punches.

If Ali survives this barrage and Shavers burns himself out, then Ali will get the nod in yet another decision.

In the other corner, Shavers is psyched for 15 rounds. He says, "I trained for a 15-round fight but it won't go that long. Anything I hit will go down and when you knock them out, everybody knows who wins."

In training camp, Shavers ended each workout with a medicine ball drill that brought to a boil his intense determination to be the next champ of the world.

In the drill, Shavers laid outstretched on a table and Lucca pounded Shaver's midsection with the ball. While slamming Shavers with increased effort, Lucca shouted, "Can he hurt you?"

Shavers screamed, "No!"

Lucca yelled, "What are you going to do?"

As Shavers writhed, "Knock him out."

Lucca pounded with a frenzy. "What are you going to be?"