Did Frazier and Foreman really duck Earnie Shavers?

[Controversial]

Shavers has said in the past that Frazier and Foreman both refused to fight him, was there ever talk about Shavers fighting either of these?

[energie]

foreman didnt duck shavers??? shavers got knocked out by quarry..didnt deserve a shot at george.........then shavers got knocked ot by lyle and lyle gota title shot...........GEORGE FOREMAN DIDNT DUCK SHAVERS..........GET REAL

[Ambling Alp II]

Sometimes two guys just miss each other; just because two guys who were around at the same time didn't fight doesn't mean that one of them "ducked" the other.
I think what people often is overlook is that for a fight to be made both fighters have to be available at the same time. That happens less often than one might think, especially with good fighters in a time where there is great depth in the division the fighters are in.
Each fighter has his own plans and isn't thinking of the plans of others. For example, Fighter A may want to take on Fighter B, but Fighter B has just agreed to take on Fighter C in his next fight.
Then after Fighter B beats Fighter C, he can't take on Fighter A because Fighter A has agreed to take on some one else.

It is sort of like movies. People watch a movie and say "they should have had Robert DeNiro in the lead role". Well, no kidding. You have to take someone who is available.

In the case of Shavers, Frazier/Foreman, there was so many other good fighters around at the time that it's not surprising that they never met.
If there was no other really good/great fighters around at the time, Shavers-Frazier or Shavers-Foreman would have happened.