George Chuvalo

George Chuvalo

File:George Chuvalo.jpg Chuvalo at the River Rock Casino in April, 2010

Personal information

Real name: Jure Čuvalo

Nationality: Canadian

Date of birth: (1937-09-12) September 12, 1937

Place of birth: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Personal Statistics

Rated at: Heavyweight

Boxing career information

George Louis Chuvalo, also known as Jure Čuvalo (born September 12, 1937) is a retired Canadian heavyweight boxer who was never knocked off his feet in ninety-three professional fights between 1956 and 1979. He is often considered to have had the greatest chin in the history of boxing and to be one of its most durable fighters. He was Canadian heavyweight champion as both an amateur and a professional, and twice fought for versions of the professional world's heavyweight title. He had a long career and fought nearly all the top fighters in the heavyweight division.

Early life and career

Born in Ontario to Croatian parents from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Stipan and Katica (born Kordić) Čuvalo, father from Proboj and mother from Grljevići near Ljubuški. Chuvalo grew up in The Junction district of west Toronto, and had one sibling, Zora. Chuvalo attended St. Michael's College School between 1950 and 1953 following which he attended Humberside Collegiate Institute and became one of the best-known amateur boxers in Toronto, fighting out of the Earlscourt Athletic Club.

Chuvalo became Canadian amateur heavyweight champion in May 1955, defeating Winnipeg's Peter Piper with a first-round KO in a tournament final in Regina, Saskatchewan. Chuvalo finished his amateur career with a 16-0-0 record, all by KO within four rounds. Nicknamed "Boom Boom", Chuvalo turned professional in 1956, knocking out four opponents in one night to win a heavyweight tournament held by former world's champion Jack Dempsey at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto on April 26, 1956. Rocky Marciano was one of his trainers in his early career.

Versus Patterson

Chuvalo also lost a close decision to former champion Floyd Patterson in a bout that The Ring named fight of the year for 1965. Patterson described it as one of the toughest contests of his own career.

The two Ali fights

However, Chuvalo is best known for his two fights against Muhammad Ali. He went the distance both times, in each case losing the decision by a wide margin on the scorecards. The first fight, on March 29, 1966, was for Ali's world title. "He's the toughest guy I ever fought", said Ali of Chuvalo after the fight. Ali's cornerman, Angelo Dundee, said, "He never stopped coming on ... you've got to admire a man like that." Various articles over the years detail that Ali had painful ribs for weeks after the contest. The second Ali fight was in 1972. Ali—then between his world championship reigns—won an easy decision. It was the last major fight of Chuvalo's career.

Versus Frazier & Foreman, plus other fights

Future world champions Joe Frazier and George Foreman, despite being big punchers, were unable to knock Chuvalo down, but they were the only two fighters to ever stop him, scoring technical knockout (TKO) victories. Ring Mag reported Frazier nearly closed both Chuvalo's eyes and also cracked one of the man's cheek bones.

Foreman, regarded as one of the hardest hitters in boxing history, mauled Chuvalo with a wicked jab and some truly thunderous big punches breaking Chuvalo's nose. Yet, in his typical display of toughness, when the referee stopped the fight in the third round, Chuvalo said to him, "What are you, nuts?".

Beats Quarry and Jones

One of Chuvalo's biggest victories was a seventh-round knockout of contender Jerry Quarry on December 12, 1969. Afterwards Quarry complained of a fast count but Chuvalo responded 'It must have been a good punch'.

He got an eleventh-round knockout against contender Doug Jones on October 2, 1964 notably using the boxing technique 'kill the body and the head dies' . Chuvalo also defeated notable fighters such as Howard King, Canadian champion Bob Cleroux, Yvon Durelle, Willi Besmanoff, big hitting Mike DeJohn, Cleveland Williams, and Manuel Ramos.

Chuvalo was the number one contender for the British Empire heavyweight title for many years but champion Henry Cooper did not fight him.

Versus two other world champions

He lost to WBA heavyweight champion Ernie Terrell in 1965 and to former WBA champion Jimmy Ellis in 1971, with both of those fights taking place at Maple Leaf Gardens.

Personal life

Chuvalo lost three sons, Jesse Chuvalo in 1985 to suicide, Georgie Lee Chuvalo in 1993 in a car accident and Steven Louis Chuvalo in 1996 to drug overdose. He lost his wife to suicide after the second son died. His remaining son, Mitch, became a teacher at Western Technical Commercial School and University of Toronto Schools and married his wife from El Salvador, Ivania, with whom he is raising two boys, Aaron and Elijah. His daughter, Vanessa, has two girls, Adelayde and Michaella. His granddaughter, Rachel Chuvalo, passed away in February 2013 after a battle with cancer.

George is married to his second wife, Joanne Chuvalo, and is stepfather to her two children, Jesse and Ruby. George and his wife tour high schools speaking about the devastation of drug use to teens. They have a summer home in Midland, Ontario.

Tributes and other appearances

Chuvalo was inducted into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame in 1990 and the World Boxing Hall of Fame in 1997. He was made a Member of the Order of Canada in 1998 and was awarded a star on Canada's Walk of Fame in 2005.

Former Ottawa Senators goalie Ray Emery has a picture of Chuvalo painted on his goalie mask.

Chuvalo appeared as the ill-fated arm-wrestler in the 1986 re-make of The Fly.

To mark the 40th anniversary of his July 19, 1967 fight against Joe Frazier, he and Frazier held a gala in Toronto, raising money for different charities.

On August 14, 2008, Chuvalo's kitchen was the featured renovation project on the Canadian TV series Holmes on Homes in an episode titled "Kitchen Knockout."

Chuvalo was featured as part of the 2009 documentary film Facing Ali, in which notable former opponents of Ali (Chuvalo fought Ali twice) speak about how fighting Ali changed their lives.

During April 2010, George was a special guest at the BC Golden Gloves tournament held at the Eagle Ridge Community Centre in Langford, BC. The event was co-hosted by Boxing BC and the Capital City Boxing Club

Chuvalo also appeared on The Mercer Report that aired October 5, 2010 on CBC, which featured Rick Mercer visiting Chuvalo at his boxing gym in Toronto.

On December 17, 2011, he came to Sarajevo to attend revealing of a statue in his honor in Ljubuški on Sunday, December 18, 2011.

Chuvalo appears on the cover art of Canadian post-grunge alternative rock band Our Lady Peace (OLP)'s eighth studio album Curve. He has the distinction of being the only person other than Saul Fox and the band members themselves to appear on an OLP album cover. He further contributes spoken word vocals to the final song on the album, "Mettle".

Professional boxing record

73 Wins (64 knockouts, 9 decisions), 18 Losses (2 knockouts, 16 decisions), 2 Draws [1]
Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round	Date	Location	Notes
Win	73-18-2	George Jerome	TKO	3 (12)	11/12/1978	St. Lawrence Market, Toronto, Ontario, Canada	Retained Canada Heavyweight title. This was Chuvalo's last bout, ending a 20 year career as a pro.
Win	72-18-2	Earl McLeay	TKO	1 (12)	08/12/1977	Toronto, Ontario, Canada	Retained Canada Heavyweight title. McLeay knocked out by a straight right hand.
Win	71-18-2	Bob Felstein	KO	9 (12)	07/03/1977	North York Centennial Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada	Won vacant Canada Heavyweight title.
Win	70-18-2	Mike Boswell	KO	7 (10)	30/10/1973	Twin Rinks, Cheektowaga, New York, United States
Win	69-18-2	Tony Ventura	TKO	3 (10)	25/09/1973	Twin Rinks, Cheektowaga, New York, United States
Win	68-18-2	Charlie Boston	KO	2 (?)	05/09/1972	Port-au-Prince, Haiti
Win	67-18-2	Tommy Burns	KO	1 (?)	10/08/1972	Nelson, British Columbia, Canada	Retained Canada Heavyweight title.
Loss	66-18-2	Muhammad Ali	UD	12	01/05/1972	Pacific Coliseum, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada	For NABF Heavyweight title.
Win	66-17-2	Jim Christopher	KO	2 (10)	21/02/1972	Winnipeg Arena, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Win	65-17-2	Charley Chase	TKO	6 (12)	28/01/1972	Pacific Coliseum, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada	Retained Canada Heavyweight title. Fight was stopped after Chase suffered a broken right hand.
Win	64-17-2	Cleveland Williams	UD	10	17/11/1971	Astrodome, Houston, Texas, United States
Loss	63-17-2	Jimmy Ellis	UD	10	10/05/1971	Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Win	63-16-2	Charles Couture	KO	2 (10)	11/12/1970	Austintown Fitch High School Gym, Youngstown, Ohio, United States
Win	62-16-2	Tony Ventura	TKO	4 (10)	05/11/1970	Forum, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Win	61-16-2	Tommy Burns	KO	1 (10)	24/10/1970	Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Win	60-16-2	Mike Bruce	KO	2 (10)	15/08/1970	Kosevo Stadium, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Loss	59-16-2	George Foreman	TKO	3 (10)	04/08/1970	Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, United States	Corner stoppage. Chuvalo was rocked by a left hook and was taking punches in the corner without responding.
Win	59-15-2	Charlie Reno	KO	3 (10)	30/06/1970	Seattle, Washington, D.C., United States	Reno was knocked down four times in the 3rd round.
Win	58-15-2	Gino Ricci	TKO	1 (10)	10/05/1970	Kimberley, British Columbia, Canada
Win	57-15-2	Willie Tiger	KO	10 (10)	01/05/1970	Fairgrounds, Detroit, Michigan, United States
Win	56-15-2	Jerry Quarry	KO	7 (10)	12/12/1969	Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, United States	In round 7 Quarry was knocked down by a left hook on the top of the head. He rose at the count of 3, but decided to take a knee, he got up at the count of 10 instead of 9 and referee Zach Clayton declared the fight over at 2:59.
Win	55-15-2	Leslie Borden	TKO	3 (?)	16/11/1969	Kimberley, British Columbia, Canada
Win	54-15-2	Stamford Harris	TKO	3 (?)	08/09/1969	Exhibition Pavilion, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada
Loss	53-15-2	Buster Mathis	UD	12	03/02/1969	Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, United States
Win	53-14-2	Dante Cane	TKO	7 (10)	12/11/1968	Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Win	52-14-2	Manuel Ramos	TKO	5 (10)	26/09/1968	Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, United States	Ramos down in the 5th round.
Win	51-14-2	Vic Brown	TKO	3 (10)	17/09/1968	Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, Ontario, Canada	Brown signalled to the referee that he had enough, after he was knocked down twice in the 3rd round.
Win	50-14-2	Levi Forte	TKO	2 (10)	03/09/1968	Auditorium, Miami Beach, Florida, United States
Win	49-14-2	Johnny Featherman	KO	1 (12)	30/06/1968	Penticton, British Columbia, Canada
Win	48-14-2	Jean-Claude Roy	UD	12	05/06/1968	Exhibition Stadium, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada	Won Canada Heavyweight title. Joe Louis was the referee. There were no knockdowns and neither fighter was in serious trouble.
Loss	47-14-2	Joe Frazier	TKO	4 (10)	19/07/1967	Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, United States
Win	47-13-2	Archie Ray	TKO	2 (10)	22/06/1967	Adams Field House, Missoula, Montana, United States
Win	46-13-2	Willi Besmanoff	TKO	3 (10)	27/05/1967	Cocoa, Florida, United States
Win	45-13-2	Willi Besmanoff	TKO	3 (10)	04/04/1967	Auditorium, Miami Beach, Florida, United States
Win	44-13-2	Buddy Moore	KO	2 (10)	20/03/1967	Four Seasons Arena, Walpole, Massachusetts, United States
Win	43-13-2	Dick Wipperman	TKO	3 (10)	22/02/1967	Armory, Akron, Ohio, United States	Wipperman was knocked down three times in the 3rd round.
Win	42-13-2	Vic Brown	KO	4 (10)	16/01/1967	Four Seasons Arena, Walpole, Massachusetts, United States
Win	41-13-2	Willie McCormick	KO	3 (10)	16/12/1966	Labrador City, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
Win	40-13-2	Dave Russell	TKO	2 (10)	28/11/1966	Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada
Win	39-13-2	Boston Jacobs	TKO	3 (10)	21/11/1966	Cobo Arena, Detroit, Michigan, United States
Win	38-13-2	Dick Wipperman	TKO	5 (10)	12/10/1966	Paul Sauve Arena, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Win	37-13-2	Bob Avery	TKO	2 (15)	15/09/1966	Edmonton, Alberta, Canada	Chuvalo walloped Avery to the canvas five times before the referee stopped the bout.
Win	36-13-2	Mel Turnbow	KO	7 (10)	16/08/1966	Paul Sauve Arena, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Loss	35-13-2	Oscar Bonavena	MD	12	23/06/1966	Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, United States
Win	35-12-2	Levi Forte	TKO	2 (10)	15/05/1966	Miner's Forum, Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, Canada	Forte's corner threw in the towel.
Loss	34-12-2	Muhammad Ali	UD	15	29/03/1966	Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, Ontario, Canada	Wor World Heavyweight title.
Loss	34-11-2	Eduardo Corletti	PTS	10	25/01/1966	Olympia, Kensington, London, United Kingdom
Win	34-10-2	Joe Bygraves	PTS	10	07/12/1965	Royal Albert Hall, Kensington, London, United Kingdom	Bygraves down in the 10th round.
Loss	33-10-2	Ernie Terrell	UD	15	01/11/1965	Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, Ontario, Canada	For WBA World Heavyweight title.
Win	33-9-2	Orvin Veazey	KO	2 (10)	17/08/1965	Exhibition Stadium, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
Win	32-9-2	Dave Bailey	KO	3 (10)	30/06/1965	Exhibition Stadium, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
Win	31-9-2	Ed Sonny Andrews	TKO	1 (10)	07/06/1965	Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada
Win	30-9-2	Bill Nielsen	TKO	8 (10)	19/04/1965	Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Loss	29-9-2	Floyd Patterson	UD	12	01/02/1965	Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, United States	1965 Fight of the Year by The Ring Magazine.
Win	29-8-2	Calvin Butler	KO	3 (10)	10/11/1964	Hull, Quebec, Canada
Win	28-8-2	Doug Jones	TKO	11 (12)	02/10/1964	Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, United States	Jones was down once in the 11th, before referee Arthur Mercante stopped it. Chuvalo led on two of the three scorecards at the time of the stoppage.
Win	27-8-2	Don Prout	TKO	3 (10)	27/07/1964	Sargent Field, New Bedford, Massachusetts, United States
Win	26-8-2	Hugh Mercier	KO	1 (12)	18/03/1964	Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada	Won vacant Canada Heavyweight title.
Loss	25-8-2	Zora Folley	UD	10	17/01/1964	Arena, Cleveland, Ohio, United States
Draw	25-7-2	Tony Alongi	PTS	10	08/11/1963	Miami Beach, Florida, United States	First decision had been win for Alongi, but recheck showed error in referee's card and commission changed decision.
Win	25-7-1	Mike DeJohn	MD	10	27/09/1963	Convention Center, Louisville, Kentucky, United States	DeJohn was down in the 2nd & 6th rounds.
Win	24-7-1	Lloyd Washington	KO	2 (10)	18/05/1963	Central High Field House, Battle Creek, Michigan, United States
Win	23-7-1	Chico Gardner	KO	4 (?)	29/04/1963	London, Ontario, Canada
Win	22-7-1	James Wakefield	TKO	6 (10)	22/04/1963	Arena, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
Win	21-7-1	Rico Brooks	TKO	2 (?)	15/03/1963	Arena, Detroit, Michigan, United States
Loss	20-7-1	Joe Erskine	DQ	5 (10)	02/10/1961	Toronto, Ontario, Canada	Chuvalo was disqualified for headbutting.
Loss	20-6-1	Bob Cleroux	SD	12	08/08/1961	Delormier Stadium, Montreal, Quebec, Canada	Lost Canada Heavyweight title.
Win	20-5-1	Willi Besmanoff	TKO	4 (10)	27/06/1961	Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Win	19-5-1	Alex Miteff	SD	10	27/03/1961	Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Win	18-5-1	Bob Cleroux	UD	12	23/11/1960	Forum, Quebec, Canada	Won Canada Heavyweight title.
Loss	17-5-1	Bob Cleroux	SD	12	17/08/1960	Delormier Stadium, Montreal, Quebec, Canada	Lost Canada Heavyweight title.
Loss	17-4-1	Pete Rademacher	UD	10	19/07/1960	Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Win	17-3-1	Yvon Durelle	KO	12 (12)	17/11/1959	Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, Ontario, Canada	Retained Canada Heavyweight title. Durelle was down once in the 1st and 9th, twice in the 10th, and again for the count in the 12th.
Win	16-3-1	Frankie Daniels	TKO	7 (10)	14/09/1959	Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Loss	15-3-1	Pat McMurtry	UD	10	17/10/1958	Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, United States
Win	15-2-1	James J Parker	KO	1 (12)	15/09/1959	Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, Ontario, Canada	Won vacant Canada Heavyweight title. Parker was knocked down three times.
Draw	14-2-1	Alex Miteff	PTS	10	16/06/1958	Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, Ontario, Canada	Miteff was knocked down in the 10th round.
Win	14–2	Howard King	KO	2 (10)	21/04/1958	Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Win	13–2	Julio Mederos	UD	10	27/01/1958	Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, Ontario, Canada	Mederos was knocked down twice in the 2nd round.
Loss	12–2	Bob Baker	UD	10	09/09/1957	Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Win	12–1	Joe Schmolze	KO	4 (10)	06/06/1957	Fort William, Toronto, Ontario, Canada	Joe Schmolze fought this fight under the alias "Joe Olsen". Schmolze was a substitute for Kid Gage.
Win	11–1	Emil Brtko	TKO	2 (10)	04/22/1957	Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Win	10–1	Moses Graham	KO	2 (10)	25/03/1957	Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Win	9–1	Walter Hafer	KO	3 (8)	04/03/1957	Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Win	8–1	Sid Russell	KO	1 (8)	14/01/1957	Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Win	7–1	Bob Biehler	UD	8	19/11/1956	Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Loss	6–1	Howard King	SD	8	22/10/1956	Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Win	6–0	Joe Evans	KO	1 (8)	10/09/1956	Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Win	5–0	Johnny Arthur	UD	8	11/06/1956	Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Win	4–0	Ed McGee	KO	1 (?)	23/04/1956	Toronto, Ontario, Canada	Jack Dempsey Heavyweight Novice Tournament.
Win	3–0	Ross Gregory	KO	1 (?)	23/04/1956	Toronto, Ontario, Canada	Jack Dempsey Heavyweight Novice Tournament.
Win	2–0	Jim Leonard	KO	2 (?)	23/04/1956	Toronto, Ontario, Canada	Jack Dempsey Heavyweight Novice Tournament.
Win	1–0	Gordon Baldwin	TKO	2 (?)	23/04/1956	Toronto, Ontario, Canada	Jack Dempsey Heavyweight Novice Tournament.

External links

• George Chuvalo's Official Fight Against Drugs Website
• Professional boxing record for George Chuvalo from BoxRec
• CBC Digital Archives - Still Standing: The People's Champion George Chuvalo
• Historica.ca - Footprints - George Chuvalo
• Ian Palmer's TigerBoxing article on Chuvalo
• The Canadian Encyclopedia
• Cyber Boxing Zone Encyclopedia
• CBC Digital Archives. The Biggest Fight of George Chuvalo's Life
• George Chuvalo at the Internet Movie Database
• [2]

See also

• Magazine covers