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In almost 100 fights, Canadian boxing titan George Chuvalo was never knocked out and never fell to the canvas.
A five-time Canadian heavyweight champion and two-time world heavyweight challenger, Chuvalo died Saturday in Toronto on his 89th birthday.
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As tributes were posted online Sunday from around the world, Chuvalo’s son Mitchell recalled how his father was an extraordinarily resilient man — in and outside the ring.
“He was a capital-T tough guy in every way,” he said in an interview Sunday.
George Chuvalo poses for a portrait after the announcement in Toronto on Friday, March 11, 2016 publicizing upcoming events commemorating the historic 1966 Muhammad Ali versus George Chuvalo boxing match. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christopher Katsarov)
“I always think about him transcending sport and boxing into another realm where even more people could identify with his life and his achievements.”
He is perhaps best known for his iron chin and his two acclaimed fights with fast-talking boxing icon Muhammad Ali. But Chuvalo’s boxing career stood in sharp contrast with his private life, which was marked by a profound level of tragedy.
His son Jesse took his own life in 1985 after developing an addiction to painkillers. Another son, Georgie Lee, died from a drug overdose in 1993. Four days later, Chuvalo’s wife Lynne was found dead with a suicide note.
And in 1996, his son Steven died in a hotel room with a needle in his arm.
Chuvalo spoke openly about being barely able to function after his family’s unimaginable losses. In 2013, he said he felt like he was suffocating every time he went to sleep.
During that dark time, however, he began his decades-long “Fight Against Drugs” campaign that took him to schools across the country.
“For casual sports fans, he’s remembered for his efforts against Muhammad Ali, where he displayed tremendous courage and resilience,” said Mitchell Chuvalo.
“Those things were foundational in his being able to go out and talk about the tragedies … that destroyed our family in so many ways … That tells you what kind of a constitution he had.”
Mitchell Chuvalo said his father’s depth of character was something that resonated with people long after his prizefighting career was over.
George Chuvalo sits with a ‘People’s Champion’ belt presented to him at Toronto’s Mattamy Centre, formerly known as Maple Leaf Gardens, on Tuesday, March 29, 2016. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young)
“My dad’s post-boxing life and his boxing life are indelibly connected,” he said. “He will always be remembered as a very giving individual — giving his emotions, giving his time, giving up his story, even though to recount it over and over again was torturous for him.”
Chuck (Spider) Jones, a Toronto-based boxing expert and longtime Chuvalo friend, posted a statement on Facebook noting Chuvalo’s private challenges and thanking the boxer for helping with his broadcasting career.
“Rest well champ,” said Jones, a member of the Canadian Boxing Hall of Fame. “You faced so many heartbreaking challenges throughout your years on Earth. Thank you for opening so many doors for me.”
Russ Anber, a Montreal-based trainer recently inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame, said Chuvalo personified Canadian boxing for a half a century.
“George Chuvalo was a friend and an inspiration to everyone in the boxing world in Canada, and around the globe,” Anber said in a social media post.
“He epitomised the grit, toughness, courage and persistence, which future generations tried to emulate. The best chin in the history of the sport!”
The World Boxing Council, based in Mexico, issued a statement Saturday saying Chuvalo was widely regarded as “Canada’s greatest warrior.”
“He went to war against true titans during the heavyweight division’s golden era,” the council said, noting his clashes with George Foreman and Joe Frazier.
As for Chuvalo’s famed fights with Ali in 1966 and 1972, Mitchell Chuvalo recalled Ali’s telling assessment of his stocky rival after their first fight.
“He’s the toughest guy I ever fought,” Ali said at the time, having won the closely fought match after 15 rounds.
Mitchell Chuvalo said the brief assessment was remarkable because Ali was at his athletic peak when the match was held at Toronto’s Maple Leaf Gardens.
“George gave him his most difficult battle,” he said, recalling how his father was impressed with Ali’s incredibly fast hands and feet.
“Things were very closely contested in many of the rounds, but George meted out a lot of punishment … (Ali) had to go to St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto because he was urinating blood after the fight.”
Mitchell Chuvalo said no dates had been set for a funeral, but he said plans are in the works for a public event that will make room for many personal tributes.
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