I made Heavyweight Champ, George Chuvalo, cry ...
As a professional boxer, George Chuvalo earned his status
as a part of Canada’s Sports Royalty, the hard way.
He was never knocked down in 97 pro fights between 1956 and 1979, and he didn’t face any cream puffs.
He fought ... Frazier, Foreman, Patterson, Bonavena, Terrell, Ellis and Quarry.
He had two fights with Ali, and both went the distance.
Ali couldn't knock him down either. To compare the two fighters, Ali had 56 wins, 5 losses and 57 knockouts. Chuvalo had 74 wins, 18 losses and 64 knockouts.
Following their March 29, 1966, battle at Toronto’s Maple Leaf Gardens, Ali was quoted as saying it was the “toughest fight I have ever had” as he was taken to the hospital for repairs to his kidney, and Chuvalo took his wife dancing.
George was tough.
Fun Fact: Do you remember "Paulie" from the Sylvester Stallone movie " Rocky "? The actor, Burt Young, was a heavyweight champion boxer with an imposing win record. Before he became an actor, he was George Chuvalo's sparring partner.
Since George made Toronto his home during and after his fighting career, he’d become an accessible analyst and promoter of his sport and was a regular guest on local sports programs for radio and TV whenever a major bout earned front-page coverage.
On one such occasion, I was driving and heard him being interviewed on the radio for his opinion on an upcoming title fight. I’m not a fight fan, but I was mesmerized by his vocabulary. I had to pull over and park to listen. He was eloquent. He was passionate. He was excited, and his behind-the-scenes description of what to look for was interesting enough to make me want to go to the fight.
We have all heard of the tragic stories of memory loss and brain damage that affect prizefighters. On this day, and at 65 years of age, George Chuvalo showed no signs of any of it. Actually, he seemed quite the opposite.
Apparently, he was mentally tough as well.
I thought he would be a great addition to the line-up of sports stars we invite to our annual Sports Celebrities Festival to benefit the Special Olympics in Toronto.
He accepted our invitation to appear (with no fee)
and our breakfast audience and black-tie dinner audience were attracted like magnets to his imposing, healthy-looking, athletic frame with a newly coiffed spiked hair-do.
You might say he owned the room.
You might say he owned the room.
Following the formal part of the evening, we set up a separate room for the celebrity guests to unwind, drink, and meet other celebrities. When I finally got there, the room was in a festive mood.
Nadia Comaneci was there. So were Guy Lafleur and Scott Goodyear, Brett Hart and Dave Keon and "Rocket" Richard and Roger Clemens.
However, I noticed Chuvalo was in the corner of the room, by himself, nursing a beer.
I went over to him and introduced myself. I asked him if he knew how we decided to invite him to our function. He didn’t. I told him that I mentioned his interview on the radio to our celebrity committee. I told them I thought he was a Canadian sports icon who would understand the importance of our event and appreciate our Special Olympic athletes.
I told him "how much he impressed me with his command of our language and his salesmanship and enthusiasm for his sport, and how his passion really came through when he was being interviewed". He was "fascinating to listen to."
I told him "how much he impressed me with his command of our language and his salesmanship and enthusiasm for his sport, and how his passion really came through when he was being interviewed". He was "fascinating to listen to."
His eyes started to fill with water like I had caught him with a left hook. I definitely caught him off-guard.
I didn’t know where to look.
George Chuvalo's eyes filled up with tears.
I didn’t know where to look.
George Chuvalo's eyes filled up with tears.
The champ was crying.
I didn’t know what to do, so I kept on talking … Did you have fun at the event? Did you meet Darryl Sittler? … what are your plans for the weekend? Do you want another beer?
At a follow-up meeting, so he could personally autograph the photos he so generously posed for, he told me that he was in a high school class at St. Michael's in Toronto, along with classmates and hockey stars, Dick Duff and another player whose name escapes me. He thought it was "unusual" that three soon-to-be professional athletes would show up in the same class.
It was an immeasurable honour for me to meet and spend time with the champ.
Postscript: Tragically, Chuvalo's son died of a heroin overdose, another committed suicide, and, following those tragedies, his wife committed suicide. In 1996, a third son died of an overdose.
We met several times. He treated each get-together like we were two old friends. I didn't think he actually thought of me that way - he was just a very kind, considerate soul and treated everyone respectfully.
He told me that after his wife died, he went to bed and didn't get up for a month. Then he saw a chance to help others and created a "drug talk" for teenagers. He toured high schools, including my wife's when she was the principal of Toronto's St Patrick's. He hoped his face-to-face meeting with kids about the senselessness of drug use would help them choose a better path than his boys. He estimated that he'd delivered his "talk" to more than one thousand groups and standing-room-only school auditoriums across the country. His heart was broken, but he still thought he might be able to help someone else. George's toughness went far beyond the ring.
For the past several months, George has suffered from memory loss. That hell we call Alzheimer's caught up to him, and he passed away yesterday, Sept. 12/26, his 89th birthday, in Toronto.
In January 2019, I visited a Vegas casino. Former fight champion Earnie Shavers was in the lobby signing autographs for a local charity. Huge, monstrous, athletic Shavers, who'd won 68 fights by knockout, was in a wheelchair with minimal mobility. We talked about George.
We met several times. He treated each get-together like we were two old friends. I didn't think he actually thought of me that way - he was just a very kind, considerate soul and treated everyone respectfully.
He told me that after his wife died, he went to bed and didn't get up for a month. Then he saw a chance to help others and created a "drug talk" for teenagers. He toured high schools, including my wife's when she was the principal of Toronto's St Patrick's. He hoped his face-to-face meeting with kids about the senselessness of drug use would help them choose a better path than his boys. He estimated that he'd delivered his "talk" to more than one thousand groups and standing-room-only school auditoriums across the country. His heart was broken, but he still thought he might be able to help someone else. George's toughness went far beyond the ring.
For the past several months, George has suffered from memory loss. That hell we call Alzheimer's caught up to him, and he passed away yesterday, Sept. 12/26, his 89th birthday, in Toronto.
In January 2019, I visited a Vegas casino. Former fight champion Earnie Shavers was in the lobby signing autographs for a local charity. Huge, monstrous, athletic Shavers, who'd won 68 fights by knockout, was in a wheelchair with minimal mobility. We talked about George.
Shavers couldn't have been more complimentary. "He was a great one. One of the best all-time. I was a great fan of Chuvalo's".
Shavers passed away in September 2022.
Below ... George and the fabulous Brett "Hit-Man" Hart attending the Sports Celebrities Festival for the benefit of Special Olympics Canada. I used copies of this portrait for decades to sell at fundraisers across the country. The large, beautifully framed portrait typically sold for $500. And they signed 50 copies ... which meant $25,000 went to support their fellow athletes.
For George's autographs, we met at his Toronto home and settled into a few beers in his kitchen. We talked about boxing.
I asked him about his go-to punch. He stood up and used his enormous fridge as his opponent for the demonstration. He shuffled his feet, feigned left, then right and directed his massive fist at the door - each time, stopping within a hair of making contact - the impact surely would have brought the appliance to its knees.
From all of your fans, George,
we pray for you and hope you rest in peace.
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These two Canadian "Champions in the Ring." George on the left and "Hitman" Brett Hart, on the right, used to work out together at
Stu Hart's famous "Dungeon" training facility in Calgary |
Canadian /Croatian Legend🇭🇷‼️
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