From Newsweek · Jon Paul Hoornstra · · 1m 30s
George Chuvalo never went down
He lost his wife and three sons, and in 93 pro fights nobody ever put him on the canvas.
In brief
He lost his wife and three sons, and in 93 pro fights nobody ever put him on the canvas. Chuvalo's real record wasn't 73-18-2. It was surviving losses outside the ring that would have flattened anyone else. Originally reported by Newsweek.
The punishment outside the ring
Chuvalo built his name absorbing shots from the best heavyweights alive. The worst blows came at home, and none of them were legal.
“The punishment George Chuvalo absorbed in the boxing ring made him famous. It was nothing compared to the battles he fought outside the ring.”
Four losses in eleven years
Son Jesse died by suicide in 1985. Son Georgie Lee died of an overdose in 1993, and his first wife Lynne died days later. Son Steven died in 1996.
Gone on his birthday
The Canadian who fought the era's greatest heavyweights died Saturday, Sept. 12, the day he turned 89.
A boy with The Ring
Born in Toronto to Croatian immigrants, he found boxing through a magazine and had his first organized bout at 10. By 17 he was Canadian amateur heavyweight champion, and he skipped the 1956 Olympics to turn pro.
Ninety-three fights, zero knockdowns
Over 22 years he went 73-18-2 with 64 knockouts and five Canadian titles. He climbed to No. 2 in the world, lost a title shot to Ernie Terrell in 1965, and was never once dropped.
“I'll be remembered as a guy who fought the best of his time, beat a lot of them and lost to some others”
He went the distance with Ali
Frazier and Foreman stopped him. Ali could not, not in Toronto in 1966 or Vancouver in 1972. In retirement he campaigned on drug education and mental health.
The essence
Chuvalo's real record wasn't 73-18-2. It was surviving losses outside the ring that would have flattened anyone else.
