Canadian heavyweight boxing champion

Born: 12 September 1937 in Toronto, Ontario

George Chuvalo was the Canadian heavyweight boxing champion from 1958 until his retirement in 1979. His professional record stands at seventy-three wins (including sixty-four knockouts), eighteen losses, and two draws. He was never knocked down.

In 1966, George Chuvalo got into a boxing ring with Muhammad Ali. He went the distance and afterwards, Ali said Chuvalo was the "toughest man I ever fought." Chuvalo also had a comment to make: "The judges voted for Ali, but he had to be taken to the hospital afterwards while I went dancing with my wife."

Following his retirement, Chuvalo appeared in several TV shows, commercials, and movies, including The Fly and Prom Night Three. After losing a wife and three sons to drugs and suicide, he began travelling around the country, speaking to students, parents, and other groups about the dangers of substance abuse. He continues to do so today.

George Chuvalo was inducted into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame in 1990 and received the Order of Canada in 1998.

More information:

George Chuvalo's Fight Against Drugs
Filmography

Sources include:

Kearney, Mark, and Randy Ray. The Great Canadian Trivia Book. Toronto: Hounslow Press, 1996.

Connections:

By Name · C
By Province · Ontario
By Claim to Fame · Sports · Stage & Screen