Waking up on Saturday morning to hear about Muhammad Ali’s passing wasn’t a great way to start a day. He was a boxing legend, the greatest boxer ever and one hell of a personality both inside the ring and out. He left his mark on boxing history, but did you know that one of his most memorable fights happened inside our borders?
Let’s take a trip back to 1966.
The 60’s were a time of turmoil politically, racially and sociologically, and it was in the time that Ali grew to popularity. Fighting as Cassius Clay, he knocked the Heavyweight boxing world on its heels when he was 22, with his defeat of Sonny Liston in ’64.
It was when he converted to the Nation of Islam and made his comments about not enlisting in the war, he became embroiled in some controversy.
On March 29th, 1966, Ali was scheduled to fight Ernie Terrell, but there was a huge outcry and local politicians and the WBA balked at staging the fight. Ali was persona non grata due to his beliefs and his outspoken nature. He was even stripped of his heavyweight title. There was talk of moving the fight to Montreal, but their mayor said no, due to pressure from the States. Then the promoters approached Toronto, and they said yes; they’ll stage the fight at Maple Leaf Gardens.
17 days before the scheduled day, Ernie Terrell backed out. They needed someone for Ali to fight.
Toronto had just the guy.
George Chuvalo is one of Canada’s greatest boxers; a brutal, old-school fighter who would take you down in the first round and pummel you into submission. His claim to fame is that he was never knocked down in his entire career. Already close to 200 lbs at the age of 15, all he wanted to do was box. His training regime and focus on the ring made him the heavyweight champ of Canada in no time.
The same guys that Ali fought in the 60’s, Chuvalo did too, such as George Foreman and Joe Frasier, losing many bouts, but winning his fair share, but never taking the World Heavyweight Title.
A testament to how absolutely brutal and savage Chuvalo, and cemented him as a heavyweight contender is his fight in ’63 in Ali’s hometown, against Mike DeJohn. Chuvalo came out swinging and after one round, DeJohn was against the ropes, and viewers saw the Canadian pummel him unconscious. But the fight didn’t stop. This was the #6 fighter in the world, and Chuvalo took him down. Ali had a contract to fight the winner of this fight, but he wasn’t a masochist. He wasn’t ready for Chuvalo, yet. He bowed out. You can see that fight above or HERE!
In the meantime, Chuvalo was looking to take the Heavyweight title from Ali.
In ’65 he took on Floyd Patterson. While he lost that fight, it was considered one of the greatest fights of 1965, and cemented Chuvalo as a Heavyweight contender.
Finally, March of 1966 was going to be the Ali vs. Chuvalo showdown that the boxing world was hoping for in ’63. Everyone, including Ali, counted Chuvalo out. Ali even went as far as calling Chuvalo out publicly, calling him “The Washerwoman” due to his churning left-right-left attack (like he was a washing machine).
Little did he know he was in for a tough fight.
As soon as the match began, the world knew that Ali was going to win, because no one could match his speed. He was in and out, landing blows on Chuvalo, before he could defend.
What no one expected was that Chuvalo withstood the barrage, even landing a few sledgehammers that rocked Ali back on his feet.
By the time the fight hit the 12th, 13th, and 14th rounds, it was either going to be Ali on points, or Chuvalo with a TKO, because the Canadian wasn’t going down.
In the 15th, Chuvalo knew that the only way to win the title was to go as hard as he could, and in the last minute he went at Ali with such ferocity that he landed some heavy blows to Ali’s head that left him stunned, and the announcers called out that Ali might have been hurt.
But both men were still standing and when the final bell went, Ali was announced the winner.
The ironic thing was while Ali technically won the fight, it wasn’t without a huge cost. As Chuvalo puts it in his biographyy, “When it was all over, he was the guy who went to the hospital because he was (urinating) blood. Me? I went dancing with my wife. No question I got the best of that deal.”
Chuvalo and Ali fought again in 1974 in Vancouver, BC, much to the same result, with Ali winning on points and Chuvalo withstanding the fight, but there was nothing like that first fight; the greatest fight on Canadian soil. For the rest of his career, Ali referred Chuvalo as “The Toughest Man I ever fought.” You can take that both ways as the fight was tough on Ali, but also that Chuvalo, a Canadian 4 years older and seemingly on his way out of a title contention, was a tough SOB to take what Ali gave him and remain on his feet.
It’s that respect for others that made Muhammad Ali so great. He was a true gentleman, a good sportsman and a great icon.
He will be missed.
Source: CBC
