By Bill Ross
In 1966, heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali was seeking to unify his title with WBA champion Terrell. In contrast to today, Ali was not well liked by the boxing establishment. As a recently embraced Black Muslim Ali was refusing to join The US Army and thus took a stance against the on-going Vietnam War.
Ali's popularity suffered at this point and a planned Ali-Terrell fight in Chicago collapsed when the state commission refused to sanction it due to Ali's anti-draft stance. When Ali-Terrell fell through 17 days before the proposed fight, Chuvalo was contacted and the fight was set. Ali-Chuvalo was set for Maple Leaf Gardens March 29, for the heavyweight championship of the world.
For anyone familiar with the first Ali-Frazier fight, a close watch of Ali-Chuvalo reveals some striking similarities. With none other than former heavyweight champion Joe Louis in his corner Chuvalo pressed Ali with a focused 80 % body attack. A mostly flat-footed Ali, determined to be the first fighter to KO Chuvalo, planted his feet and connected with some of the hardest punches he ever threw. At times Ali went to the ropes and covered up as Chuvalo pounded Ali's ribs in the manner that Frazier would 5 years later.
At other times Ali toyed with Chuvalo, with light slaps or holding George at bay by placing his glove to Chuvalo's head with his out stretched left arm. Chuvalo never wavered in his attack, continuing to move forwards, never taking a backwards step and always pressing the action and punching to the body. Unfortunately for Chuvalo, Ali was at his brilliant best on this night. Ali, young, in top shape, focused and nearing his physical prime won a lopsided unanimous decision while Chuvalo garnered the distinction of becoming the first fighter to last 15 rounds with Ali. While Ali's punishing 15 rounds attack in 1971 would send Frazier for a long hospital stay, after facing Ali, Chuvalo went out dancing with his wife.
Ali on the other hand did not exit the ring unscathed after fighting Chuvalo. So punishing was Chuvalo's concentrated body attack that Ali went to the hospital after the fight due to blood in his urine. Because of Ali's refusal to be inducted into the US Army, he would be stripped of his title the following year.
At this point in time Chuvalo's stock was at it's highest. Having went 15 rounds with each of the top two heavyweights in the world in a 4 month span he was matched with up and coming contender Oscar Bonevena in Madison Square Garden. Only 3 months after the Ali fight, Chuvalo lost another disputed decision to the hard punching Bonevena, a fight many ringsiders as well as Ring Magazine felt Chuvalo had won.
With alarming frequency Chuvalo would fight on and score 12 straight KO's in an 11 month span before being matched in 1967 with up and coming contender, Olympic gold medalist and future heavyweight champion Joe Frazier in Madison Square Garden. Fighting his usual head-on style against the future hall of famer, Chuvalo was stopped for the first time in his career. When a short left hook to the eye in the 4th round caused Chuvalo to turn away from the action, referee Johnny Colan stepped in and awarded Frazier a TKO victory.
After the fight it was revealed Chuvalo had a fractured right orbital bone forcing him to remain inactive for 13 months. When Chuvalo did return to the ring he did so to face Jean-Claude Roy, re-claiming the Canadian heavyweight championship with a 12 round decision.
Chuvalo then went on a 5 fight KO streak among them an impressive 5th round KO of contender Manuel Ramos. In this fight Chuvalo floored Ramos in the 5th before battering him on the ropes prompting referee Zach Clayton to mercifully intervene and halt the contest.
In 1969 Chuvalo was matched with top contender Buster Mathis. Buster's only loss had been an 11th round KO to heavyweight champion Joe Frazier. As an amateur, Mathis had beaten Frazier in the 1964 Olympic trials but broke his hand and couldn't compete in the Tokyo Olympics. Frazier fought in Buster's place and brought home the gold medal. Chuvalo faced a determined, focused Mathis that night who came into the ring in shape weighing 232 lbs. This was not the same Mathis who would balloon in weight and later drag 256 into the ring against Ali in 1971.
This may have been the best fight Mathis ever fought, and his biggest career win effectively utilizing his jab and outboxing Chuvalo on the way to a 12 round unanimous decision.
After the Mathis fight Chuvalo's stock dipped slightly. He was now approaching 32 years of age and had been a professional fighter for 13 years. After scoring two KO wins, Chuvalo was matched with 4th ranked contender Jerry Quarry. Earlier in the year Quarry had been KO'd in 7 rounds by heavyweight champion Joe Frazier. Quarry was a hard puncher who had 20 KO's in 33 wins. At the time, Quarry held notable wins against Floyd Patterson, Buster Mathis and Thad Spencer.
Chuvalo who by now had been defeated by the last two top contenders he had faced was expected to be a testing ground for the 24 year old Quarry. Quarry built up an early lead after 6 rounds leading 4-4-1 on two cards while the third judge had it even at 3-3. After the Frazier fight, Chuvalo would be plagued with swelling in his eyes and this fight was no different. With both eyes swollen, Chuvalo was facing the risk of a TKO loss. A wicked hook to the top of the head by Chuvalo immediately reversed fortunes and sent Quarry down. Quarry jumped up at 3, decided to take an 8 count and went back to one knee where he was counted out by referee Zack Clayton. Knocking out Quarry was no easy feat.
In a celebrated career, Quarry faced power punchers Joe Frazier (twice), Ernie Shavers, Ron Lyle, Mac Foster, and Ken Norton. The only one of these men to floor Quarry was Frazier and that was a body shot after an accumulated attack. Foster was 24-0 with 24 KO's and Shavers was 45-2 with 45 KO's when Quarry defeated them. For Chuvalo to score a come from behind 10 count KO over the iron-chinned Quarry speaks volumes about what kind of punching power Chuvalo had.
As the 1970's began, Chuvalo's stock had risen once again and after 3 KO wins he faced yet another up and coming contender, Olympic gold medalist and future hall of fame two time heavyweight champion George Foreman. This would be the last of Chuvalo's 9 fights at Madison Square Garden. Foreman at 21-0 with 18 KO's took an early lead after the first two rounds, utilizing his powerful jab while moving on the balls of his feet. Chuvalo stalked Foreman and scored to the body when he got close. In Round 3 Foreman landed a sweeping left hook and for the only time in his career Chuvalo's knees buckled. Foreman immediately went on the offensive throwing a multitude of punches. Chuvalo covered up, blocked and rolled with some of the punches while getting hit with others.
Chuvalo appeared to have weathered the storm when his corner threw in the towel prompting referee Arthur Mercante to stop the fight and award Foreman a TKO victory. How badly hurt was Chuvalo by this TKO? Apparently not too much because a mere 9 days after fighting Foreman, Chuvalo fought in his parent's hometown of Sarajevo Yugoslavia and KO'd journeyman Mike Bruce in 2 rounds.
Many fighters would have called it a career at this point. But at 33 years of age, two world title fight attempts, a decade in the top ten rankings, and a recent 3rd round TKO loss to another up and comer, Chuvalo would soldier on and continue to face even more top quality opposition. After 3 straight KO victories Chuvalo was to have fought former heavyweight champion and future hall of famer Sonny Liston. With the deal almost completed, Sonny's partially decomposed body was discovered in his Las Vegas home, dead from an apparent heroin overdose. Instead, Chuvalo was matched with former WBA Heavyweight Champion Jimmy Ellis. Ellis at the time was 29-6. Ellis who had began his career as a middleweight had only been defeated once at heavyweight and that was to Joe Frazier in their heavyweight title fight the previous year.
Ellis at this time had notable wins over top contenders Leotis Martin, Oscar Bonevena, Jerry Quarry and Floyd Patterson. Chuvalo and Ellis fought in Toronto's Maple Leaf Gardens with Ellis winning a unanimous decision. Chuvalo would close 1971 with a rare decision win over former heavyweight title challenger Cleveland Williams on the undercard of Ali-Mathis.
In 1972 Chuvalo would once again face the man that his name is most synonomous with, Muhammad Ali. Ali was no longer heavyweight champion at this time but was in the process of cleaning out the heavyweight division while he waited for Joe Frazier to grant him a rematch. Fighting in Vancouver's Pacific Coliseum, Chuvalo again provided Ali with a hard fought competitive fight. Using his jab more and focusing less on a body attack, Chuvalo stalked the former heavyweight champion who kept the fight in mid ring while avoiding the ropes. Unfortunately for Chuvalo, the different approach reached the same result and Ali again won a lopsided unanimous decision.
After facing Ali the second time, Chuvalo's days as a top heavyweight contender ended. Chuvalo would continue fighting infrequently, successfully defending his Canadian heavyweight for the next 6 years eventually retiring with the title in 1978 at age 41. Chuvalo's final career record was 73-18-2 with 64 KO's.
HOW GOOD WAS GEORGE CHUVALO?
George Chuvalo stood 6'0 tall and his best fighting weight fluctuated between 210-220lbs. Chuvalo's greatest natural attributes were his stamina, durability, strength, balance, punching power and mental toughness. He fought out of a traditional stance and defensively relied on blocking with his gloves and shoulders often rolling with punches. Although credited with a cast iron chin, Chuvalo's underrated defence must be given some credit for him never being knocked off his feet. Chuvalo was a frequent body puncher especially with the left hook which he often led with. Chuvalo moved forwards always stalking his opponents but didn't chase. His style was made more for opponents who met him head-on rather than mobile opponents like Buster Mathis or Muhammad Ali in their second fight. Chuvalo could be reached with a jab and could also be outboxed by first rate counterpunchers like Floyd Patterson, Zora Folley and Jimmy Ellis.
Considering Chuvalo was at his best between 1963-69 let's examine this time period. Between the ages of 25-32 in his prime years, Chuvalo was rated as high as #2 in the world, twice fought for the world's heavyweight championship and had a 36-8-1with 33 KO's record with 1 loss by KO. An early rounds KO artist, Chuvalo scored 24 of his 36 KO's in 3 rounds or less. During this time, Chuvalo decisioned contender Mike Dejohn (47-11), and KO'd 4th ranked heavyweights Doug Jones (24-5-1) and Jerry Quarry (33-3-4). Chuvalo's losses came against Muhammad Ali (22-0), Joe Frazier (16-0), Buster Mathis (28-1), Oscar Bonevena (20-2), Floyd Patterson (41-4), Ernie Terrell (36-4), Zora Folley (65-7-3) and Hector Corletti (11-2-5).
Incredibly within the span of 9 months, Chuvalo fought Muhammad Ali, close to his prime and considered by many to be the greatest heavyweight of all time, and Willie McCormick a fighter making his pro debut! Chuvalo was very active during this period often fighting every month. On 4 occasions he had 2 fights within the same month and on one occasion he had 3 fights within the same month. On 2 occasions Chuvalo fought twice in 7 days. Chuvalo fought Frazier a month after his previous fight, Quarry a month after his previous fight, Bonevena a month after his previous fight and Ali 2 months after his previous fight. As previously mentioned, Chuvalo took the first Ali fight on 17 days notice and a near prime Ali had already been in training for Terrell! What kind of records would today's top heavyweights have if they fought this often, notwithstanding opposition this tough?
Think of these heavyweights. John Tate, Mike Weaver, Michael Dokes, Gerrie Coetzee, Greg Page, Tony Tubbs, Tim Witherspoon, Pinklon Thomas, Trevor Berbick, Bonecrusher Smith, and Tony Tucker. All of these men held portions of the heavyweight championship throughout the 1980's. All of these men fought in an era where title fights were announced several months in advance and each fighter had time to train, focus and get mentally prepared for their opponent.
Had George Chuvalo been born into this era of heavyweights is it not a safe bet that Chuvalo would have won at the very least a portion of the heavyweight championship? While top ten all time great heavyweight champion Larry Holmes likely would have won a clear cut decision over Chuvalo, would Chuvalo not have tested Holmes more than Lorenzo Zanon, Leroy Jones, Scott Ledoux, Leon Spinks, Tex Cobb, Lucien Rodriguez, Scott Frank, Marvis Frazier or David Bey?
The author of this article can be reached at wross1@cogeco.ca
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