Johann
03-03-2009, 10:52 AM
The Last Round: Ali vs. Chuvalo
This documentary from 2002 is excellent.
It's a profile of arguably Canada's greatest boxer, George Chuvalo (NEVER knocked out or off his feet!), with the main thrust being the build-up and "Heavyweight Showdown" with Muhammad Ali on March 29, 1966 at the famous Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto. This fight was the first of 2 bouts he had with Ali. The second (held in 1972) went the distance as well and Chuvalo also lost that decision.
A lifelong resident of Toronto, Chuvalo turned pro at a very young age because his family had little money. His mother worked at a poultry factory, taking feathers off dead chickens. His father worked at a slaughterhouse, on the killing floor. When his superiors told him to take time off, he went to work every day, sitting off to the side, watching his replacement to make sure he wasn't fired (!)
It took ten years of being a pro fighter before he got his "moment in the sun" facing Muhammad Ali.
Ali actually was due to face Chuvalo a couple years prior, after a contract stated that should Ali win a certain fight, he was to fight Chuvalo next. He and his manager didn't honor the contract.
To add insult to injury, Ali said Chuvalo fights like a washer-woman. So what does Chuvalo do? He appears at an Ali press conference, dressed in a bonnet and dress, with granny glasses and wig, calling him out, former contract in hand. That footage was priceless- I never saw it before, never even heard of it. Ali is visibly shaken up by this intrusion. He doesn't know how to react.
He says "get that contract out of my face before I destroy it" (or words to that effect) while Chuvalo chastises him for not being a man of his word.
It becomes clear in the film how in disarray the boxing business was back then. Checks for purses for fighters bounced, promoters were kinda unreliable, fights changed with little notice, etc..
The road to the Toronto fight is a little complex and unsettling.
After Ali refused to apologize for his "unpatriotic" remarks over the refusal to enter the draft, his fight with Ernie Terrell was dropped in Chicago. The Mayor basically told Ali and his people to get the hell out. Many other U.S. cities did the same. No Ali fight in their back yard!
Promoters looked North, to Montreal, and the Mayor at the time had no spine either and balked at holding the fight at the Forum.
Soon Terrell was out (he wanted more money). George Chuvalo was in. His manager Irv made some phone calls to stage the fight in Toronto at Maple Leaf Gardens. But it was not without a stinging pain:
the Ontario government refused to allow this fight to be a title fight, ridiculously naming it "the Heavyweight Showdown".
Chuvalo was in disbelief: I couldn't believe my athletic commission could be so STUPID
The archive footage from this time frame is extraordinary.
We see Ali in Toronto, in all his glory (he was at the top of his game here), talking with reporters about how the Canadian people have "been so nice, nice as can be..the hotel managers, the public, even the policemen.. they've been so nice to me. So much different from where I come from..." It was interesting to see the always outrageous and awesome Cassius Clay so subdued and polite. He was in a different country and it changed his whole demeanor. His training was more focused and his consciousness was very acute. He was standing up to some very powerful people, facing exile from the fight game, facing jail time, and history has shown how heroic that was, to put it all aside and still fight like the Champ.
The fight itself was incredible.
People thought Ali would walk all over Chuvalo.
But not only did he last 15 brutal rounds with arguably the greatest ever Heavyweight Champion of the World, he inflicted some serious damage to Ali.
Ali said: He was the toughest man I ever fought- he took all of my best shots.
Indeed, it is truly incredible to see Ali hit George with everything he has, only to have Chuvalo step forward, without blinking an eye. The frustration on Ali's face...he definitely knew he was in a FIGHT.
At one point Ali's trainer Angelo Dundee gives him hell for letting Chuvalo get in close to pummel him: Stop playing games!
Ali shouts back: I'm not playing games!
2002 footage shows Chuvalo talking about facing the Greatest:
I had never been in the ring with someone so quick before. It's one thing to anticipate it, to train for it, knowing what I knew of his fighting style (he can't fight in close), but it's another to be in the ring with him and experience that speed. MY MY MY!
He never hit me in the vulnerable area: the jawline, below and behind the ears- he hit me on the forehead, top of the head. And I can take shots to the top of the head ALL NIGHT LONG.
Chuvalo lost the 15-round decision but some fighters are made by certain losses. This defeat ensured that he would fight for another 15 years. (I say again: NEVER knocked out or off his feet!).
A great documentary made by the National Film Board of Canada.
(released on DVD 2003)
A story of a Great Canadian and his Great story.
Never forget George Chuvalo. He's Elite Man!
He's one of boxing's Greatest Champs!
Word!
I'm gonna try to meet him here in Toronto, get a photo and autograph..
I've been given some tips on where to find him.
I was told he still has a home in the Junction area of the city.
This documentary from 2002 is excellent.
It's a profile of arguably Canada's greatest boxer, George Chuvalo (NEVER knocked out or off his feet!), with the main thrust being the build-up and "Heavyweight Showdown" with Muhammad Ali on March 29, 1966 at the famous Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto. This fight was the first of 2 bouts he had with Ali. The second (held in 1972) went the distance as well and Chuvalo also lost that decision.
A lifelong resident of Toronto, Chuvalo turned pro at a very young age because his family had little money. His mother worked at a poultry factory, taking feathers off dead chickens. His father worked at a slaughterhouse, on the killing floor. When his superiors told him to take time off, he went to work every day, sitting off to the side, watching his replacement to make sure he wasn't fired (!)
It took ten years of being a pro fighter before he got his "moment in the sun" facing Muhammad Ali.
Ali actually was due to face Chuvalo a couple years prior, after a contract stated that should Ali win a certain fight, he was to fight Chuvalo next. He and his manager didn't honor the contract.
To add insult to injury, Ali said Chuvalo fights like a washer-woman. So what does Chuvalo do? He appears at an Ali press conference, dressed in a bonnet and dress, with granny glasses and wig, calling him out, former contract in hand. That footage was priceless- I never saw it before, never even heard of it. Ali is visibly shaken up by this intrusion. He doesn't know how to react.
He says "get that contract out of my face before I destroy it" (or words to that effect) while Chuvalo chastises him for not being a man of his word.
It becomes clear in the film how in disarray the boxing business was back then. Checks for purses for fighters bounced, promoters were kinda unreliable, fights changed with little notice, etc..
The road to the Toronto fight is a little complex and unsettling.
After Ali refused to apologize for his "unpatriotic" remarks over the refusal to enter the draft, his fight with Ernie Terrell was dropped in Chicago. The Mayor basically told Ali and his people to get the hell out. Many other U.S. cities did the same. No Ali fight in their back yard!
Promoters looked North, to Montreal, and the Mayor at the time had no spine either and balked at holding the fight at the Forum.
Soon Terrell was out (he wanted more money). George Chuvalo was in. His manager Irv made some phone calls to stage the fight in Toronto at Maple Leaf Gardens. But it was not without a stinging pain:
the Ontario government refused to allow this fight to be a title fight, ridiculously naming it "the Heavyweight Showdown".
Chuvalo was in disbelief: I couldn't believe my athletic commission could be so STUPID
The archive footage from this time frame is extraordinary.
We see Ali in Toronto, in all his glory (he was at the top of his game here), talking with reporters about how the Canadian people have "been so nice, nice as can be..the hotel managers, the public, even the policemen.. they've been so nice to me. So much different from where I come from..." It was interesting to see the always outrageous and awesome Cassius Clay so subdued and polite. He was in a different country and it changed his whole demeanor. His training was more focused and his consciousness was very acute. He was standing up to some very powerful people, facing exile from the fight game, facing jail time, and history has shown how heroic that was, to put it all aside and still fight like the Champ.
The fight itself was incredible.
People thought Ali would walk all over Chuvalo.
But not only did he last 15 brutal rounds with arguably the greatest ever Heavyweight Champion of the World, he inflicted some serious damage to Ali.
Ali said: He was the toughest man I ever fought- he took all of my best shots.
Indeed, it is truly incredible to see Ali hit George with everything he has, only to have Chuvalo step forward, without blinking an eye. The frustration on Ali's face...he definitely knew he was in a FIGHT.
At one point Ali's trainer Angelo Dundee gives him hell for letting Chuvalo get in close to pummel him: Stop playing games!
Ali shouts back: I'm not playing games!
2002 footage shows Chuvalo talking about facing the Greatest:
I had never been in the ring with someone so quick before. It's one thing to anticipate it, to train for it, knowing what I knew of his fighting style (he can't fight in close), but it's another to be in the ring with him and experience that speed. MY MY MY!
He never hit me in the vulnerable area: the jawline, below and behind the ears- he hit me on the forehead, top of the head. And I can take shots to the top of the head ALL NIGHT LONG.
Chuvalo lost the 15-round decision but some fighters are made by certain losses. This defeat ensured that he would fight for another 15 years. (I say again: NEVER knocked out or off his feet!).
A great documentary made by the National Film Board of Canada.
(released on DVD 2003)
A story of a Great Canadian and his Great story.
Never forget George Chuvalo. He's Elite Man!
He's one of boxing's Greatest Champs!
Word!
I'm gonna try to meet him here in Toronto, get a photo and autograph..
I've been given some tips on where to find him.
I was told he still has a home in the Junction area of the city.