IT’S a sad day for the boxing world as a former heavyweight legend has passed away.
Canadian ex-fighter George Chuvalo has died aged 89.
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Chuvalo enjoyed a sparkling career, coming up against greats such as Muhammad Ali, George Foreman and Joe Frazier.
He fought 93 times with an impressive 73-18 record and two draws.
The hard-nosed heavyweight is remembered fondly for never once hitting the canvas, despite the volume and magnitude of his career bouts.
Chuvalo’s first professional clash came in April 1956, as he dismissed Gordon Baldwin by TKO.
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And on the same night, ‘Boom Boom’, unbelievably swept aside three more opponents by KO.
He rose up the heavyweight rankings throughout the 50s and 60s before coming up against none other than the greatest ever, Muhammad Ali.
The bout in 1966, which was Ali’s world heavyweight title fight, went the distance, with Cassius Clay winning by unanimous decision.
Following the fight, Chuvalo said Ali was “the toughest guy I ever fought”.
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After a 12-fight winning run, Chuvalo came up against eventual undisputed heavyweight champion Joe Frazier in 1967.
Frazier served up a first ever loss by TKO to the Canadian, after 62 prior fights.
And Chuvalo would go another 12 wins before losing by TKO again, this time against another legend in George Foreman in 1970.
As the end of his long career edged closer, Chuvalo had one more crack at Ali, once again going the distance but losing by unanimous decision.
After hanging up the gloves in 1978, he took up an acting career in films and TV starting in 1979 and finishing in 2015.
Chuvalo’s high reputation in the boxing world, fuelled partly by the fact he was never knocked down, saw him inducted into the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame in 1995.