27.03.06 – By Mike Dunn: It was 40 years ago this week that Muhammad Ali put the heavyweight title on the line against the rugged Canadian George Chuvalo. The bout took place on March 29, 1966 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto and Ali won a lopsided 15-round decision.
The decision doesn’t nearly tell the story of the fight, however.
Ali, coming off an uninspiring 12-round stoppage of former champ Floyd Patterson the previous November, had been scheduled to do battle with Chicago’s Ernie Terrell to unify the heavyweight crown. Ali was the linear champ after his KO of Sonny Liston and was still recognized at this point as the “real” champ by almost everyone. The angular, defensive-minded Terrell, who used his 6-foot-6 frame to good advantage with an effective jabbing and clutching style, had claim to the World Boxing Association title, however.
The WBA had stripped Ali of the title early in 1965 after his refusal to be inducted into the U.S. Army. In March of ’65, Terrell was pitted against former top contender Eddie Machen in Chicago with the vacant title at stake. Terrell won a 15-round decision in an engagement that had all the excitement of a chess marathon. In November, Terrell put the “title” on the line against Chuvalo in Maple Leaf Gardens three weeks before Ali defeated Patterson in Las Vegas. Terrell again won a clear decision in a less-than-thrilling battle.
The next logical match on the horizon in the early months of 1966 was Ali vs. Terrell.
There were problems, though. Ali, because of his embrace of the so-called Black Muslim religion and his refusal to be drafted, had more and more storm clouds gathering rapidly overhead. His court battle for draft deferment on grounds of religious conviction was unpopular with many Americans, black and white, who had fought in World War II. It seemed only a matter of time before Ali would be forced to relinquish the crown and possibly go to prison.
Under the circumstances, it wasn’t possible for Ali’s management to arrange a match with Terrell at a U.S. venue any time soon. So Ali’s people looked north. Perhaps a title fight could be arranged across the border in Canada.
Chuvalo, known for his ruggedness and durability, was the natural choice to meet Ali. Sure, George was coming off decision defeats to Terrell and Eduardo Corletti, but he was still Canada’s best heavyweight and would be sure to lure thousands of his countrymen through the turnstile to see if the native son could pull the upset.
Chuvalo received exactly 17 days notice for the biggest fight of his life. Fortunately, he was always in shape and didn’t require a lot of time to train and be prepared to go 15 hard rounds against the champ.
The Toronto fight marked the beginning of Ali’s so-called Foreign Tour. He would fight Chuvalo on March 29 in Canada, then go overseas and face Henry Cooper and Brian London in England during the summer of ’66 before going across the English Channel and taking on Germany’s Karl Mildenberger in September in Frankfurt.
Chuvalo was the first obstacle that Ali had to overcome. The champ gave the heavily muscled Canadian the descriptive nickname of “Washer Woman” and boasted that he would be the first to KO the challenger.
It didn’t happen, of course. Chuvalo came into the ring a fit 216 pounds with a record of 34-11-2. He was clearly the favorite among the spectators. Ali, with a record of 22-0, had 214 ½ pounds spread over his perfectly proportioned 6-foot-3 frame. Although Canadians were much more sympathetic to Ali’s position on the draft than the majority of Americans, they were
very much behind George and wanted the local boy to take Ali down.
At that point in his career, Ali was simply too fast for Chuvalo. He had an answer for everything that George threw at him that night at Maple Leaf Gardens. George gave the kind of gritty effort everybody expected. Living up to his reputation for durability and sheer, hard-nosed, grit-your-teeth toughness, Chuvalo bore in with a two-fisted attack from round one through
round 15.
Ali’s rapier like left jabs and following rights caused Chuvalo’s eyes to swell and a right cross on the button in the fifth round caused Chuvalo’s knees to buckle.
Chuvalo wasn’t dissuaded from his aggressiveness, however. He kept boring in and throwing out the leather. And the longer the fight went, the more the challenger landed. It’s safe to say that Chuvalo, even though he lost the decision by a large margin on the scorecards, gave Ali the most thorough beating of his pre-exile career.
Chuvalo pounded the champ heavily to the body. In several rounds late in the fight, Chuvalo landed solid left hooks to Ali’s head. Chuvalo took a beating in return, but he never stopped coming forward.
When it was over, there was no doubt who the winner was. Referee Jackie Silvers scored it 73-65 (10-2-3 in rounds) while judges Tony Canzano scored 74-63 (12-1-2) and Jackie Johnstone scored 74-62 (13-1-1).
As noted earlier, the decision didn’t reflect the drama that occurred in the ring that night.
In defeat, the irrepressible Chuvalo had lifted the hearts of his countrymen. He was given the kind of long, heart-felt applause the gallant loser receives at such times.
Chuvalo would go on from that night in 1966 to fight for 11 more years. He met all the top contenders, never backing down from anyone. He would face Joe Frazier, George Foreman, Oscar Bonavena, Cleveland Williams, Buster Mathis, Jerry Quarry and anyone who was anyone in the heavyweight division. He met Ali a second time in 1972 and lost another unanimous decision, this time over the 12-round distance.
When he permanently retired from the ring at the age of 41, Chuvalo’s record stood at a respectable 73-18-2 with 64 kayoes to his credit. He was the reigning Canadian heavyweight champion when he hung up the gloves for the last time and he remains a beloved figure in his native land.
Ali would go on from the tussle in Toronto to whip Cooper, London and Mildenberger in the ensuing months of 1966 before returning to the U.S. and knocking out Cleveland Williams in three rounds in Houston in November. Ali finally got Terrell in the ring and gave him a fearsome beating over 15 rounds in February of 1967 at the Astrodome.
Ali’s dominance over the heavyweight division was clearly established when he was forced into a 3 ½ year exile from the ring in the spring of ’67.
Mike Dunn is a boxing historian and writer living in Lake City, Mich.