Chuvalo's questionable losses to Terrell, Bonavena & Mathis

I've only seen the yt footage of the fight, but to me, it was striking how bad Oscar made George look... If you're making Bonavena look like Willie Pep in there, you have problems. Oscar was moving, boxing, much better defensively, and simply outclassing Chuvalo.

I expected to see a more competitive fight, more contact from both guys, but it was mostly one way traffic from the rounds posted on yt...

 

chuvalo said oscar talked a good fight but when he got in the ring he back paddled away,he thought he was going to meet him head on.boxing illustrated scored the fight 6 to 4 for chuvalo.i don't think oscar was stronger then george,chuvalo was taller heavier and just as strong as ringo was.
i do have the entire fight on cd and those were mostly pushes that forced chuvalo back oscar was claiming a knockdown,chuvalo called him a dog after the fight talks a better fight then he putts up.....

 

He didn't really win against any of these guys... Mathis vs Chuvalo is a great fight, but Mathis clearly deserved the win. Terrell outboxed him in a boring fight. With Bonavena there is only highlights so we can't be sure. But Bonavena made Chuvalo look like ****.

 

boxing illustrated had chuvalo winning the fight 6 to 4 i do have the entire fight not just looking at hilites i agree he did lose the terrell an mathis fight biut i don't think he lost the bonavena fight

 

I'm not sure. It was a close fight either way. He may have won. Based on highlights, it's impossible to tell though.

 

i agree it was a close fight but boxing illustated was there they said chuvalo did enough to win that fight.i think chuvalo thought that oscar was going to meet him head on but he didn't so george had to change his battle plan,chuvalo called bonavena a dog after the fight

 

Chuvalo was decent fighter who built up record in Canada, then would come to U.S. for big paydays. He was average contender, tough, but had no big punch, especially for a heavyweight. He was also very slow in ring at times, sometimes he seemed to be stuck in mud, others times he moved ok.

 

I own the fight and have watched it several times. Bonavena won and there was no controversy that I'm aware of. A fairly close bout but I scored it for Oscar. They seemed to land an equal number of blows, but Ringo's were unquestionably harder.

Chuvalo spoke English and lived in closer proximity to the fight location than the Argentinian, so I would imagine that if anyone were going to be given the benefit of the doubt in scoring it would be George. Just a thought.

I'm kinda surprised to hear that BI scored it for George, btw.

 

I didn't bother scoring rounds because it was highlights, and I wasn't sure going in if they'd even be full rounds, but from what I saw, Oscar looked at least a full level better than George. He whipped his ass and was clearly outsmarting, outboxing, and outfighting Chuvalo. Like I said, Chavalo made Bonavena look like a defensive genius in there...

If I had a copy of the full fight, I'd score it objectively, and perhaps Chuvalo would get something going mid-fight... Until then, from what I saw, Chuvalo was reduced to an amateur in the fight.

 

Write-up on the fight from boxrec.

1966-06-23 : George Chuvalo 215 lbs lost to Oscar Bonavena 203 lbs by MD in round 10 of 10
Location: Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, USA
Referee: Arthur Mercante 4-4
Judge: Tony Rossi 3-7
Judge: Tony Castellano 4-5

"Oscar Bonavena, 203, used his left hook like a buzzsaw to chop down George Chuvalo, 215, for a majority 10 round decision at MSG Thursday night. Although there were no knockdowns in the fight, Bonavena, a 9-5 underdog, staggered Chuvalo in the 2nd and 4th rounds and even claimed to have inflicted the first knockdown of the Canadian's career in the 4th. Bonavena drove Chuvalo back on his haunches in the 4th with a series of rights to the head and were it not for the ropes which checked his backward lurch, Chuvalo might have hit the canvas." -United Press International




Unofficial UPI scorecard - 7-2-1 Bonavena
Unofficial AP scorecard - 4-4-2 Draw
Unofficial ringside poll of sportswriters had 5 for Bonavena, 4 for Chuvalo and 3 had it even

Post fight comments

"I thought I won it 6-4. He's a mauler, hard to fight, tough and heavy-handed. I'd love a return bout." -George Chuvalo

"I did knock him down even though they didn't count it." -Oscar Bonavena

 

How about the miteff fights? anybody know how chuvalo got on in those? One was a SD the other a draw in chuvalos home town.

 

Let's be honest, Chuvalo always thought he got robbed. He even has gone on record to say he thought he beat Ali in their second bout.

I love the guy, though. He's a great guy.

 

:good agreed. a real character who paid his dues.