George Chuvalo - how good was he?

Wow... Okay I've seen the Chuvalo / Bonavena fight about five times now. Honestly, I think Chuvalo won the fight. If he didn't, it at least should have been a draw but I will re-post with my round-for-found analysis soon showing which rounds each fighter won and if you disagree, you can go ahead. Now, there are two issues of contention in that fight with respect to Chuvalo being knocked down, and these occur in rounds 1 and 4. When I watch these in slow motion, I find that in round 1, Chuvalo gets hit coming in and while attempting to throw his own punch, slips and falls back. If you look at his feet, its pretty clear that is a slip. The referee didn't count this as a knockdown and I agree with his decision. Had Chuvalo not lost his footing it would have been an entirely different story. The only reason some might say Bonavena knocked Chuvalo down is because Bonavena happened to land a punch right before Chuvalo slipped. But if you think of Chuvalo's iron chin, you know it would take a lot more than that to floor him.

The other contended issue is what happens in round 4. Chuvalo takes a good shot from Bonavena and falls back into the ropes. It wasn't the same sort of shot that Chuvalo took from Foreman that put him into the ropes, but it was decent. Oddly enough, Chuvalo also seems to have lost his footing here too, but I'm not calling this a slip. I'm not calling it a knockdown either because Chuvalo fell into the ropes. If the ropes had not been there, Chuvalo might have been knocked down. But they were there, and Chuvalo did not hit the canvas in round 4.

If any of you disagree, feel free to post with your analysis but the die-hard boxing fans that I know who have seen this fight all agree that the first incident was a slip, and the second incident wasn't anything near a knockdown given the rules in the marquis.

As for the question, "How good was Chuvalo?", the answer is pretty damn good. There are few fighters that have the complete package - I'd say Sugar Ray Robinson is the closest to having nearly every attribute you could ask for as a fighter. Ali had speed, Foreman/Liston/Shavers had power, Chuvalo was tought, durable, and probably had the best chin in the history of boxing. He was Canadian Heavyweight Champion for more than two decades. Ali called him the toughest fighter he ever fought. He sent Ali to the hospital with bleeding kidneys. He fought 97 pro heavyweight fights and was never knocked down. He also knocked out four guys in one night in a total of twelve minutes at the Jack Dempsey tournament in Toronto. His fight with Patterson (which many believe he won) was named Ring Magazine Fight of the Year in 1965. He ended both DeJohn and Durelle's careers. He also was robbed in the Terrell fight in 1965 for the WBA championship - this is a known fact. He was ranked in the top ten of heavyweights longer than any fighter ever. I think if you combine all of these points, it is pretty tough to claim that he wasn't a good fighter. He was damn good, in my opinion. If you really would like to know, ask the fighters he fought! He had a similar style to Joe Louis in that he came right at his opponents, was still on his feet (not jumping around), and was a very exciting fighter to watch. He's a promoter's dream, like Tyson. I'd rather watch Chuvalo and Tyson lose an exciting fight than watch Terrell or Klitschko win a boring one.

 

I like George Chuvalo ,everybody does,it is great to see him so hale, and hearty after the battles and personal troubles he has endured.But, let's not go over board here.

Chuvalo was outpointed rather comfortably by moderate Eduardo Corletti whom , a year earlier could only draw with Benito Penna, Dante Cane, Albert Westphal,and Billy Walker, Tough as old boots ,brave as a lion, but defensively skilled? NO WAY.:nono

 

he would kick david haye's ass in my opinion

 

today he would be ranked in the top 5 defintely

 

Agreed, but what would that be worth ?

 

tough as they come man

 

George Chuvalo was the toughest S.O.B in boxing.

btw How can I watch the fight for Chuvalo vs Bonavena?

 

I trained with the man and talked to him about his fights. You know nothing about him if you think he's totally absent of skills. Yes he was more of a plodder, but c'mon man the guy could box. People remember him more for his toughness and chin. There was a reason why his fight with Floyd Patterson was the fight of the year in 1956.

Nonsense Senya13, coming from a person with the boxing knowledge you have is a bit surpising.

Another thing, who cares about what contemporary writers drivel about boxers unless they are serious autobiographers. Ask the fighters he fought about his skills.

 

your mistaken on that,i've met the man 3 times.he's drown you in knowledge my friend

 

chuvalo was a contender from 1958 to about 1972

 

chuvalo was never down those were pushes the ref knew that.bonavena told everyone he'd meet chuvalo head on.fight night he ran like a dog chuvalo said.

 

One of the very best gatekeepers ever.

If you were not a great or a champion, you had to bring your absolute A-game to get the W. Chuvalo was tough, dogged, always in absolute grade A condition, and had the rare gift of being able to work a man's body as if it were the heavy bag(Most can't do in a fight what they do in training-they become different animals.)

He could beat anyone today not named Klitschko if they had anywhere near an off night.