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EPISODE: Episode 1
Are you a fan of classic boxing? Join Lou for another episode of Ring Talk as he takes a look back at the November 1st 1965 WBA heavyweight title fight between Ernie Terrell and George Chuvalo. This fight was one of the most famous and controversial heavyweight matchups in boxing history and we’ll explore the lead-up to the fight, the details of the match itself, and the aftermath that followed. We’ll also hear from boxing expert and historian Lou Eisen about the fight, the significance of the match, and the impact it had on the sport of boxing. Don’t miss this exciting episode of Ring Talk, where we bring the past to life!
Transcribed
[, Music, ] foreign [, Music, ] boxing writer and author – and I am here with my weekly podcast of rintok – and I love the the photo that Eric put up.
There was uh Ernie Terrell on the left, six foot, six fighter, 210 pounds.
Muhammad Ali call them the octopus, because Terrell like to jab jab and then get him close and hug you and he just would stop hugging.
You and Ali would say to him when he fought him get a girlfriend or something man we’re supposed to fight, not hug and on.
The left, of course, was the Hard Rock from camera.
Canada, the indomitable George javalo born September 12, 1937, and this is an interesting fight.
This fight took place November, 1st 1965.
in Canada in boxing there’s a lot of revision.
It’S history, so you’ll have a Canadian fighter, uh fight in Canada or in the states, and get knocked down five times and Canadian fans will say well or in in boxing Community.
It was close and in reality it wasn’t closed.
This is a different fight altogether.
It was always felt by George chevalo and his team, and some boxing historians that chevello won the fight, but because Ernie Terrell, who was born in Mississippi in 1939, moved to Chicago was a mob fighter.
Who’S controlled by Bernie Glickman, a hired killer for the mob and Julius Isaacson, who was also a mob man, a union man and a boxing manager, and when you watched a fight, it’s an interesting fight, because Terrell’s complaining Trail always complained uh during the fight that uh Chavalo was head-butting him and uh.
I I don’t have any doubt George was, but he did it for a specific reason, which was only 12 was telling him deliberately in the eye.
He was trying to take his eye out and that’s over the line.
Unboxing, you know.
There’S certain fouls kidney shot, rabbit punch, they happen you’re not supposed to, but they happen, but trying to take a man’s eye out with your thumb.
You’Re not just beating him you’re taking away his livelihood and that crosses the line and the referee didn’t do anything about it.
Of course, uh then again, the referee was handicapped because you know uh there’s mob guys there telling him to to uh to let it go.
You know Terrell said the same thing when he fought Ali.
He said: look at my eyes.
He rubbed my eyes across the rose.
Finale was not a dirty fighter, it’s his dally, beating the hell out of him.
So in this fight, this fight encompasses uh November.
1St 1965.
, it encompasses a lot of different factors: 12 500 people were at Maple Leaf, Gardens that night they paid in Toronto.
124 456.
50.
The c2l win its 14th straight fight.
His record became 38 and four straddles dropped to 33 10-4 Tyrell was guaranteed 45 Grand for 35 percent of the live gate.
Whichever was higher while shimala was also guaranteed 45 Grand, which is rare, uh up against 25 of July gate.
You know it’s interesting: um UPI scored at 71.
67 Terrell five-point mutt system and uh boxing Illustrated scored at 70-64 Terrell and uh.
The Associated Press also scored at Fort Terrell too, by unanimous decision um.
It’S interesting when you see the money 45 Grand, because that’s pretty well a per diem for today’s Fighters.
You know guys get tens of millions of dollars.
These guys didn’t get that they fought for an extra nothing.
The official score referee, Samuel upspring, who was up one time, the number one ranked welterweight in the world until he was thumbed by Steve beloy’s by accident and lost the eyesight and that I uh scored it for Trails 72-65.
Uh Judge Fred Nobert, scored it 73-65 for Terrell and judge Billy Burke, 69-65 Terrell um people.
Some people in boxing said certainly travel team said, and it’s it’s likely true, because it wasn’t the first time that um Bernie Glickman of the outfit in Chicago, which is the mafia uh.
It was him and Julius Isaacson, another mobster who managed uh throughout that they went to the referee and the judges before to fight non-woman and just said my guy wins or you end up in Lake Ontario, and that’s not that you know.
I believe that that did happen because they, this was the mob, they controlled the sport, and they did this quite often.
In fact, the first fight between Ali and Terrell was called off because they’d threatened Ali Bernie Glickman had come to Ali and said you signed with us or we’re going to kill you and, of course, Herbert Muhammad of the Nation of Islam.
Had members of the fruit of Islam, the Foy, you know, beat beat um Brittany Glickman almost into a coma and the mob left them alone.
After that, so in this fight, shivala wasn’t really given much of a chance to win.
He had trouble with stick and move Fighters, but uh George thought he had the style to be able to beat him.
Um George was trained by Teddy McWhorter, who was a pretty good trainer.
The cop man at that time were Whitey bimstein and Freddie Brown.
I think George would have been better served to have bimstein and brown uh running the corner rather than Teddy mcquarter, but that’s just my opinion.
Uh.
As I said, George was born September 12.
1937 career totals 73 wins 64 by knockout 18 losses and two draws um.
He stood six feet tall and weighed about 209 pounds a trail with six six weighed about 206 pounds.
Terrell had a huge uh reach advantage of seven inches over chevalo and uh George fought from 50 um 56 to 78.
He started fighting by the way in a toughman tournament uh put on by Jack Dempsey.
It was a tough man, tournament held in Toronto and it’s perfect.
He won it.
He got four Knockouts in one night and he was given 500 in a trophy which 500 in the 50s was a considerable sum of money.
He could have gone to the Olympics.
George could very well have gone to the Olympics um he would.
He was on the Olympic team, but he decided to turn pro and make money.
The other Factor there, of course, is the Olympic committees back.
There were no such thing, so no one would have paid his flight to Australia.
No one would have paid for that.
He would have had to pay his own flight, which was prohibitive back then put himself up for the two weeks of the Olympics, pay for all that and back then you have to understand that an Olympic gold medal wasn’t the springboard.
It is today to Untold riches when signing with a big time promoter, and so George thought you know it’s not worth it and George was more of a pro-style fighter than an Olympic fighter, and it served him better to turn pro rather than just stay there and Keep fighting amateur um, he had two shots of the world: uh heavyweight title first journey Trail which we’re talking about today and Ali.
He never got a chance at the British Commonwealth title which really upset him.
He wanted to fight uh Henry Cooper and I asked Cooper at the international markets in Hall of Fame.
Why wouldn’t you fight George chavalo, and he said I don’t fancy me face getting hit like that and uh.
I laugh but, but you know when he asked Jim Wicks his manager.
This was attributed to listen, but George said that when he asked his manager Henry Cooper, why don’t you? Why won’t uh Henry fight me for the British Commonwealth, title Cooper, says um glucose manager? Excuse me, Jim Witt says we don’t even want to meet you socially for tea, but that actually also happened when uh Liston asked Cooper if he’d be interested in fighting and Cooper’s manager.
Jim Wick said that as well.
That’S what happens with um funny faces like that.
In boxing they get, you know tossed around and attribute to different people.
What really upset George was the Canadian Boxing Federation, which was spineless and Toothless quite a match.
Um didn’t put up a fight on his behalf.
Didn’T go to the to the British boxing border control, which had much more power and say: listen! We’Re part of the Commonwealth, give my guy a shot he’s ranked in the top five in the world, but they wouldn’t do it and um.
He was just really upset by that um during his career.
He beat some great Fighters.
You know he beat Alex mittaff, Yvonne Terrell, Cleveland Williams, Manuel Ramos uh Doug Jones, which really set his career on fire, Mike Dijon, Dante, Kane and, of course, Jerry Corey uh.
In 1998, Graham Houston who’s, a boxing writer who I’ve worked for an editor who I’ve worked for Asheville um.
He was known that he says: does it bother you that you’re known mostly for absorbing punches – and he said yeah? It does because, if I got hit with one tenth of the punches people say I did, I wouldn’t be able to carry on this interview with you.
Now I’ve been walking on my heels, not being able to talk and George was always very well spoken.
So George, when he started out, he won the Canadian amateur Heavyweight Championship, May 1955 knocked out Winnipeg’s Peter Piper by Peter Piper.
That was his real name.
Uh picked a pack of picked a pack of cheval’s fish by a first round knockout in the tournament.
Final final.
As I said, he was chosen to represent Canada at the Melbourne Olympics, but instead he retired it was 16-0 amateur career and and to improve now uh George battle won the the uh Canadian well or heavyweight title.
He knocked out James J Parker, one round uh September 1958.
Now at this time, Ernie Terrell starting off he he was an amateur fighter and I took the liberty of writing down somebody won in 1956.
He won the Golden Glove tournament.
He made the finals.
Actually, excuse me at light heavyweight.
He did not win it though uh he won this 57 Chicago Golden Gloves tournament at light heavy weight and the 1957 inner city Golden Gloves championship at life, heavyweight uh when he beat a New York fighter named Eddie Bramlett.
Now, here’s the thing chavalo or excuse me: Ernie, Terrell, fighting out of Chicago uh, it’s a mob fighter not chosen by himself but certainly didn’t put up much of a fight, and so he starts to do well in the Reigns, but he’s run by the Chicago mob.
At that time you know in the early 60s um the world heavyweight champion from 64 on as Muhammad Ali.
So what happens here is this is when the title splits you had, the the NBA national boxing Association ceased to beans between 62 and 64.
, and the vacuum was filled by two criminal organizations.
Uh WBC he’d be criminals and WBA, which stands for still to this day.
Without brains attached so Ally after he beats listing, comes out and says, I’m a Muslim and I’m changing my name from Cassius Clay to Muhammad Ali.
Huge uh Ruckus arises throughout the boxing World, which is ironic because tens of thousands of Americans changed their religion and their name every day and still do to this day and there’s a tape you can hear of WBA uh Commissioners from various cities and these weren’t wise Men or boxing men, these were star owners, shoe store owners Deli owners.
You know drugstore owners, they didn’t know boxing and when you see uh here, Ed lassman talking and who was the headband and he was passing it on to Ontario’s Merv McKenzie and to hear those two men talk saying how dare and uh I’m not going to say The word but an n-word think he could do that to us.
Where does he get off changing his name and his religion? We should put him back in the gutter with Liston where they belong.
I mean the racism.
Was you you? It was unbelievable back then, but today you just can’t fathom somebody being that that far that that much bigoted that bigoted and not thinking it will come back to bite them in the ass.
So they withdraw the recognition of Ali as the wa World Heavyweight Champion which further devalues the WBA.
If even such a thing was possible, so they do that and they have a fight between Ernie Terrell and Eddie matron who’s going to win this fight is the new WBA champion and major who was a good fighter but lack confidence.
He loses to earning Terrell, so Terrell’s, not a WBA champion is a problem, though no one wants to fight him because there’s no money in fighting Tyrell, because the money’s in fighting Ali, because he’s recognized as the only World Heavyweight Champion WBA, is looked upon as a Joke and so Terrell can’t get anyone to fight him now he’s controlled at that time, as I said, by Bernie klitman and Julius Isaacson, but he’s really controlled by Tony Accardo.
Tony ocardo is the most powerful mob boss ever to have lived in the United States or Italy anywhere in the world.
So what happens in in in Chicago uh, the first real big boss? You know we have.
We have uh Jim colosimo, then we have Johnny Torio Torio retires, taken over by Al Capone.
So Capone goes to prison in 31 and is his chauffeur and bodyguard.
Tony Accardo is now the head of the mob and he ran it until the 1990s never spent a day in prison.
I don’t know if you know the movie The Untouchables with Robert De Niro and Kevin Costner, Sean Connery, there’s that scene, where they’re at this big uh dining table in a hotel and De Niro’s as um Capone knows that two of his soldiers have been disloyal.
So he baseball bats them to death.
Well that happened, but it was Tony Accardo who did it not Capone, and that’s why his nickname was Joe batters.
That’S what Capone’s saying look at his guy he’s a real Joe batters and so from then, until the 90s from 3132.
It the mob, was controlled by in Chicago.
The outfit was controlled by Tony Accardo.
Yes, they had piled away to Eureka uh as a front man at at times and um.
They had other people too, Sam Gianna as a front man at times, but the real power behind the throne was always you know, uh Tony Accardo, even when Frank Nitty was running it, so he ran it and his rackets were bootlegging prostitution, gambling, uh protection and boxing.
He control boxing he controlled listed.
No one thought Liston would lose.
This was out of the question.
It was an impossibility, so Ali wins and because of what’s going on and some pressure from the mob, although I would assume some pressure from the Chicago outfit, I can’t find any evidence, but then again the mom never relieves written evidence, so they they have that fight.
Tyrell wins he’s the champ.
Now he’s got to get people to fight him and he fights you make the fight in uh Toronto at Maple, Leaf Garden.
Chevelle didn’t want to fight in Toronto, because schvelo always felt and was some good reason that Toronto judges and media are always treated him poorly and didn’t treat him respectfully and he didn’t want to take a chance of getting screwed over on the decision.
So chevalo’s training um it’s interesting, because when you read the articles about chevalo and Sports, Illustrated by Tech small for this fight, but also for the Ali fight.
You know the sports illustrator referred to Georgia’s the human punching bag and they said that the best chance he has of beating Tyrell or alley was to wear their fists out with his chin, and it may seem funny.
But it’s really an unfair thing to say: George was a body puncher, he came in close yeah.
He he threw some low blows.
Robert lipsite said they counted 100 low blows that George landed on Muhammad Ali and uh their fight, but the way they looked at it.
It’S boxing: that’s what happens you’re coming in guys pushing your head down.
Some punches straight.
Low 100, of course, is an ungainly figure, unfortunately, but but this is professional boxing it’s to her business, so they set up for the Terrell fight and um.
You know Chevelle’s, coming in with a great record he’s he’s got he’s held the Canadian heavyweight title forever.
He won it with first time, first round uh knockout over James J, Parker September 58.
As I said earlier, then he has the three fights with Robert claru uh of Montreal, where uh clear, who wins the first one by hotly dispute a split decision shallow on that fight.
Without a doubt – and it was the beginning of a disturbing Trend, though, for him, because it’s happened to him a lot in his career and then shabbalah won the second by unanimous decision and then claru wins another 12-round Split Decision which actually George won um.
You know for a guy who’s representing Canada and getting screwed by judges in his own country.
It’S very upsetting, but you know, as he said after in Montreal, judges will help out a Montreal fighter.
It’S not that they’re going to cheat on their behalf, but if it’s a close round they’ll shade it for him in Toronto, they never do it for any Canadian Fighters, and this has been a complaint of Canadian Fighters going back a hundred years, so shabalo wins uh.
Canadian heavyweight title then for um a third time uh when he destroys Hugh Mercier in one round in March of 64 in Regina, so he’s known as the Hard Rock from Canada.
You know he’s he’s a wonderful fighter, but Sports Illustrated didn’t give him uh Mike’s chance.
They said that Terrell’s a champion but still a champion, but the crown sits atop his head doesn’t make him the big man in the world, the boxing that belongs to Ali and he’s only the champion of the WBA he’s, not the heavy champion of the world trial.
Didn’T like this, he said people make fun of me.
Uh people uh belittle me, because I I like to sing with my group and um.
They set a victory over chevalo or his victory over Charlotte.
Won’T change.
Terrell’S public um, uh image people still dislike them.
Just like excuse me also Terrell, hardly used his right hand at all in defeating uh chiralo.
They said he just uses jab his stinging left jab to Cheval his face from the opening bell until the final gone now we’re the controversy lies here is the fact that uh travel’s team has always claimed, and there’s good evidence to support this – that uh Terrell’s management.
His mob guys went to the judges and the referee and Irving and said: listen, my guy wins or you end up in Lake Ontario and it’s November.
So it’s quite cold there now and this wasn’t the first time Bernie Glickman had done that the guys facing his Fighters.
This was a professional Keller and George said when they were driving on the DVP towards um or the gardener.
Excuse me towards uh Bay Police Gardens.
He said her wrong, just was out of his mind and he asked him what was going on and he said I was threatened by a Cardinals people.
You know operating liquid and threatened me and – and I believe that, because they did that to everyone Glickman, of course in the end, is the big loser, because he turned States evidence against Tony Accardo and after after being beaten up by the fruit of Islam, was in An insane asylum under heavy protection until the day he died, um it did not work out for him, as it usually doesn’t for roads and monsters.
So they have this fight and you know it’s a five-point, must system and works like the ten point, my system, but five points and chevalo’s battering um Terrell’s body, you can see the fight Terrell’s, trying to summon deliberately Trails elbowing him stepping on his feet.
Trail was great at fouling people and then blaming them.
We’Re trying to do the same thing to him and if they did, you couldn’t blame them, because that’s what he wanted to do and did successfully, and it’s the only time I ever saw in any of George’s fights where he turned to the referee and just went Hey you know he’s trying to take my eye out.
Do something so the referee warned them both and I didn’t stop uh Terrell from doing that.
So um they go a hard 15 rounds.
Everyone Has It by unanimous decision for Terrell people.
I’Ve spoken to were, there said: Terrell won it by unanimous decision, but you you can’t.
You can’t take out the mob factor, and indeed one of the New York writers did after you know more more of a question than the decision and the scores rendered by the judges and the referee is how on Earth did a professional killer Like Bernie Glickman gain Entry into Canada, the work of Fighters corner they said: does Canada have a different laws with regarding to murder than other countries? Do does Canada say? Well if you murder, someone in the states you’re more than welcome to come up here, they didn’t check them out.
Canadian customs didn’t look at his background.
They said it’s easy to check his background.
Just pick up any American newspaper and it’ll tell you all about him.
You know Canadian government, the mounties couldn’t have called the FBI and asked I mean he was Notorious, but that’s why, when, when uh later on, when Terrell’s offered a fight with Ali in Toronto, he turned it down.
He said I don’t want to come back to a communist country, obviously we’re not a communist country.
What he was saying was, I don’t want to come back and face Ali when I can’t have my mob guys there, but in the end the mob guys didn’t help, because Ali went every round, so chevalo is very upset and for years and and still to this Day he’ll tell you that you know I beat him and he said the Press was taking his picture after the fight and uh the belt was being held up and then they announced that Terrell won and I’ve seen the fight.
It was a close fight.
It was a close fight.
The fight could have gone either way.
Um, as I said, George had trouble with guys that were taller.
Everyone does and that’s they could move, but I think he gave a great fight, a great great fight, uh towards Tyrell and if he was going to win the title, that was his night and he was just upset that no one went to bat firm and after The fight he was yelling at irvingerman.
Why did you have the fight here? Why couldn’t we have it somewhere else other than Toronto, where I can easily get screwed and I get screwed all the time and I guess the answer to that question.
Is you have to fight with whoever will take it and that’s where they can make the most money they wanted to have it up here in in uh Toronto and for a good reason, Trail couldn’t get a boxing license in New York state, which would have been The biggest money maker you know that would have been the best place to have it or Chicago or other places, because it was a mob fighter and his associates were convicted Killers.
Therefore, they said no because of the people you associate with we’re not going to give you a boxing license, so they had to go to Canada and that’s sort of the funny thing about it.
Where you know Canada’s saying oh you’re a convicted killer.
Well, you can come up here and work in boxing, that’s fine with us and that’s essentially what happened so uh George goes on and and uh he he continues to fight and a year later you know March 29th 1966.
He fights Muhammad Ali and he loses by unanimous decision, and you know George had fights where you know he beats Floyd Patterson in the fight of the year, but because Patterson was a New York fighter and a former world champion and the fight was in New York At Madison Square Garden, the decision of the parenting and that’s an interesting fight because I went 12 rounds.
It was scheduled for 15 Patterson won 5-15.
He refused and of course, a couple minutes after 12th round Paris and collapses and goes to the hospital with internal bleeding, because the Georgia’s vicious body attack, meaning of the fight, went 15 George for the one by knockout.
So George had decisions like that, where close fights where he had it stolen from him at times, and it embedders a man, it’s difficult when you’re giving everything you have in your life when you’re spending, time away from your children and your wife and your and you’re Running 15 20 miles a day and chopping trees and thousands of sit-ups and thousands of push-ups and thousands of hours sparring and hitting the heavy bag and speed bag and to go in there and get ripped off and one thing George didn’t have throughout his career.
There were several things: one was amberman because we’ve had a bit of a boxing background, although he was a poultry man, but he didn’t have mob muscle.
He didn’t have people that had been in the game a long time and would know how to move him and make sure the judges were honest and that no one could interfere.
He just didn’t have that.
Also, when George started, you have to understand there weren’t any really high level boxing trainers.
So George said he skipped levels of his boxing education, because you know a lot of guys fight for around six eight rounds and ten twelve.
You know well, George, didn’t do that.
His first all his fights were 15 round fights, except for the Patterson fight.
They were all headline.
He was a headliner immediately.
He was the only name in the country, so he didn’t have the proper trainer American trainer to hone off the rough edges and and to show them the tricks of the trade it changed when you got Teddy mcquirter from Detroit.
Who was a pretty? You know a good trainer, but it also changed for him when he was in New York in the early 60s and he met Charlie Goldman, who trained Marty several welterweight champ Rocky Marciano, and he said to George.
You keep throwing your punches out.
The window don’t Loop him, so he tied George’s feet to the canvas and he said twist.
Your strength comes from pushing off your back leg twist at the hips shoulder snap and after that George started to knock out a lot of people.
It became a much better fighter, so the Terrell fight always has stuck in George’s crop and in Krav a lot of Canadians.
So there’s there’s, I said just two bodies of opinion: there’s some people that think you know he Tyrell won.
The fight and George was very upset with Tammy a lot spring, but if you’re threatened by the mob, really, what are you going to do side with your friend and lose your life? You can’t so George did his best uh.
He gave Terrell a good fight.
Terrell.
Never hurt him, but in the end he goes down as uh losing the fight by unanimous decision and the fight would not have been held in the States.
Because, if Terrell’s precarious position with different um State boxing commissions, the only other place could have been Montreal.
And he never received fair treatment in Montreal George, so Toronto was really the only other place that had the population that could pay the money that the tickets were costing to go.
Watch him fight and it was a good fight.
People um people were thrilled, they’re disappointed that he lost.
But you know that’s that’s the game.
You have to be able to accept that uh George, initially retired in 73, came back in 78 to win the Canadian heavyweight title again, pretty boy Bob feldstein.
It wasn’t so pretty after that and, as George said 30 years after I die I’ll still be the Canadian heavyweight champion uh.
He fought two more times after that in 78 and then he retired, but you know he did a lot of commercials.
He was in the movie, The Fly you know remember where Jeff Goldblum breaks his arm in the arm wrestling match and um uh Ernie Terrell was a guy that um uh uh.
He died in 212 and you know he he died of dementia.
He his sister Gene Terrell, was a member of The Supremes.
People sometimes equate him with candy Trail different spelling, that was the young Motown singer, who died of a brain tumor.
That was not a relation Theory drug uh early in Terrell.
When I met him at the hall of fame and I talked to him – and he was Angelo right, so you like Muhammad, I said I love Muhammad he’s my hero and where you’re from Toronto, ah you’re from Toronto, shivalos town.
So you think Cheval and I said well, you know it was a good fight.
It was a close fight and uh.
You know but um he said yeah.
He was a dirty fighter.
I said, but you know with all due respect Mr Terrell and don’t forget you’re six six and I’m not um.
You claim that against everyone you fought, you claimed all fighters were dirty and yet there’s clear video view: fouling George 60, 70 80 times stepping on his toes elbowing him forearms you’re, trying to thumb his eye out so uh Tom here.
Thank you.
Terrell originally won the belt off of Eddie matron when it was declared vacant by the WBA after Ali converted to Islam and changed his name um.
So it was a nice conversation with him, but he says: yeah everyone from Toronto says uh.
You know the mob won the fight for me, but I wasn’t a mob fighter and I said, come on, that’s not true, and you know it.
Bernie Glickman turned States evidence and he named you as one of his Fighters.
It it.
You know: there’s a permanent Senate subcommittee investigating organized crimes, influence in professional boxing started in the 50s.
It’S an ongoing committee.
Excuse me so Glickman said under oath.
He named names.
He named ocardo and Frankie carbon Blinky plebro, and he said yes, we controlled Ernie Terrell, Lock, Stock and Barrel, and I said to him: I’m not saying you couldn’t fight or that you weren’t a great fighter, but having paid killers in your corner, uh, it’s quite convincing To judges who like to go home and see their family again, you said that was overblown yeah.
You know the Senate subcommittee says otherwise you know so that the FBI and uh it wouldn’t have you know, and he said well.
Sometimes they make mistakes.
Yes, but you can trace it from the 1920s until today, so it’s hard to believe that what you’re saying is true but anyways, I didn’t want to upset them anymore, even though he’s in the 70s still a very physically big man, um and uh, you know continue.
You worked with youth, he had a band that he would sing with uh Cheval near the end of his uh.
You know, everyone knows: George cheval’s story.
It’S filled with an incredible tragedy: um three of his fourth Sons, Jesse George Julie and Stephen, got hooked on Heroin.
Jesse committed suicide in 85, Georgia Lee died from an overdose in 93 and shortly after that, his wife Lynn took her own life and, three years later, after that, his sons even died from an overdose.
When I was with George once just thinking about him, he would start to cry and he would say you know they’re on my mind all day every day and that’s the hardest blows.
George ever took never knocked down the ring, but certainly knocked down outside of life.
I don’t I don’t know of any.
I certainly couldn’t recover from that.
You know I I couldn’t.
I don’t know any man or a woman who could but George got on with his life and looked after his grandchildren, and he said to me: I only have my oldest son and my oldest daughter, that is still alive and his daughter was his fifth child.
Um uh, I was with George One Night in 213 at the Shaw Festival here in Toronto.
It’S a boxing event to raise money for the shell festival and that day his uh granddaughter who he was close to two than anyone.
Probably who who had won.
You know uh government General’s award for being the top student in Canada and George’s son Mitch by the way won the same award for being the top teacher in Canada.
She passed away from cancer in 213.
uh.
She spoke three languages and uh.
She was a school teacher and he said that was the one that almost ended my life and sent me over the edge.
He said I loved her like crazy and he said, and he was in tears.
He said the sad thing is: she was only 30 years old, so I, the the the person running the event at a Downtown hotel and said, George, I’m so sorry for your loss, but you you were paid a week ago.
You don’t have to be here.
We understand, what’s going on just please go home, take care of yourself and he said no.
I made a commitment to help these Fighters and I’m going to stay and do that.
It’S good to get out, and just I have to keep going and I was you know: I stood there in tears myself, but that’s George chevalo.
He was you know, born to Croatian immigrants who worked at Royce Dupont, Canada, poultry in in 1937 September 12th.
As I said earlier, but I think he came from the Canadian Shield because when you see the pictures of him, his musculature is incredible and uh as one uh writer, Nat Fleischer said, and you know built like a tank incredibly strong, powerful legs thick neck and good.
You know punch knockout power, crushing knockout power in both hands, so Chris Dundee, my mentor’s brother, Angela, Dundee’s brother, the promoter and fight manager, and they asked him who’s the toughest fighter.
This is in the 70s you’ve ever seen and he said well, I knew them all.
I knew John L Sullivan, didn’t see him fight, but I did see Jeffries and Corbett and all those guys.
So I knew them all from Sullivan right up to Mike Tyson, the toughest of all of them for just flat out tough that kid in Canada up north chevalo, George chevello yeah that guy that’s the guy, never seen a tougher fighter in any weight division.
In my life – and I have to tell you a funny story – uh here uh, I was with George and Angela Dundee and two and a bunch of people – and I guess 209-10, at the international Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota, New York and I’m with Angelo and We’Re on ESPN and they’re asking them about the Klitschko brothers and someone said uh to me well you’re from Canada right you’re, boxing historian.
How would George chavalo and his Prime do well that’s a good question depending how many rounds the fight was.
Don’T forget.
Rocky Marciano said: uh fights were 50 rounds.
Long George Cheval will be a world champion forever.
You know uh Matt Fleischer said he was born 100 years too late should have been a bare knuckle father fighter because no one could have beaten him.
So I asked Angelo.
I said Ange, who do you think would win between the clutch goes in and uh George and and stop for a second.
He said well against Vitality.
He’D, probably take him out in nine rounds and against Vladimir, probably 11.
, and the ESPN announcer said really.
The fight would go that long.
Why would it take him that long and Angela said well? George is 70 years old.
We’D have to give him time to warm up, and so that got a big laugh all the way around um George in the minds of any beat him beat Terrell.
He just didn’t have the muscle in his corner to support his win.
He had two five inch.
Uh Cuts over his left eye.
He had to get 10 stitches after Terrell had a cut to it’s one of those things in boxing that really you know you watch and it’s just not a satisfying ending everyone thinks George is going to win.
That he’s done enough and then it just didn’t happen that way – and this was common in fights where mob Fighters were involved.
Uh George is still alive today and he unfortunately has dementia, but he has moments of Lucidity.
I love him uh.
He made boxing viable again in this country.
He made everything viable again in this country because, wherever you travel, I’ve been to Europe and the States and Mexico wherever you go, you know you’re from Canada.
You know George shirella, as if we’re that small, a country, but that’s what people associate with Canada, George chevalo and the reason is, he fought.
Ali Ali had billions of fans because he was a Muslim and those fans know and respect shaballo and George on his own.
Very decent man, lovely man, you know – doesn’t discriminate likes.
Everyone speaks English.
Croatian spoke Yiddish, I could speak French, so just a very educated man and a wonderful man should have been a world heavyweight champion.
He said there was a different ring, Canadian headlight champ, but he said but world heavyweight champ.
You know that means you’re the best not just in Canada but in the entire world, and he could have used the money at that time too.
Although he saved his money wisely and invested him wisely, but uh it’s hard when you list the greatest Canadian fighters of all time and people say well, it’s shroud of the greatest Canadian fighter and you could say yes, but then they would say, wait a minute.
How about Lou briard? Do you want a welter weight, middleweight title? How about Jimmy McLaren? You know.
Most people generally accept that Sam Langford is the greatest Canadian fighter of all time and the greatest fighting Ever After won a World title, but George chavalo is up there with any of them.
He belongs in any top 10 list in the top five a great fighter.
He and after him there were so many other great Fighters, but they came along because they were influenced by George and George took a hand in the careers of so many other Fighters such as Lennox Lewis and Troy Ross and the Hiltons in Montreal Scotty Olson.
I mean art hafey, you know the great uh featherweight champ, so you can see George’s imprint on the sport all over and I wish I wish that Canada Post would do the right thing and issue a line of stamps honoring, George chevalo and Sam Langford and and The other 12 Canadians in the international Boxing Hall of Fame, yet they haven’t done that um, so I hope you’ve enjoyed Today’s Show uh.
Yes, Tom, you can read about Lou briard on my sub stack, which is my paid site lewizen at substack.
com, and I’m just going to be posting a thing on Loop regard later today: uh lots of Articles and and stuff up there.
I already have articles on uh George, full jammies, um, George Godfrey uh, budge, buyers, George buyers and, of course, Johnny colon and there’ll be many more to come.
So please visit that site.
Thank you for watching today.
Hope you learned something hope you enjoyed it and we’ll see you next week on ring talk, I’m Louise and have a good day.
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