Boxing legend George Chuvalo remembered for resilience

Canadian boxing great George Chuvalo died Saturday in Toronto on his 89th birthday. The five-time Canadian heavyweight champion and two-time world heavyweight title challenger was never knocked out or sent to the canvas in nearly 100 fights.

Tributes from around the world were posted online Sunday. His son, Mitchell Chuvalo, said his father showed extraordinary resilience in and outside the ring and that his life and achievements reached far beyond sport.

Chuvalo was renowned for his durability and for two acclaimed bouts against Muhammad Ali. His private life, however, was marked by profound tragedy. His son Jesse died by suicide in 1985 after developing an addiction to painkillers. Another son, Georgie Lee, died of a drug overdose in 1993; four days later, Chuvalo's wife, Lynne, was found dead with a suicide note. In 1996, his son Steven died in a hotel room with a needle in his arm.

Chuvalo spoke publicly about barely being able to function after those losses. In 2013, he said he felt as though he was suffocating whenever he went to sleep. During that period, he began his decades-long Fight Against Drugs campaign, visiting schools across Canada.

Mitchell Chuvalo said his father's courage and resilience in fights against Ali helped him speak publicly about the tragedies that devastated the family. He said Chuvalo's boxing career and his life after retirement were inseparable, and that he continued to give his time, emotions and story despite the pain of repeatedly recounting it.

Toronto boxing expert and longtime friend Chuck (Spider) Jones thanked Chuvalo in a Facebook statement for helping his broadcasting career and recognized the hardships he faced. Russ Anber, a Montreal trainer recently inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame, said Chuvalo had personified Canadian boxing for half a century and inspired generations with his grit, courage and persistence.

The Mexico-based World Boxing Council called Chuvalo widely regarded as Canada's greatest warrior, noting his fights with George Foreman and Joe Frazier during the heavyweight division's golden era.

Mitchell Chuvalo recalled Ali's assessment after their first fight in 1966: Ali won the closely contested 15-round match and called Chuvalo the toughest opponent he had faced. The bout was held at Toronto's Maple Leaf Gardens while Ali was at his athletic peak. Mitchell Chuvalo said many rounds were close and that Ali went to St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto with blood in his urine after the fight.

No funeral date has been set. Mitchell Chuvalo said plans are being developed for a public event where people can share personal tributes.