Muhammad Ali defended his NABF heavyweight title against George Chuvalo
Date: May 1, 1972
Venue: Pacific Coliseum, Vancouver
Ali stance: orthodox
Chuvalo stance: orthodox
Muhammad Ali was given the chance to reclaim his undisputed world titles when he challenged Joe Frazier. That fight resulted in Ali suffering the first loss of his pro career. Ali also lost the NABF title he had won in his previous bout against Oscar Bonavena. Just over four months later, Ali was back and regained his NABF belt with a 12 round stoppage of Jimmy Ellis. Ali won three more fights - one in Texas, one in Switzerland and one in Japan.
George Chuvalo turned pro in 1956 and went on to fight 94 times. On his debut night, he won four consecutive bout by KO. He was not a particularly gifted boxer, but he was one of the toughest in boxing history. He was never knocked down, despite sharing a ring with some of the sport's hardest punchers. He challenged Ernie Terrell for the WBA title in 1965 and lost on points. A year later he challenged Muhammad Ali for the WBC, again losing on points. At that point, his record was 34-12-2. When he entered the ring for his rematch with Ali, Chuvalo's record stood at 66-17-2, with his best wins coming against Jerry Quarry and Cleveland Williams.
For an in depth look at their respective records, visit:
Muhammad Ali - https://boxrec.com/en/proboxer/000180
George Chuvalo - https://boxrec.com/en/proboxer/119
