Muhammad Ali vs. George Chuvalo II

Muhammad Ali vs. George Chuvalo II
Date	1 May 1972
Venue	Pacific Coliseum, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Title(s) on the line	NABF heavyweight title
Tale of the tape
Boxer
Boxer	Muhammad Ali
Nickname	"The Greatest"
Hometown	Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
Purse	$500,000
Pre-fight record	35–1 (25 KO)
Age	30 years, 3 months
Height	6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight	217+1⁄2 lb (99 kg)
Style	Orthodox
Recognition	NABF heavyweight champion; Former undisputed heavyweight champion
Result
	Ali defeated Chuvalo via 12th round UD

Muhammad Ali vs. George Chuvalo II was a professional boxing match contested on 1 May 1972, for the NABF heavyweight championship.^[1]

Background

In the build up Ali predicted he would drop Chuvalo, who had never been knocked down in his career saying that "I'm not gonna let it be said there was ever a heavyweight that didn't fall. They have pictures showing my heels. Jack Johnson fell, Jack Dempsey fell, Sugar Ray Robinson fell, Joe Frazier fell, and George Chuvalo is gonna fall." Chuvalo meanwhile claimed he had improved since his first bout with Ali six years earlier, saying "I'm a better fighter than I was in 1966 and he's not as good a fighter as he was then."

The fight

Despite dominating and landing many flush shot on Chuvalo, Ali was unable to drop the Canadian who was able to last the full 12 round duration.^[2]

Ali won the fight by unanimous decision.^[3]^[4]^[5]

Aftermath

Ali would praise Chuvalo's durability saying that "I thought I could drop him, but I couldn't. He took all my best shots and he hurt me with a couple of hard rights and a hook." While Chuvalo would admit that Ali was in better shape than he had expected.

Undercard

Confirmed bouts:^[6]

Broadcasting

Country	Broadcaster
Mexico	Telesistema Mexicano
Philippines	ABS-CBN
United Kingdom	BBC
United States	NBC

References

^ "Muhammad Ali vs. George Chuvalo (2nd meeting)". boxrec.com. BoxRec. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
^ Dave Anderson (2 May 1972). "Ali Awarded Decision Over Chuvalo". nytimes.com. New York Times. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
^ Felix Dennis; Don Atyeo (2003). Muhammad Ali: The Glory Years. miramax books. pp. 142–4, 192.
^ Stephen Brunt (2002). Facing Ali. The Lyons Press. pp. 52–7, 65–6.
^ Thomas Hauser (1991). Muhammad Ali:His Life and Times. Simon & Schuster. pp. 147–50, 242. ISBN 978-0-671-68892-9.
^ "BoxRec - event".

Preceded by vs. Mac Foster	Muhammad Ali's bouts 1 May 1972	Succeeded by vs. Jerry Quarry II
Preceded by vs. Jim Christopher	George Chuvalo's bouts 1 May 1972	Succeeded by vs. Tommy Burns

[1] "Muhammad Ali vs. George Chuvalo (2nd meeting)". boxrec.com. BoxRec. Retrieved 8 July 2024.

[2] Dave Anderson (2 May 1972). "Ali Awarded Decision Over Chuvalo". nytimes.com. New York Times. Retrieved 8 July 2024.

[Glory_Years-3] Felix Dennis; Don Atyeo (2003). Muhammad Ali: The Glory Years. miramax books. pp. 142–4, 192.

[Facing_Ali-4] Stephen Brunt (2002). Facing Ali. The Lyons Press. pp. 52–7, 65–6.

[Hauser-5] Thomas Hauser (1991). Muhammad Ali:His Life and Times. Simon & Schuster. pp. 147–50, 242. ISBN 978-0-671-68892-9.

[6] "BoxRec - event".

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