Former five time Canadian heavyweight champion George Chuvalo has passed away.

He was born September 12, 1937 in Toronto, Ontario to Croat immigrants Stipan and Katica Chuvalo.

In May 1955, he would become the Canadian amateur heavyweight champion before turning professional the next year.

Mr. Chuvalo is famous for never having been knocked down throughout his entire 94 professional matches, retiring with a record of 73-18-2.

He is also famous for going the distance twice with Muhammad Ali, losing both times. The first time was for the world heavyweight title and fought at Maple Leaf Gardens. Following the match, Mr. Ali called Mr. Chuvalo “[He’s] the toughest guy I ever fought.”

Despite never being knocked down, the referee did stop two of his matches: to Joe Frazier in 1967 and George Foreman in 1970.

Mr. Chuvalo would appear in several films, including I Miss You, Hugs and Kisses (1978), Stone Cold Dead (1979), The Fly (1986), Last Man Standing (1987), Prom Night III: The Last Kiss (1989), Lee’s Offering (2005) and Sicilian Vampire (2015).

In later years, Mr. Chuvalo suffered from dementia.

Mr. Chuvalo was married twice: first to Lynne, who he had five children with; and to Joanne O’Hara.

He would be awarded a star on Canada’s Walk of Fame in 1995, was made a Member of the Order of Canada in 1998, and received the Order of Ontario in 2021.

He passed away on his 89th birthday, September 12th, 2026.