Chuvalo: A Fighter's Life: The Story of Boxing's Last Gladiator

During his 20-year boxing career, from the late 1950s until the %E2%80%9870s, no one knocked Chuvalo off his feet; it was life that did that to him instead. For all the spilled blood and bruises he endured, the Toronto-born icon suffered most at home, losing three sons and his wife. From the opening bell, the authors get right to the triumphs and tragedies of Canada's greatest-ever heavyweight fighter, but take readers through the story of his early life and boxing career before delving into his harrowing journey of pain and self-examination. "Add up every punch I ever took, multiply the total by 10,000 and it wouldn't come close to equaling the pain of losing Jesse, Georgie Lee, Stevie and Lynne to drugs and suicide," he says. It's a far cry from the fearless sense of being indestructible he describes before he faced Muhammad Ali for the first time. Teamed with Greig (Big Bucks & Blue Pucks), Chuvalo turns a good phrase describing bouts that took him from Nelson, B.C. to Haiti to Madison Square Garden and true characters such as his manager Irving Ungerman and Runyonesque promoter Nick Zubray. Along the way, he shares insights on big names such as Ali, Joe Frazier and George Foreman. (Nov.)