Canadian boxer George Chuvalo, who faced Muhammad Ali in his prime, dead at 89

George Chuvalo, the iron-chinned Canadian heavyweight who took the best punches from the giants of boxing without ever falling, has died. He was 89.

Chuvalo suffered from dementia late in life and had been residing in a long-term care facility in Toronto. He died Saturday according to multiple online posts by family and friends.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who said the boxer was a family friend, shared condolences on social media Saturday.

"My thoughts are with all of George's family and loved ones as we mourn his passing," he said.

Chuvalo went the distance with Muhammad Ali in bouts in Toronto and Vancouver, and absorbed the hardest shots sluggers Joe Frazier and George Foreman had to offer, without being knocked down.

It was unfathomable family tragedy after he retired that brought him to his knees.

"If you added up every punch I took and multiplied the total by 10,000, it wouldn't begin to equal the pain of losing three sons and a wife to drugs and suicide," he said in his 2013 autobiography Chuvalo: A Fighter's Life , co-written with Murray Greig.

The son of Croatian immigrants was born Sept. 12, 1937, in Toronto's Junction neighbourhood. He became intrigued by boxing after seeing The Ring magazine at a newsstand.

Chuvalo was 10 years old the first time he stepped through the ropes, and a growth spurt combined with an interest in weightlifting saw him develop into a six-foot, 210-pound fighter.

After a brief amateur career, he turned pro in 1956, winning notice for performances at the Jack Dempsey Tournament at Maple Leaf Gardens.

But by the early 1960s, Chuvalo's career had stagnated under ineffective guidance, until Toronto poultry magnate Irv Ungerman took over as his manager.

Chuvalo parlayed several wins into an attention-getting 11th-round stoppage over contender Doug Jones at Madison Square Garden in 1964. He returned to that mecca of boxing the next year, narrowly losing a decision to former champ Floyd Patterson in a bout The Ring named best of 1965.

Chuvalo's style was inexorable without being reckless. He moved forward with thudding blows from both hands to the head and body, producing stoppages in 88 per cent of his wins.

"You can't believe his strength," Canadian fighter Bill Drover once told a writer. "There's no way to stop him. He just keeps coming and coming. The only way you can stop him is with a stick of dynamite."