George Chuvalo vs. Willi Besmanoff (1st meeting)

George Chuvalo 213 lbs beat Willi Besmanoff 203 lbs by TKO at 1:29 in round 4 of 10

• Date: 1961-06-27
• Location: Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
• Referee: Jackie Silvers

"Canadian heavyweight champion George Chuvalo of Toronto blasted Willi Besmanoff of Germany into helplessness Tuesday night and knocked him out in the 4th round of a scheduled 10 rounder at Maple Leaf Gardens. Chuvalo, scoring the most impressive victory of his career, belted Besmanoff to the canvas seven times, six times in a wild 2nd round. The 7th and final knockdown came at 1:29 of the 4th round and it was the end for Besmanoff. A crowd estimated at 5,000 screamed as Chuvalo delivered a roundhouse left hook that caught Willi flush on the side of the jaw. Besmanoff slumped to the canvas and referee Billy Burke tolled the count of 10." -Canadian Press

• The Canadian Press article claimed that this was the first time Besmanoff had hit the canvas. However, Boxrec shows that he had been down against Archie Moore and Donnie Fleeman prior to this bout.