Jimmy Ellis vs. George Chuvalo
Jimmy Ellis 191 lbs beat George Chuvalo 218 lbs by UD in round 10 of 10
- Date: 1971-05-10
- Location: Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Referee: Sammy Luftspring 48-46
- Judge: Tony Canzano 49-43
- Judge: Jackie Silvers 48-44
Ellis vs. Chuvalo was the second fight in a closed-circuit heavyweight triple-header. In the first bout, Ernie Terrell defeated Luis Faustino Pires by a 10-round unanimous decision in Chicago, Illinois. In the finale, George Foreman defeated Gregorio Peralta by a 10th-round TKO in Oakland, California.
From The Associated Press:
Ellis, 31, of Louisville, Ky., went into the fight at 191 pounds compared to Chuvalo's 218½, and proved to be the faster fighter.
Ellis went to the attack quickly, scoring with left jabs and right hooks which opened a cut over Chuvalo's left eye in the second round. Referee Sammy Luftspring took a look at the cut but did not stop the fight.
Ellis continued to work on the cut and by the fifth round Chuvalo sported four cuts around the eye. His speed was the determining factor in his 29th victory out of 35 professional fights.
It wasn't until the eighth round that Chuvalo began to crowd Ellis. Several times in the eighth and ninth rounds he rocked Ellis with flurries of punches.
The crowd of about 6,000 at Maple Leaf Gardens was screaming for Chuvalo to finish off Ellis but the Kentucky fighter kept backing off and throwing left jabs.
It was the 33-year-old Chuvalo's 85th professional fight. He has won 66 of them.
Both fighters were guaranteed $15,000. [1]