The Last Round - Chuvalo vs. Ali

Starring:George Chuvalo, Muhammad Ali
Studio: New Video Group
Product Type: DVD

Product Description

One of the most riveting and incredible documentaries ever to be made on the sport of boxing, THE LAST ROUND, chronicles the extraordinary events leading up to the day that George Chuvalo, a real life Rocky Balboa type underdog from working-class Toronto, took on the man known simply as "The Greatest," Muhammad Ali. Set against the backdrop of the turbulent sixties, and a sport embroiled in controversy, the film tells the unbelievable yet true story of the "Battle of Toronto," a legendary duel between the highly favored Ali and the unheralded Chuvalo. After fifteen of the most memorable rounds in fighting history, Chuvalo earned a place in boxing immortality when Ali deemed him "the toughest man" he had ever faced. Directed by award-winning filmmaker Joseph Blasioli, the film follows Chuvalo's career as it takes a harrowing and unlikely path to this defining moment. Fast-paced archival footage of such famous fights as Ali vs. Sonny Liston and Chuvalo vs. Floyd Patterson, plus colorful commentary from sports writers Jimmy Breslin and Robert Lipsyte, boxing guru Bert Sugar, Ali's trainer Angelo Dundee, and his brother, Rachman Ali, all help to bring this dramatic true story to life. In the tradition of the classic boxing documentary When We Were Kings, THE LAST ROUND looks back at one of the most passionately fought matches in the history of heavyweight boxing. A contest that took on mythical proportions, this award-winning film reminds us that despite the odds, and no matter what the circumstances, no fight is over until the final bell rings. Filmmaker Biography; Interactive Menus; Scene Selection

Amazon.com

"Every fight is the intersection of two stories," someone says in this enthralling documentary about a near-forgotten chapter in boxing history. The stories crossing paths in The Last Round are those of Muhammad Ali, considered by many the greatest pugilist in history and a controversial figure in his 1960s prime, and George Chuvalo, a Canadian fighter whose fortunes swayed radically until he got a near-accidental shot at Ali's heavyweight crown. While the former Cassius Clay was busy re-inventing himself from sassy press darling to Nation of Islam follower and draft resister, Chuvalo switched managers more often than his socks, scraping by, exploited, and increasingly desperate to realize his potential. Ali never took him seriously until a confluence of social and ideological forces put them together in a ring, where their match-up, as we see through archival footage, had more than a passing resemblance to those 15 rounds in Rocky. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews:

A Hard Days Night.......2007-02-05

In 27 rounds spanning two fights, Canadian heavyweight George Chuvalo was never intimidated by Muhammad Ali. And it just may have been a case of an overmatched contender who had a world champion's heart and enough tricks in his unorthodox style to be on his feet when the final bells rung.

Director Joseph Blasioli chronicles the March 29, 1966, Ali title defense in Toronto, Canada, where - at the height of his ring prowess - he captured a 15-round unanimous decision over the game Chuvalo.

Released in 2004, the documentary uses archival footage, clips from previous fights and interviews with Ali's trainer Angelo Dundee, boxing historian Bert Randolph Sugar and abrassive columnist Jimmy Breslin to describe a match that is forgotten amongst the historic fights that defined Ali as one of the greatest champions ever.

In a rematch on May 1, 1972, in Vancouver, Chuvalo again demonstrated his veteran ring savvy in losing another decision to Ali, this time in 12 rounds.

Chuvalo was good enough to dream in this oftentimes brutal sport that he was one well-placed combination away from capturing the heavyweight title. In The Last Round, Chuvalo shows that a champion may not always be the fighter who leaves the ring with the victory for the record book.

Great Portrait of a Decent Guy.......2005-05-21

George Chuvalo was always just a shade below the best heavyweights of his day, and that was a day with some great fighters. If you watch an unedited tape of his bout with Ali you will see that it was a much closer fight then many now believe. He punished Ali severely to the body. Also, he took the fight on short notice.
George later met with trajedy in his life when he lost a son and daughter to drugs and his wife to suicide. He now has a foundation that helps drug dependent people.
Chuvalo is not an old punch drunk pug. He is lucid and intellegent, a testament to the fact that he won the majority of his fights and didn't take many beatings.
In a dvd boxing market that is oversaturated with Ali videos (why no Ali Frazier I, where Ali lost), it is good to see a decent man and good fighter get the recognition he deserves.

A great piece of pugilist history.......2004-07-12

This story is basically told through George Chuvalo, Canada's greatest heavyweight ever. This is a story of a real "Rocky Balboa" and the riviting documentry takes us from George's humble beginnings in Toronto right up to his shot at the heavyweight title in his unforgettable battle with Muhammad Ali. This film has some of the best fight footage I've ever seen that takes you into the ring and behind the scenes and in the locker rooms.
Great commentary not only from Chuvalo but from Ali's trainer Angelo Dundee, writers Jimmy Breslin, Burt Sugar and others connected to the fight scene here in it's last glory days of the 1960's.

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