# Yvon Durelle

Yvon Durelle (October 14, 1929 – January 6, 2007), was a Canadian champion boxer. He was of Acadian descent.

## Early life

Durelle grew up in a family of fourteen children, in Baie-Ste-Anne, a small Acadian fishing village on Miramichi Bay on the Atlantic coast. Like many others of his generation, he left school at an early age to work on a fishing boat. In his spare time, Durelle liked to box and while still working in the fishery, he began prize fighting on weekends.

## Career

Billed as The Fighting Fisherman, Durelle began his professional career in 1948, boxing at various venues around the province of New Brunswick. By August 1950, Yvon showed only one defeat in twenty three starts, the lone blemish a loss by disqualification, to Billy Snowball. Over time he was gaining a reputation as a tough opponent with a hard punch. A large fan following in Chatham, one in Newcastle and as well in Fredericton resulted in a groundswell of popularity as his victories eventually made him one of the top ranked middleweight fighters in Canada.

### Light Heavyweight

In May 1953, Durelle won the Canadian middleweight championship. He defended his title, winning 8 straight bouts. He moved up in weight class to fight in the light heavyweight division.
In his first fight against a heavier and stronger opponent, he defeated the Canadian champion to take the light-heavyweight title. The following year, he fought outside his native Canada for the first time, going to Brooklyn, New York to fight Floyd Patterson, an up-and-coming American Golden Gloves champion. Outpointed in 8 rounds by the man who soon became the heavyweight champion of the world, Durelle's strong performance in a losing cause against Patterson gained him wide respect in the international boxing world.
In New York City in March 1957, Durelle broke into the top ten world rankings with a 10-round decision over Angelo Defendis. In May he won the British Empire light-heavyweight championship and the following month fought the top-ranked contender in the world, Tony Anthony. In a fight most experts say he won handily, Durelle was given only a draw against the heavily favored Anthony but it elevated him to the number 3 ranking in the world. He became a much talked about sports personality in his native country after he beat the German champion, Willi Besmanoff. In 1958, he defeated Clarence Hinnant, regarded by many as one of the best all around boxers of the time. The victory provided Durelle with the opportunity for his first chance to fight for a world title.

#### Title Fight

Durelle's light-heavyweight championship fight against the great Archie Moore on December 10, 1958, at the Forum in Montreal, Quebec, is one of the most memorable fights in boxing history. Listed as a 4-to-1 underdog, Durelle became a legend in Canada after the bout. In one of the first fights broadcast coast-to-coast on American television, Durelle stunned boxing patrons by knocking the champion down 3 times in the first round. Under boxing rules today (except those of the World Boxing Council), the fight would have been stopped after three knockdowns in one round and Durelle would have been world champion. Also, he missed an opportunity when, after the first knockdown, he stood over Moore watching for several seconds before returning to his corner. As a result of his delay, the referee had to wait to begin the count, and Moore made it to his feet at the count of nine. Durelle would have likely won if he had gone to his corner. Durelle swarmed all over the champion for four more rounds and knocked him to the canvas again in round five but Moore held on and eventually wore Durelle down to retain his world championship with an eleventh-round knockout. The fight was the talk of the boxing world and members of the Canadian press voted it the sporting event of the year. In an interview in 1994, Archie Moore, upon recounting the fight still hailed as classic, had this to say: "As the fight wore on and I got stronger, I thought to myself that this fella was the toughest man I'd ever fought. I turned professional in 1936 and fought until 1965--229 bouts. And I still think Durelle was the toughest man I ever faced."

### From Boxing to Wrestling and back

Six months later, in June 1959, at Durelle's home village of Baie-Ste-Anne, thirty-five fishermen died when they were swept out to sea by 40-foot tidal waves that pounded the wharf. Distraught at the loss of friends and relatives, in August he lost in a world title fight rematch with Archie Moore by a third-round knockout. In November of that year he lost in 12 rounds to the Canadian heavyweight champion, George Chuvalo. Durelle fought only a few more times, before taking up professional wrestling in 1961. He returned to boxing in 1963 winning twice more before retiring permanently. He continued to earn a living at wrestling, primarily in eastern Canada but on occasion with Stu Hart's Stampede Wrestling, in Calgary, Alberta. He would retire from wrestling in 1973.

## Later life and death

Despite his size and brutal profession, Durelle is often referred to as a modest and gentle man (his nickname was "doux", meaning "soft"). However, in the 1970s an event profoundly impacted him and his family when, in a bar that he owned and operated, he shot and killed a man who had attacked him. Charged with murder, he was defended by a young lawyer by the name of Frank McKenna and was acquitted on the grounds of self-defence. The trial received massive and sustained publicity and McKenna eventually went into politics and was elected premier of the province of New Brunswick.
Retired in his native village, a small museum with souvenirs of his twenty-year boxing career was built attached to his home where he and his wife of more than fifty years greeted fans who still showed up to see the New Brunswick boxer. In an article for ESPN.com about the most memorable matches in boxing history, current-day referee Mills Lane said: "I don't think you'll ever see a fight like Durelle-Moore again...That fight transcended what great fights are."
Durelle incurred a stroke on December 25, 2006, and died at age 77 on January 6, 2007, at the Moncton Hospital in Moncton, New Brunswick. He also had Parkinson's disease prior to this. His funeral was held on January 11, 2007, from Ste-Anne Roman Catholic Church in Baie-Ste-Anne, New Brunswick.

## Professional boxing record

87 Wins (48 Knockouts), 24 Losses (9 Knockouts), 2 Draws, 1 No Contest :
| Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round | Date | Location | Notes |
| Loss | 87-24-2 | Jean-Claude Roy | PTS | 8 | 06/12/1964 | Montmagny, Quebec | |
| Win | 87-23-2 | Phonse LaSaga | TKO | 1 | 24/03/1963 | Trois-Rivieres, Quebec | |
| Win | 86-23-2 | Cecil Gray | KO | 7 | 25/02/1963 | Paul Sauve Arena, Montreal, Quebec | |
| Loss | 85-23-2 | Paul Wright | PTS | 10 | 15/09/1960 | Moncton, New Brunswick | |
| Win | 85-22-2 | John Armstrong | KO | 4 | 22/06/1960 | Woodstock, New Brunswick | |
| Win | 84-22-2 | Ray Batey | DQ | 9 | 15/06/1960 | Chatham, New Brunswick | |
| Win | 83-22-2 | Emile Dupre | TKO | 3 | 26/05/1960 | Brewer, Maine | |
| Loss | 82-22-2 | George Chuvalo | KO | 12 | 17/11/1959 | Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, Ontario | Canada Heavyweight Title |
| Win | 82-21-2 | Young Beau Jack | TKO | 9 | 23/10/1959 | Moncton, New Brunswick | |
| Win | 81-21-2 | Charlie Jones | UD | 10 | 28/09/1959 | Exhibition Grounds, Quebec City, Quebec | |
| Win | 80-21-2 | Al Anderson | KO | 4 | 15/09/1959 | Chatham, New Brunswick | |
| Loss | 79-21-2 | Archie Moore | KO | 3 | 12/08/1959 | Montreal Forum, Montreal, Quebec | NYSAC/NBA World Light Heavyweight Titles. |
| Win | 79-20-2 | Teddy Burns | TKO | 3 | 12/05/1959 | General Carter State Armory, Caribou, Maine | |
| Loss | 78-20-2 | Archie Moore | KO | 11 | 10/12/1958 | Montreal Forum, Montreal, Quebec | World Light Heavyweight Title. |
| Win | 78-19-2 | Louis Jones | KO | 2 | 02/10/1958 | Moncton, New Brunswick | |
| Win | 77-19-2 | Freddie Mack | PTS | 10 | 28/08/1958 | Moncton, New Brunswick | |
| Win | 76-19-2 | Mike Holt | RTD | 8 | 16/07/1958 | Montreal Forum, Montreal, Quebec | Commonwealth Light Heavyweight Title. |
| Win | 75-19-2 | Germinal Ballarin | UD | 10 | 21/05/1958 | Montreal Forum, Montreal, Quebec | |
| Loss | 74-19-2 | Tony E. Anthony | TKO | 7 | 14/03/1958 | Madison Square Garden, New York City | |
| Win | 74-18-2 | Clarence Hinnant | TKO | 6 | 31/01/1958 | Madison Square Garden, New York City | |
| Win | 73-18-2 | Jerry Luedee | UD | 10 | 11/12/1957 | Fort Homer W. Hesterly Armory, Tampa, Florida | |
| Win | 72-18-2 | Mario Nini | KO | 4 | 22/11/1957 | Edmundston, New Brunswick | |
| Win | 71-18-2 | Floyd McCoy | KO | 2 | 07/11/1957 | Moncton, New Brunswick | |
| Win | 70-18-2 | Willi Besmanoff | UD | 10 | 25/09/1957 | Olympia Stadium, Detroit, Michigan | |
| Win | 69-18-2 | Tim Jones | TKO | 8 | 29/08/1957 | Stadium, Moncton, New Brunswick | |
| Win | 68-18-2 | Guenter Balzer | TKO | 8 | 15/08/1957 | Chatham, New Brunswick | |
| Draw | 67-18-2 | Tony E. Anthony | PTS | 10 | 14/06/1957 | Olympia Stadium, Detroit, Michigan | |
| Win | 67-18-1 | Gordon Wallace | KO | 2 | 30/05/1957 | Moncton, New Brunswick | Commonwealth/Canada Light Heavyweight Titles. |
| Win | 66-18-1 | Leo Johnson | TKO | 5 | 16/05/1957 | Moncton, New Brunswick | |
| Win | 65-18-1 | Angelo DeFendis | MD | 10 | 22/04/1957 | St. Nicholas Arena, New York City | |
| Win | 64-18-1 | Clarence Floyd | TKO | 7 | 25/03/1957 | St. Nicholas Arena, New York City | |
| Loss | 63-18-1 | Clarence Hinnant | TKO | 7 | 19/02/1957 | Miami Beach Auditorium, Miami Beach, Florida | |
| Win | 63-17-1 | Bobby L. King | KO | 1 | 27/10/1956 | Fredericton, New Brunswick | |
| Win | 62-17-1 | Chubby Wright | SD | 10 | 04/10/1956 | Moncton, New Brunswick | |
| Win | 61-17-1 | Gary Garafola | KO | 1 | 20/09/1956 | Moncton, New Brunswick | |
| Win | 60-17-1 | Wilfred Picot | TKO | 4 | 06/09/1956 | Lord Beaverbrook Rink, Saint John, New Brunswick | |
| Win | 59-17-1 | Alvin Williams | UD | 10 | 16/08/1956 | Moncton, New Brunswick | |
| Win | 58-17-1 | Wilfred Picot | TKO | 4 | 19/07/1956 | Moncton, New Brunswick | |
| Loss | 57-17-1 | Arthur Howard | PTS | 10 | 19/06/1956 | Clapton Greyhound Track, Clapton, London | |
| Win | 57-16-1 | Jerome Richardson | PTS | 10 | 20/05/1956 | Hamilton, Bermuda | |
| Loss | 56-16-1 | Artie Towne | DQ | 7 | 28/11/1955 | Nottingham Ice Stadium, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire | |
| Loss | 56-15-1 | Yolande Pompey | TKO | 7 | 18/10/1955 | Harringay Arena, Harringay, London | |
| Loss | 56-14-1 | Jimmy Slade | TKO | 8 | 03/09/1955 | Glace Bay, Nova Scotia | |
| Win | 56-13-1 | Billy Fifield | KO | 1 | 28/07/1955 | Moncton, New Brunswick | Canada Light Heavyweight Title. |
| Loss | 55-13-1 | Floyd Patterson | RTD | 5 | 23/06/1955 | Newcastle, New Brunswick | |
| Win | 55-12-1 | Jimmy J. Garcia | TKO | 8 | 16/06/1955 | Moncton, New Brunswick | |
| Loss | 54-12-1 | Ron Barton | DQ | 3 | 24/05/1955 | Royal Albert Hall, Kensington, London | |
| Loss | 54-11-1 | Art Henri | PTS | 12 | 10/12/1954 | Sportpalast, Schoeneberg, Berlin | |
| Loss | 54-10-1 | Gerhard Hecht | UD | 10 | 12/11/1954 | Sportpalast, Schoeneberg, Berlin | |
| Win | 54-9-1 | Gordon Wallace | UD | 12 | 27/09/1954 | Glace Bay, Nova Scotia | Canada Light Heavyweight Title. |
| Win | 53-9-1 | Bob Isler | PTS | 10 | 25/08/1954 | Newcastle, New Brunswick | |
| Loss | 52-9-1 | Paul Andrews | KO | 5 | 26/07/1954 | St. Nicholas Arena, New York City | |
| Win | 52-8-1 | Doug Harper | UD | 12 | 07/07/1954 | Newcastle, New Brunswick | Canada Light Heavyweight Title. |
| Win | 51-8-1 | Jerome Richardson | SD | 10 | 23/06/1954 | Moncton, New Brunswick | |
| Win | 50-8-1 | Sampson Powell | UD | 10 | 09/06/1954 | Newcastle, New Brunswick | |
| Win | 49-8-1 | Charley E. Chase | SD | 10 | 04/06/1954 | Stadium, Moncton, New Brunswick | |
| Win | 48-8-1 | Billy Fifield | KO | 10 | 24/05/1954 | Glace Bay, Nova Scotia | |
| Loss | 47-8-1 | Waddell Hanna | PTS | 10 | 05/05/1954 | Chatham, New Brunswick | |
| Loss | 47-7-1 | Floyd Patterson | UD | 8 | 15/02/1954 | Boxing From Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, New York | |
| Draw | 47-6-1 | Doug Harper | PTS | 12 | 27/01/1954 | Victoria Pavilion, Calgary, Alberta | Canada Light Heavyweight Title. |
| Loss | 47-6 | Doug Harper | SD | 12 | 17/11/1953 | Victoria Pavilion, Calgary, Alberta | Canada Light Heavyweight Title. |
| Win | 47-5 | Gordon Wallace | UD | 12 | 15/10/1953 | Moncton, New Brunswick | Canada Light Heavyweight Title. |
| Win | 46-5 | Al Winn | UD | 10 | 30/09/1953 | Newcastle, New Brunswick | |
| Win | 45-5 | Melvin Wade | KO | 9 | 24/09/1953 | Moncton, New Brunswick | |
| Win | 44-5 | Gordon Wallace | UD | 12 | 07/09/1953 | Glace Bay, Nova Scotia | Canada Light Heavyweight Title. |
| Win | 43-5 | Wilfredo Miro | KO | 2 | 26/08/1953 | Sinclair Arena, Newcastle, New Brunswick | |
| Win | 42-5 | Curtis Wade | TKO | 8 | 20/08/1953 | Moncton, New Brunswick | |
| Win | 41-5 | Archie Hannigan | KO | 5 | 02/08/1953 | Glace Bay, Nova Scotia | Claim Maritime Light Heavyweight Title. |
| Win | 40-5 | Joey Greco | TKO | 4 | 20/07/1953 | Chatham, New Brunswick | |
| Win | 39-5 | Curtis Wade | SD | 10 | 25/06/1953 | Moncton, New Brunswick | |
| Win | 38-5 | Harry Poulton | SD | 12 | 19/06/1953 | Memorial Rink, Stellarton, Nova Scotia | Canada Middleweight Title. |
| Win | 37-5 | Tony Amato | KO | 6 | 20/05/1953 | Chatham, New Brunswick | |
| Win | 36-5 | George Ross | TKO | 12 | 04/05/1953 | Glace Bay Forum, Glace Bay, Nova Scotia | Canada Middleweight Title. |
| Win | 35-5 | Jimmy Nolan | UD | 10 | 09/10/1952 | Stampede Corral, Calgary, Alberta | |
| Win | 34-5 | Hurley Sanders | UD | 10 | 24/09/1952 | Chatham, New Brunswick | |
| Loss | 33-5 | Hurley Sanders | UD | 10 | 25/06/1952 | Chatham, New Brunswick | |
| Win | 33-4 | Eddie Zastre | UD | 10 | 21/05/1952 | Chatham, New Brunswick | |
| Win | 32-4 | Cobey McCluskey | TKO | 6 | 12/07/1951 | Moncton, New Brunswick | |
| Win | 31-4 | Arnold Fleiger | KO | 2 | 20/06/1951 | Chatham, New Brunswick | |
| NC | 31-4 | Cobey McCluskey | NC | 9 | 05/06/1951 | Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island | |
| Win | 30-4 | Bob Stecher | SD | 10 | 23/05/1951 | Chatham, New Brunswick | |
| Win | 29-4 | Tiger Warrington | PTS | 10 | 10/12/1950 | Yarmouth, Nova Scotia | |
| Win | 28-4 | Alvin Upshaw | KO | 7 | 05/11/1950 | Yarmouth, Nova Scotia | |
| Loss | 27-4 | Cobey McCluskey | UD | 10 | 22/10/1950 | Springhill, Nova Scotia | |
| Win | 27-3 | Al Couture | TKO | 6 | 25/08/1950 | Chatham, New Brunswick | |
| Win | 26-3 | Ossie Farrell | KO | 1 | 19/08/1950 | Moncton, New Brunswick | |
| Loss | 25-3 | Cobey McCluskey | UD | 10 | 14/08/1950 | Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island | |
| Win | 25-2 | Tiger Warrington | UD | 10 | 01/07/1950 | Moncton, New Brunswick | |
| Win | 24-2 | Coot O'Rea | KO | 2 | 18/06/1950 | Bathurst, New Brunswick | |
| Win | 23-2 | Alvin Upshaw | TKO | 7 | 23/05/1950 | Chatham, New Brunswick | |
| Loss | 22-2 | Roy Wouters | PTS | 10 | 20/01/1950 | Halifax, Nova Scotia | |
| Win | 22-1 | Eddie Hamilton | TKO | 3 | 25/11/1949 | Chatham, New Brunswick | |
| Win | 21-1 | Bob Stecher | UD | 10 | 11/11/1949 | Chatham, New Brunswick | |
| Win | 20-1 | Ossie Farrell | KO | 1 | 26/10/1949 | Chatham, New Brunswick | Eastern Canada Middleweight Title. |
| Win | 19-1 | Bernard McCluskey | KO | 5 | 12/10/1949 | Chatham, New Brunswick | Eastern Canada Middleweight Title. |
| Win | 18-1 | Pat Davis | KO | 2 | 18/09/1949 | Newcastle, New Brunswick | |
| Win | 17-1 | Bill McLaughlin | PTS | 8 | 26/08/1949 | Fredericton, New Brunswick | |
| Win | 16-1 | Kid Wolfe | PTS | 10 | 07/08/1949 | Chatham, New Brunswick | |
| Win | 15-1 | Billy Landry | PTS | 8 | 20/07/1949 | Chatham, New Brunswick | |
| Win | 14-1 | Cobey McCluskey | PTS | 8 | 15/07/1949 | Newcastle, New Brunswick | |
| Win | 13-1 | Jimmy Mooney | UD | 8 | 06/07/1949 | Chatham, New Brunswick | New Brunswick Middleweight Title. |
| Win | 12-1 | Cobey McCluskey | PTS | 8 | 12/06/1949 | Baie-Sainte-Anne, New Brunswick | |
| Win | 11-1 | Joe Tyne | KO | 1 | 30/05/1949 | Chatham, New Brunswick | |
| Win | 10-1 | Manuel Leek | KO | 6 | 17/05/1949 | Fredericton, New Brunswick | |
| Win | 9-1 | Harry Poulton | PTS | 8 | 20/04/1949 | Newcastle, New Brunswick | |
| Win | 8-1 | Harry Poulton | PTS | 6 | 23/03/1949 | Newcastle, New Brunswick | |
| Win | 7-1 | Crosley Irvine | TKO | 3 | 25/02/1949 | Chatham, New Brunswick | |
| Win | 6-1 | Al Batten | KO | 5 | 02/02/1949 | Newcastle, New Brunswick | |
| Loss | 5-1 | Billy Snowball | DQ | 4 | 07/12/1948 | Tracadie, New Brunswick | |
| Win | 5-0 | Al Batten | PTS | 8 | 03/12/1948 | Baie-Sainte-Anne, New Brunswick | |
| Win | 4-0 | Percy R. Richardson | PTS | 4 | 11/11/1948 | Chatham, New Brunswick | |
| Win | 3-0 | Al Fraser | PTS | 4 | 13/09/1948 | Chatham, New Brunswick | |
| Win | 2-0 | Al Fraser | PTS | 4 | 25/08/1948 | Chatham, New Brunswick | |
| Win | 1-0 | Sonny Ramsay | KO | 2 | 28/07/1948 | Chatham, New Brunswick | |

## Related works

* Yvon Durelle's biography, The Fighting Fisherman: The Life of Yvon Durelle by author Raymond Fraser (Doubleday, ISBN 0-385-15863-7), published in 1981, republished in 2005.
* In 2003, Ginette Pellerin of the National Film Board of Canada made a French film documentary on his life called Durelle.

## Awards and recognition

* Inducted into the New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame in 1971
* Inducted into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame in 1975
* Inducted into the Canadian Boxing Hall of Fame in 1989