HAY RIVER - Like the devastating punches he landed as Canadian heavyweight boxing champ, George Chuvalo's tragic personal story can leave people stunned and staggered.

Hay River's Willard McKay, left, poses with Canada's former heavyweight boxing champ George Chuvalo on Nov. 16. - Paul Bickford/NNSL photos

Chuvalo visited Hay River on Nov. 16 to share his heartbreaking tale - three sons lost to drug addiction and a wife lost to the despair of seeing her children dying.

Jasmine Vocat, 13, heard both his presentations in Hay River - at Diamond Jenness Secondary School and at the Community Hall for about 200 members of the general public.

She believes it will "definitely" help young people stay away from illegal drugs.

"It might scare some people, but for some others they got to think about what they're doing and how it affects their family," she said.

Vocat said her friends at Diamond Jenness thought Chuvalo's story was very sad, and some actually started to cry.

"I think it's sad what happened to his family, but he stayed on his feet," she said.

Chuvalo's story of how drugs devastated his family is also a tale of how he survived an ordeal that would have destroyed lesser men.

Three of his sons became heroin addicts and all died because of it - one committed suicide and two died of overdoses. His grief-stricken wife committed suicide after two of her sons were lost.

"What happened to my family shouldn't happen to anyone's family," said Chuvalo, who described the experience as his "personal Holocaust."

With such a life story, the 73-year-old is listened to when he condemns the use of illegal drugs and advocates for a healthy lifestyle.

Marny Twigge was impressed by what she heard.

"I think it came from the heart and I think he touched on a lot of subjects that are maybe close to home for some people, especially if you're a parent and some of the worries that you have," she said. "It gave a lot of food for thought and I think he didn't try to sugarcoat anything."

Twigge was surprised Chuvalo was so candid in telling his story.

"He was very honest about everything," she said. "He wasn't preaching to anybody. He was just telling the story, basically."

Lillian Jourdenais said she found Chuvalo to be very down-to-earth, and his story to be very inspirational and very touching.

"He's a Canadian icon," she said. "He represents a lot of people that now say 'no' to drugs. I take my hat off to him for being such a strong person that he is."

Jourdenais believes Chuvalo's message is having an effect on young people.

"I would say that it does and it has," she said. "I really hope so, because our children are our future."

Hay River Mayor Kelly Schofield said Chuvalo gave an amazing presentation.

"It was really hard to hold back the tears on that presentation. It really was," he said. "It tugged at your heartstrings and it hit home."

Schofield believes Chuvalo's visit was positive for the community.

"It hopefully gave the parents some awareness and some warning signs to see in their own families and other families around town," he said. "It just shows that it takes a community to raise a child."

Chuvalo, who retired from boxing in 1979 after reigning as Canadian champion for 21 years, has been telling his tragic story for 14 years, and in that time he has made about 1,400 presentations.

"I do it to make myself feel better about myself, and I make sure that my sons and my wife didn't die in vain. That's why I do what I do," he said. "If I didn't do it, it would be like they died in vain. I don't want to ever feel that way."

Chuvalo was brought to town by the Hay River Community Justice Committee. It was his first visit to Hay River, but he has spoken in the NWT several times before.

In the ring, he was known as a person who was never knocked down in 97 professional fights, including two memorable bouts with Muhammad Ali.

During a question-and-answer session in Hay River, Chuvalo said he is most often asked what it was like to fight Ali. "I always say it wasn't a whole lot of fun."

During autograph sessions, many people posed for photos with Chuvalo, and they often formed fists for the camera.

Chuvalo said, when someone asks him for his autograph, it's like a stamp of approval for what he does.

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