Most losses are not celebrated. But when George Chuvalo stepped up on 17 days notice to fight heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali and gave Ali the toughest fight of his career, the legend of Chuvalo was born.

“I never thought about it before,” Chuvalo said at the 50th anniversary of his fight with Ali. “But as I’m sitting here, I think it’s a little goofy that people are actually here to see me.”

The fight had more than its share of struggles to get made. Top Rank CEO Bob Arum remembers this promotion as the first fight he promoted in his long career and the challenges they faced in making an Ali title defence. No city in America would host an Ali fight after he spoke against the Vietnam War.

“People were thanking me for bringing the fight to Toronto, but to me it was like someone saving someone else from drowning by giving them something to grab on to, and then saying ‘thanks for grabbing on’. We were grateful to Toronto for accepting us.”

Even 50 years after Chuvalo graced the ring with Ali, the legend of the fight still resonates for Canadian fighters. Chuvalo’s performance reigned in the minds of Canadians for generations. For every up-and-coming fighter, all knew of the man who sent Ali to the hospital with bleeding kidneys and damaged ribs.

“He didn’t go down and he took Ali 15 rounds,” former cruiserweight title challenger Troy Ross said. “He showed that toughness of being able to taketwo to three punches to land one.”

That idea of toughness echoed with many fighters, including Kirk Johnson, who fought for the heavyweight title himself against John Ruiz in 2002.

“When I watched Chuvalo fight Ali, I couldn’t help the feeling thinking that Ali was going to be in for a tough fight. I thought Chuvalo was the worst fight for anyone. It was afterwards that I found out he was Canadian. It shows the tough fighters that we have.”

Even for fighters who didn’t actually grow up in Canada, they quickly knew of Chuvalo’s celebrated performance during their early days in the gym. WBC Light Heavyweight champion Adonis Stevenson became more than aware of Chuvalo’s history in Canadian boxing as he arrived to Quebec in the mid 80’s from his native Haiti.

“When I started boxing, everyone told me about Chuvalo and told me to watch his fight with Ali,” said Stevenson. “It’s not easy to win a championship. If he was fighting in the heavyweight division now, he would be a world champion.”

Ali himself would go on to call Chuvalo the toughest fighter he ever fought. Chuvalo never went down in his entire career, never visibly even appearing to be hurt. His rival turned friend, Ali holds that fight close to his heart, knowing he was able to display his warrior spirit and prove that he wasn’t just talk.

“My dad’s eyes lit up when I told him I was going to Toronto,” Ali’s daughter Rasheda said. “I’m grateful that Toronto had the courage to accept these two, as it helped the civil rights movement. This fight gave the movement the win.”

With no Ali, Chuvalo’s performance would have been overlooked. But if it weren’t for Chuvalo, we may not have seen the best of Ali who would go on to become for most the greatest fighter ever to step into the ring.

Chuvalo may not have got the nod on the scorecards that night. But his impact on Canadian boxing 50 years later proves that he was always a winner.