CHUVALO'S BROKEN HEART IN ANTI-DRUG MESSAGE

Former Boxer on Mission to Warn Teens Off Addictions

In and out of the ring, George Chuvalo has been dealt some terrible
blows.

The boxing legend was in Edmonton on Saturday to bring his anti-drug
message to the Crime Stoppers telethon on Global TV.

As Canada's undisputed heavyweight champion from 1958 to 1979, the
boxer built his reputation on never getting knocked off his feet. But
a string of tragedies over the past two decades has tested Chuvalo's
strength.

His three sons died drug-related deaths. Unable to cope with the
grief, his first wife took her own life in 1993.

Since then, the fighter has been on a personal mission to tell teens
about the terrible cost of drug addiction.

"Young people have it difficult today because when you look at drugs
being glamorized on TV and in the movies, they're telling young people
that you can do drugs and somehow be normal, and nothing could be
further from the truth," said Chuvalo. "Once you're a drug addict,
you're always a drug addict. That temporary escape becomes your
lifetime imprisonment. That's a horrible way to live."

Chuvalo said the message he's been bringing to schools for the past
six years is about "common sense and old-fashioned values." He
believes that strong role models and a close-knit family are the best
ways to prevent teens from turning to drug and alcohol abuse.

"Love of family is very important, I think a young person who feels
loved and gives love is on the most solid ground. He feels valued and
appreciated."

Chuvalo said that taking up boxing as a young boy kept him out of
trouble. "It taught me respect and discipline. There's lots of things
in boxing that help you in life: the will to win, the willingness to
persevere, a willingness to sacrifice. All those things help to build
strong character."

The same strength and stubbornness that helped Chuvalo go 15 rounds in
the ring against a young Muhammad Ali without getting knocked out is
what has helped him triumph over so much tragedy.

At 65, he has the physical presence of a man 20 years younger. His
face bears few signs of his hard-fought matches against the likes of
Ali and George Foreman.

Still, Chuvalo has the sad eyes of someone who has spent a lifetime
fighting. He said it's never easy for him to talk about losing his
sons and his wife, but he does it because he doesn't want all that
suffering to have been for nothing.

"What happened to my kids shouldn't happen to anyone else. I feel like
I have one shot to feel like my kids and my wife didn't die in vain."