12 Facts About Yvon Durelle

Yvon Durelle moved up in weight class to fight in the light heavyweight division.

In New York City in March 1957, Yvon Durelle broke into the top ten world rankings with a 10-round decision over Angelo Defendis.

Yvon Durelle became a much talked about sports personality in his native country after he beat the German champion, Willi Besmanoff.

In one of the first fights broadcast coast-to-coast on American television, Yvon Durelle stunned boxing patrons by knocking the champion down 3 times in the first round.

Under boxing rules today, the fight would have been stopped after three knockdowns in one round and Yvon Durelle would have been world champion.

Yvon Durelle would have likely won if he had gone to his corner.

Yvon 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 Yvon Durelle down to retain his world championship with an eleventh-round knockout.

Yvon Durelle fought only a few more times, before taking up professional wrestling in 1961.

Yvon Durelle returned to boxing in 1963 winning twice more before retiring permanently.

Yvon Durelle continued to earn a living at wrestling, primarily in eastern Canada but on occasion with Stu Hart's Stampede Wrestling, in Calgary, Alberta.

Yvon 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.

Yvon Durelle's funeral was held on January 11,2007, from Ste-Anne Roman Catholic Church in Baie-Ste-Anne, New Brunswick.