I knew Yvon Durelle for over fifty years, even boxing on some of his cards. He was a fine man and friend. As for his manager, Chris Shaban, there was one of the finest human beings ever.

Yvon was unusually strong. He did not always train much, but he had good trainers at times, including Charlie Goldman, who trained Marciano.

I personally knew Archie Moore also, and they did become great friends. When Moore died, in Dec. of 1998, Yvon went to San Diego to the funeral. He cried a lot. Yvon was like that.

This year, I was in the Honour Guard at his funeral and read words in church also. As well, this year I worked at establishing his true record. To date, that includes 113 confirmed pro fights. There may have been more, but they would not have been established.

On March 8, of this year, his memory will be revisited by the boxing community, in his home province, and I will be hosting that. He will be recognized by governments at all levels. I look forward to the event.

Note: when Durelle fought his return match with Moore in 1959, the Moore camp postponed the fight twice, and Yvon was training. He left his fight in the gym, his body simply breaking under the weight of it all. He was struggling to make lightheavy, while Moore had an uncanny ability to fight anywhere from 173 to 200, within a month's time. They well remembered the first fight and some people made sure that Durelle was at every disadvantage.