Pubdate: Wed, 21 Jan 2004
Source: Weyburn Review (CN SN)
Copyright: 2004 Weyburn Review (1987) Ltd.
Contact:  http://www.weyburnreview.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2157

At Weyburn Comp School:

BOXER TALKS ABOUT COST OF DRUG ADDICTION TO FAMILY

In a saner world, George Chuvalo might have been joined on the stage at the 
Weyburn Comprehensive School by his son Steven.

A few days after a documentary on the former Canadian heavyweight champion 
aired on national television in 1995, someone suggested to George that he 
and his son speak to young people together on the dangers of drug abuse.

George discussed it with Steven, who was serving a term in federal prison. 
He thought it was a great idea, George said.

But the two never got the chance. In August of 1996, while George was in 
New Mexico working with a younger boxer, Steven finally succumbed his 
heroin addiction and fatally overdosed.

He was found, George said, with a needle sticking out of his left arm and 
an unlit cigarette in his right hand.

"Before my son could even light a cigarette, he was dead," said Chuvalo to 
the students assembled at the Comprehensive School Cafetorium.

Wednesday morning marked Chuvalo's second trip to Weyburn, his first visit 
being in 1997. A boxer renowned for never being knocked down or knocked out 
in 97 career bouts, Chuvalo has been traveling around the country for years 
now speaking about his greatest defeat: the loss of his three sons, George 
Lee, Steven and Jesse.

All three died as a result of their heroine addiction, as the two oldest 
boys died of overdoses and the youngest boy, Jesse, took his own life.

Chuvalo also lost his first wife, Lynne. She killed herself just days after 
George Lee died, taking pills she saved "for the day she knew she couldn't 
continue," Chuvalo said.

In depth, Chuvalo described to the students at the Comp the details of his 
son's deaths and of their addictions - how they would lose control of their 
bodily functions, how they committed numerous burglaries and assaults to 
fund their addiction, and how they popped in and out of Canada's prisons.

His son, Steven, would have wanted to talk to the students about the things 
that troubled him as a youth, George said. He would have talked about the 
importance of education, about self-esteem and peer pressure, about the 
steps leading up to becoming an addict and about how demeaning that life 
can be.

Speaking out against all forms of substance abuse, Chuvalo even touched on 
smoking cigarettes, pointing them out as a first step towards greater forms 
of addiction.

Before beginning his speech, Chuvalo had shown an edited form of the 
documentary that aired in 1995, indicating that it would help the students 
understand who he was and bridge the generation gap between him and them.

In the video, it showed interviews with Steven, who was still in prison at 
the time. Presented as a strong-looking and articulate young man, it was 
perhaps hard for people to believe that he couldn't put his addiction 
behind him.

"My son couldn't beat heroin. None of my sons could beat heroin," he added.