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MONTREAL -- George Chuvalo wants the world to know he was more than just a big lug who could stand in a boxing ring and take punches all night. The Toronto native was a top 10-ranked fighter in the golden age of heavyweights, taking on the best of his era, including Muhammad Ali, George Foreman and Floyd Patterson. He inflicted more damage than he absorbed in his 22-year career, but the perception lives on of the plodding boxer with the iron chin that was formed during dramatic bouts in 1966 and 1972 with Ali, perhaps the greatest heavyweight of all time. There was also the misery he endured after his retirement in 1978, losing three sons and his wife to drugs and suicide, perhaps the most painful blows of all. He addresses those issues in "Chuvalo: A Fighters Life", an autobiography released on Tuesday that was written with veteran boxing writer Murray Greig. It is a chronological recounting of his fight career, but Chuvalos voice, his love of storytelling and his frankly expressed opinions on the good and terrible things in his life are all over it. That is what makes it a better read than your average as-told-to book by an ex-athlete. It also describes a boxers early life, before the headline bouts at Madison Square Garden, of being broke most of the time and leaving a wife and young children at home to drive a shaky jalopy to fight for too-little money in a small-town arena. And it recalls the glory days of heavyweight prize fighting, when major bouts were front-page news and the stars were not like todays six-foot-eight giants who jab and do little else in the ring. That Chuvalo emerged from it all without a slurred tongue and with his memory and sense of humour intact may be his biggest victory. "I wanted to leave something for my grandchildren to read about their grandfather and know about me," the 76-year-old Chuvalo said of the book in a recent interview. But he also would like them to know that he was more than just one of the many victims of Alis flair and skill. "When people think of me, they think of me fighting Muhammad," he said. "Its hard for them to think of anything else. "But I had close to 100 fights. The perception of me is as a tough guy who could take a shot. I was supposed to have the best chin in boxing. It clouds my other abilities." From his first fight in 1956, a second-round knockout of Gordon Baldwin, to his third-round KO of George Jerome in 1978, Chuvalo compiled a record of 73 wins (64 by knockout), 18 losses and two draws. Although he was stopped short of the distance by Foreman and Joe Frazier, he was never knocked down in the ring. It is one of the first issues he deals with in the book. "Today, most people think I was a tough guy who took a good rap, which is fine," he writes. "But I was a much better defensive fighter than I ever got credit for. I didnt get hit with half the punches people think I did. If that were true, Id be walking around on my heels today. Nobodys that tough." Chuvalo never won a world title, losing to Ernie Terrell in his only attempt in 1965, a fight he feels was fixed by mobsters. But he was Canadian champion for most of 17 years, back when that title still mattered. And one of his favourite funny stories was about how he became champion of Haiti in 1972. He was voted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame in 1997. There was also a statue of him erected in his ancestral hometown in Bosnia. But his defining moment was in Toronto on March 29, 1966, when he stood up to Alis brilliance for 15 rounds and became a national hero simply for not going down. He did the same over 12 rounds in a rematch in Vancouver six years later. Perhaps ironically, Chuvalo feels Ali had the best chin of any opponent he faced, along with being the best boxer of all time. He names Foreman and Mike DeJohn as the hardest punchers he encountered. He left the painful stories of his family for last. No blood in the ring was quite as gruesome as finding a son dead in a hotel room with a needle in his arm, or of his first wife Lynne succombing to dispair and taking her own life. He spares no details. Chuvalo has since remarried, and he visits schools across Canada to deliver an anti-drug message. Somehow, he maintains a positive approach to life, concentrating on his two remaining children and his grandkids. Even then, he dedicates the book to his granddaughter Rachel Chuvalo, who died of cancer last year. The fighters life has been a tough one indeed, in and out of the ring. Marcus Mariota Jersey . 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There are some early surprises in the race for the Hart Trophy, but two of the contenders are the leagues biggest stars over the past decade. There are many more players in contention for the awards than just the three that Ive named, and a good or bad week can easily alter the landscape, but through the first 20 or so games of the NHL season, this is how the awards races look to me.INDIANAPOLIS - C.J. Miles wants to see the same sort of fight that Indiana showed in the third period be a part of its game in every quarter.Miles scored 25 points, George Hill added 20 and the Pacers rallied to beat the Miami Heat 106-95 on Wednesday. Miles and C.J. Watson combined for 10 of Indianas 17 points in a decisive third-quarter spurt.It shouldnt take us to get hit to bounce back, Miles said. Its just about us going out there with a focus from the jump every day.The Pacers (12-21) have been staggered plenty of times over the past few months. From Paul Georges broken right leg to the series of injuries that once left Indiana without any of its five starters from last season, the Pacers have not resembled the team that pushed Miami to the limit each of the past playoffs.This time, they appeared to be on the verge of getting blown out after the Heat took a 56-46 lead less than two minutes into the second half. But Indiana stuck around long enough for its perimeter shooters and defence to get back on track.Miles knocked down two 3-pointers in the key 17-2 spurt, and Watson made four straight free throws to give Indiana its first lead since the first quarter. David West hit a 3-pointer from just beyond the top of the key as time expired in the third quarter.When the buzzer sounded, the Pacers had turned a 68-61 deficit into a 78-70 lead that had Miami (14-19) reeling.Indiana pushed the lead to as much as 85-72 early in the fourth.We didnt close the quarter out good at all, said Heat star Dwyane Wade, who had 20 points, seven assists and three blocks. Thats been our Achilles heel all season, its been the fourth quarter.Chris Bosh had 18 points and eight rebounds for Miami, which has lost three in a row. Luol Deng scored 15 points.Watson finished with 11 points, and Hill ended Miamis comeback plans with two 3s late in the fourth quarter.We just continue to fight and play hard, Miles said. We have 10 guys now that can play and everybody out there on that floor can make a play and can help our team.dddddddddddd___TIP-INSHeat: Danny Granger showed his former team he can still play. In his first game as a visitor at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, the resurgent Granger finished with 14 points. Granger, Indianas first-round draft pick in 2005, had spent his entire career with the Pacers before he was dealt to Philadelphia in February. Strange, it was strange, Granger said. He was given a polite ovation when he first entered the game.Pacers: While Indiana leads the league in scoring defence and clamped down hard when it had to Wednesday, coach Frank Vogel is looking for more consistency. He said before the game that he wants his defence to dominate. That wasnt the case for most of the first three quarters, when Miami made nearly 60 per cent of its shots. But the Pacers allowed just two baskets over a 9-minute, 57-second span that changed the game. Miami wound up shooting 49.4 per cent.UP NEXTHeat: Visit Houston on Saturday.Pacers: Visit Milwaukee on Friday.HOME, SWEET, HOMEThe Pacers enjoyed seeing the Heat in town Wednesday. Indiana has won six straight regular-season home games over Miami and improved to 2-0 against the Heat this season.CHANGING TIMESWithout George or LeBron James around, Wednesdays game had a completely different feel from the fierce rivalries of the past two years. The intensity was lacking at times. And while the game was an announced sellout, there were empty seats. The chants of Beat The Heat didnt emerge until the fourth quarter. Even the players noticed.A couple of guys actually said something about that while we were out there, West said. I guess these three or four games in the regular season throughout the last three years have sort of been big games. But obviously, this doesnt have the one-seed implications we were fighting for the last few years. ' ' '