Museum Exhibit Honours Famous 1958 Yvon Durelle Boxing Match

12 décembre 2018 – Telegraph Journal Museum exhibit honours famous 1958 Yvon Durelle boxing match SEAN HATCHARD TIMES & TRANSCRIPT Yvon Durelle of Baie-Sainte-Anne, right, fought Archie Moore for the world light heavyweight boxing championship in 1958 in Montreal. PHOTO: SUBMITTED It’s one of boxing’s all-time greatest fights. Yvon Durelle, the Fighting Fisherman from Baie-Sainte-Anne, versus the great Archie Moore for the world light heavyweight title at the Montreal Forum. The Dec. 10, 1958 bout is regarded as one of the most memorable boxing matches in the history of the sport. Durelle, the reigning Canadian and British Empire champ, came within a whisker of dethroning the world champion. He knocked Moore down three times in the first round, and once more in the fifth round. But Moore held on and eventually won with an 11th- round knockout. As a 4-to-1 underdog, the fight made Durelle a legend in Canada, gaining him near cult status for his performance. 12 décembre 2018 – Telegraph Journal In honour of the 60th anniversary of the bout, the Université de Moncton’s Musée acadien is hosting an exhibit of the famous fight. Visitors are able to relive one of New Brunswick’s all-time top sports stories. “Even though he lost the fight, he won people’s heart,” said Robert Richard, an archivist at the university’s Centre d’études acadiennes Anselme-Chiasson. “His wish was the same as the Acadians’ wish, and that was to get to the apex of a career and to fight for a world championship title.” The exhibit features 12 bilingual panels chronicling the Durelle-Moore fight. It begins with the fight contract signing in September, 1958 and ends with the contract signing of the rematch eight months later that Moore won by a third- round knockout. Among the many items on display at the museum are photos, newspaper clippings, a fight program, a fight ticket, magazines, a cartoon and art pieces. There’s also audio commen - tary from Durelle’s manager Chris Shaban and former longtime Times & Transcript sports editor Eddie St. Pierre, who covered the fight, and a play-by- play account of the first round. The idea for the Durelle-Moore fight exhibit came from Richard and Musée acadien curator Jeanne Mance Cormier. Richard has been researching Durelle’s boxing career for the past 20 years and has collected many of the items on display at the exhibit. Others came from the Durelle family and the late boxer’s own museum. Richard’s favourite item is a plaster sculpture of Durelle’s fist and forearm. The archivist isn’t surprised the famous fight still resonates with fans 60 years later. 12 décembre 2018 – Telegraph Journal “Durelle’s career was a buildup to this moment. He started his career in 1948 and most of his fights were in Chat-ham and Newcastle. Then, it moved on to Moncton and then it stretched to Montreal and the U.S., then Berlin and London, England,” Richard said. “The Acadians, the New Brunswickers, the Maritimers listened to Yvon’s fights on the radio and read about them in the newspapers. The apex of his career was 1958 and all of a sudden the Dec. 10 1958 fight is televised nationally. They can now see their hero on TV, and it’s a world championship match. “This is the event of the year and for Durelle, it’s the ultimate wish to be a contender, and that’s what happened.” The Durelle exhibit will be on display until April 20. Durelle died in 2007 at the age of 77. He’s a member of the Canadian, New Brunswick, Moncton and Canadian boxing sports shrines. .

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