At last Durelle got his title chance in December 1958 at the Montreal Forum. He was twenty-nine years old while Archie Moore, the champion, was almost forty-five. Once again Yvon had to stop eating so he could get his weight down to one hundred seventy-five pounds. This made him weak for the fight. But you would never know it. In the first round, he knocked down Moore three times. Two times the count went as far as nine.
Moore managed to make it through the first round. Durelle and Shaban were both afraid that Yvon might be putting too much into these first rounds and would tire out. They felt the longer the match lasted, the more tired the older Moore would get. This was a bad plan. Moore got stronger as the fight went on and in the eleventh round knocked Durelle out. It was a very exciting match. After the fight, Yvon was heartbroken. It was the hardest setback he ever had. He was also angry with the money he got from the fight. He only brought home about six thousand dollars. He made even less for the rematch.