Another Miramichier who made a mark in Canadian history lives today in the tiny fishing village of Baie Ste. Anne, New Brunswick. He did not become well-known for business or politics. Instead, he used the sport of boxing to put the Miramichi on the map. His name was Yvon Durelle.
Durelle was born in October, 1929. This was at the beginning of the Depression Years. The Durelle family was very poor. They made a living at fishing. Education was not thought to be very important. Most people in Baie Ste. Anne at that time were too busy trying to earn a living. For this reason, Yvon dropped out of school in the sixth grade. He went to work on the family’s fishing boat.
Yvon’s brothers left home in 1940 to fight in World War II. They did some boxing in the army. It was from his brothers that Yvon got interested in boxing. He saw boxing as a way to make some money to help his family.
Durelle’s first matches were held in Chatham and Newcastle in 1947. Before long, nobody from New Brunswick or Nova Scotia could beat him. Durelle was not a complete boxer. He was mainly a hard hitter. Yvon really didn’t like to train. This often caused him to have trouble keeping to his weight limit.
In the early 1950’s Durelle won the Canadian Middleweight Title. Middleweights can weigh only one hundred and fifty pounds. Yvon could not make this weight. He had to move up to the light-heavyweight class. By 1954, Durelle had won the British Empire Light-Heavyweight title. The next two years had their ups and downs for Yvon. But 1957 was a good year. He did very well against highly-rated American boxers like Tony Anthony.
In 1958, he got a chance at the World Light-Heavyweight Championship. He fought against Archie Moore in Montreal. Although he knocked Moore down three times in the first round, he lost the match in the eleventh round.
Durelle was very disappointed after this contest. His interest in boxing quickly went downhill. He retired in the early 1960’s. For a number of years he worked for the New Brunswick Forestry Department. He also ran his own night club in the 1970’s. He sold it after some troubles at the club. In 1975, he was named to the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame. Yvon now lives a quiet life in his home village of Baie Ste. Anne.