On August 12, 1959, Archie Moore returned to Montreal with unfinished business. Eight months earlier, Yvon Durelle had come frighteningly close to ending his legendary light heavyweight reign, dropping Moore four times before the champion somehow recovered to score an 11th-round knockout. Their rematch promised another war. Instead, Moore needed less than three rounds to leave absolutely no doubt.
The first encounter had given Moore one of the greatest scares of his championship career. Durelle dropped him three times in the opening round and again in the fifth, pushing the veteran champion to the brink before Moore produced an extraordinary comeback. That performance earned the Canadian another opportunity, and 11,555 spectators packed the Montreal Forum to see whether he could finish what he had started.
This time, Moore refused to give Durelle the same opportunities. Rather than immediately trading with the dangerous puncher, the champion boxed cautiously through the opening two rounds, using his defense to limit Durelle's power shots. Then, in the third, everything changed.
A hard right hand sent Durelle to the canvas. He beat the count at seven and tried to fight back, but Moore immediately closed in for the finish. Three more knockdowns followed as the champion overwhelmed Durelle with rights and lefts. After the fourth knockdown of the round, referee and former heavyweight champion Jack Sharkey counted Durelle out at 2:52. The rematch was over.
Their first fight became the unforgettable classic, but their second belonged completely to Moore. Well into his 40s and already several years into his world-title reign, the champion had taken one of the most dangerous opponents of his career and dismantled him in three rounds. On August 12, 1959, Archie Moore didn't simply beat Yvon Durelle again—he provided the definitive answer to the greatest scare of his championship reign.
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