Lewis vs. McCall 1

[n1ebf]

I was watching this last night while looking for a few clips on bagwork. I always thought McCall had flattened him - KO - but in actual fact Lewis complained to the referee that he was okay. He wasn't okay of course, his legs were very shaky.
Lewis's defence wasn't great there I though.........also, I thought there was a marked difference in his physical shape, compared to when he was older. He definitely packed on some muscle as he grew. Natural I guess.
Oliver McCall had been doing lots of sparring with Mike Tyson before Tyson went away. Tyson had told him to keep throwing them hooks, because one of them would land...
Of course McCall would be back to face Bruno a year later.........I would imagine McCall was a heavy favourite?? McCall won the World Title and then lost it in the UK.

[JimJim2009]

McCall was the betting favourite, I remember because I'd put twenty quid on Big Frank to win on points.

Lewis was fortunate the ref stopped it, there was a lot of time left in the round and he was out. If the ref had let it go on, he might have got battered. If McCall hadn't landed that once-in-a-lifetime punch at that moment in time, the title probably wouldn't have changed hands...

[n1ebf]

no doubt you're right. Lewis had very quick hands, quicker than I remember tbh. So that was a great win for Frank Bruno. It would have been a shame if he never achieved his goal of becoming World Champ I think. I was of the impression that Lewis had suffered two very bad KOs, but the Rahman one was a lot worse than this one.

so it went Lewis> McCall > Bruno > Tyson (??) > Holyfield (??) then back to Lewis??

[keithmoonhangover]

McCall was the betting favourite, I remember because I'd put twenty quid on Big Frank to win on points.

Lewis was fortunate the ref stopped it, there was a lot of time left in the round and he was out. If the ref had let it go on, he might have got battered. If McCall hadn't landed that once-in-a-lifetime punch at that moment in time, the title probably wouldn't have changed hands...

McCall refused to take a drug test after the Bruno fight and I have it on VERY good authority that he was on coke the day of the fight.

[n1ebf]

McCall was the betting favourite, I remember because I'd put twenty quid on Big Frank to win on points.

Lewis was fortunate the ref stopped it, there was a lot of time left in the round and he was out. If the ref had let it go on, he might have got battered. If McCall hadn't landed that once-in-a-lifetime punch at that moment in time, the title probably wouldn't have changed hands...

McCall refused to take a drug test after the Bruno fight and I have it on VERY good authority that he was on coke the day of the fight.

well he was certainly a mess for the second Lewis fight, which was only just over 2 years after the first one I imagine. Goodness knows what the hell was going on there. My point being, it's not a big leap to assume he had a substance abuse history well before that. And yet, by still boxing today at 50 or so, it looks like he's put that sh*t behind him.

[JimJim2009]

McCall was the betting favourite, I remember because I'd put twenty quid on Big Frank to win on points.

Lewis was fortunate the ref stopped it, there was a lot of time left in the round and he was out. If the ref had let it go on, he might have got battered. If McCall hadn't landed that once-in-a-lifetime punch at that moment in time, the title probably wouldn't have changed hands...

McCall refused to take a drug test after the Bruno fight and I have it on VERY good authority that he was on coke the day of the fight.

Did you sell him it Keith ?!

[keithmoonhangover]

McCall was the betting favourite, I remember because I'd put twenty quid on Big Frank to win on points.

Lewis was fortunate the ref stopped it, there was a lot of time left in the round and he was out. If the ref had let it go on, he might have got battered. If McCall hadn't landed that once-in-a-lifetime punch at that moment in time, the title probably wouldn't have changed hands...

McCall refused to take a drug test after the Bruno fight and I have it on VERY good authority that he was on coke the day of the fight.

Did you sell him it Keith ?!

Ha'way Jim. That's a low blow.
















I only sold him some pills and a quarter of speed.

[JimJim2009]

Sorry mate, couldn't resist

The main thing about Oliver was he got his demons sorted out and his head screwed on straight before facing Lennox again....

Incidentally Oliver has just entered the boxing record books. At the age of 50, he won a fight in Poland at the weekend, defeating a guy who had previously beaten his son.

For a British equivalent, it would be like Tyson Fury losing, and his dad coming out of prison and defeating that boxer ! (in a ring, not by gouging his eyeballs out)

[Newport Daz]

McCall was the betting favourite, I remember because I'd put twenty quid on Big Frank to win on points.

Lewis was fortunate the ref stopped it, there was a lot of time left in the round and he was out. If the ref had let it go on, he might have got battered. If McCall hadn't landed that once-in-a-lifetime punch at that moment in time, the title probably wouldn't have changed hands...

I think you're being harsh on Mccall. He only just missed Lennox's chin moments earlier with the same punch. Manny Steward said many times that they worked on that punch over and over again. It was no fluke. And you only have to listen to the way Lennox talks about the Rahman and Mccall KO's. He has no respect for Rahman's win at all - to him that was a fluke. With Mccall, his only complaint is that the ref didn't give him the opportunity to continue.

[stevedoc]

i remember a story going around years ago about mccall that he was fighting over here (uk) so either frank or lewis i can't remember and that he was keep in his hotel and not allowed out as he liked to dabble in drugs shall we say and mccall had someone outside his hotel room on guard so he climbed out the 2nd floor window slipped his guard and he was found at a craic den the next morning when he was fighting that night
not the best training for world title fight .

[thepocketrocket]

Never believe in a fluke knockout win. If you aim for the guys chin, land, and KO the guy then it was hardly an accident.

Those wins stop Lewis being a top five heavyweight, as real legends don't lose to McCall and Rahman and make excuses about 'not preparing correctly'. They just beat them

[n1ebf]

Never believe in a fluke knockout win. If you aim for the guys chin, land, and KO the guy then it was hardly an accident.

Those wins stop Lewis being a top five heavyweight, as real legends don't lose to McCall and Rahman and make excuses about 'not preparing correctly'. They just beat them

I don't see how Lewis can have "no respect at all" for the Rahman KO. It's not like the guy cheated him or broke the rules, or gained an unfair advantage.

[big lennox]

The rematches were interesting as well. Lennox's ko of Rahman remains one of the hardest punches I have seen.

The McCall rematch was desperately sad. Not nice seeing someone having a proper break down and being whacked about at the same time. I think I read an interview with Lennox where he said he felt sorry for McCall as well and wasn't quite sure waht to do but had to carry on attacking in case he was being duped.


Although, Lennox doesn't give McCall and Rahman enough credit for their wins, it does show what character he had to go back in there with someone who has knocked you out.

[polecateddy]

McCall was the betting favourite, I remember because I'd put twenty quid on Big Frank to win on points.

Lewis was fortunate the ref stopped it, there was a lot of time left in the round and he was out. If the ref had let it go on, he might have got battered. If McCall hadn't landed that once-in-a-lifetime punch at that moment in time, the title probably wouldn't have changed hands...

I lost 200 quid betting on McCall. I recall the odds were pretty much evens on each fighter, with McCall no more than a marginal favourite against Bruno. He was coming off a stinker against Holmes after all.

[mickey1975]

i remember a story going around years ago about mccall that he was fighting over here (uk) so either frank or lewis i can't remember and that he was keep in his hotel and not allowed out as he liked to dabble in drugs shall we say and mccall had someone outside his hotel room on guard so he climbed out the 2nd floor window slipped his guard and he was found at a craic den the next morning when he was fighting that night
not the best training for world title fight .

A "craic den"! Did he go for a laugh with the Irish?

[banjo]

no doubt you're right. Lewis had very quick hands, quicker than I remember tbh. So that was a great win for Frank Bruno. It would have been a shame if he never achieved his goal of becoming World Champ I think. I was of the impression that Lewis had suffered two very bad KOs, but the Rahman one was a lot worse than this one.

so it went Lewis> McCall > Bruno > Tyson (??) > Holyfield (??) then back to Lewis??

The WBC belt yes, although Tyson was stripped of it in 96 and Lewis won the vacant belt in the 97 rematch with McCall.

The real title went starting from 93 - Bowe > Holyfield > Moorer > Foreman > Briggs > Lewis > Rahman > Lewis

[lillywhite14]

Never believe in a fluke knockout win. If you aim for the guys chin, land, and KO the guy then it was hardly an accident.

Those wins stop Lewis being a top five heavyweight, as real legends don't lose to McCall and Rahman and make excuses about 'not preparing correctly'. They just beat them

Agree regarding "fluke knockouts"
If a fighter throws a punch how can it be deemed "lucky"? A one off shot, unlikely to be repeated, is probably a better description.

May I ask who is in your top five?

[thepocketrocket]

Never believe in a fluke knockout win. If you aim for the guys chin, land, and KO the guy then it was hardly an accident.

Those wins stop Lewis being a top five heavyweight, as real legends don't lose to McCall and Rahman and make excuses about 'not preparing correctly'. They just beat them

Agree regarding "fluke knockouts"
If a fighter throws a punch how can it be deemed "lucky"? A one off shot, unlikely to be repeated, is probably a better description.

May I ask who is in your top five?

In no order, Louis, Ali, Holmes, Marciano, Foreman....

[Kilburn]

McCall must have been at his peak that night against Lewis. Fit, sharp and very dangerous. Throw his iron chin into the mix and you have yourself a nightmare of an opponent.

I can't see how Lewis would have got McCall under control had the fight continued. He just wasn't ready for that kind of heat.

[chinny]

This was the first fight I ever attended.

McCall was super motivated by Emmanuel Steward, who King, desperate to get his hands back on the heavyweight titles with Tyson approaching release, had hired.

Seeing McCall sprint past me some 30 minutes after the fight, green belt around his waist, followed by a whooping Don King, was a surreal moment.

[n1ebf]

This was the first fight I ever attended.

McCall was super motivated by Emmanuel Steward, who King, desperate to get his hands back on the heavyweight titles with Tyson approaching release, had hired.

Seeing McCall sprint past me some 30 minutes after the fight, green belt around his waist, followed by a whooping Don King, was a surreal moment.

......sorry I just tried to imagine that. Sounds like a blummin getaway!

World titles to have a habit of making small teams end up in some unlikely places. I remember being at Hartlepool Borough Hall when Steve Molitor beat Michael Hunter. Everyone was a bit stunned except for about 3 Canadians jumping all over the show squirting water everywhere.

[Tuan_Jim]

McCall must have been at his peak that night against Lewis. Fit, sharp and very dangerous. Throw his iron chin into the mix and you have yourself a nightmare of an opponent.

I can't see how Lewis would have got McCall under control had the fight continued. He just wasn't ready for that kind of heat.

I remember Boxing Monthly at the time warning Lewis in the preview McCall was easily his most dangerous opponent to date. Regardless of records, they were right. McCall was a real monster. BM almost predicted Lewis's downfall.

[n1ebf]

same age in that fight. Both 29yrs old.

[Boxerbeetle]

Funnily enough Lewis was talking about this fight on Twitter yesterday, he never hinted it was a fluke shot, just said that his chin ended up on the end of a great punch.

In fact he gave most of the credit to Steward, apparently Manny booked all of the available quick heavyweights for sparring with McCall & focussed on speed in training camp, so Lewis could only get sparring against slow fighters & got used to facing slow shots so wasn't able to react quick enough on fight night.

I never heard this before, interesting if true & shows what a tactical genius Steward was. Lewis said it was those sort of tactics that convinced him Manny was the only trainer to go with from then on.

[banjo]

It's mental when you consider that not only is McCall still fighting, he's still never been knocked off his feet and his only loss inside the distance was when he had his breakdown in the rematch with Lewis.