Oliver McCall

American boxer (born 1965)

Oliver McCall (born April 21, 1965) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1985 to 2019. A veteran of the sport for over three decades, he is best known for winning the WBC heavyweight title in 1994 by scoring an upset knockout victory over Lennox Lewis. The next year he defended the title against Larry Holmes before losing it to Frank Bruno. McCall is known for an in ring mental breakdown during his 1997 rematch with Lewis. McCall's son, Elijah, is also a heavyweight professional boxer. McCall is known for never being knocked down in his 74 bout professional career and possessed one of the most durable chins of his time.

Born in Chicago, McCall moved to live with his mother in Racine, Wisconsin and attended William Horlick High School, before transferring to Washington Park High School. McCall was also a talented high school basketball player. In 1981, however, McCall moved back to Chicago where he pursued boxing and won two Chicago Golden Gloves titles.

At the amateur ranks McCall competed in super heavyweight division (+201 lbs.)

Known as "The Atomic Bull", McCall turned pro in 1985 and slowly worked his way up the heavyweight ranks. His trainer at that time was the retired champion Joe Frazier. Oliver had a bit of trouble, losing his second bout and losing to Mike Hunter and Buster Douglas in 1988 and 1989 respectively. His eighth opponent was Al Evans, who scored a TKO victory over Mike Tyson in 1981, when Tyson was a 15 year old just beginning his amateur career. McCall won by a unanimous decision. Oliver beat Jesse Ferguson and future heavyweight champion Bruce Seldon. In 1992 Oliver lost a very close decision to Tony Tucker before landing the shot against Lewis in 1994.

After a close first round McCall came out aggressively in the second and landed his signature counter right hand as Lewis moved forward. Lewis dropped to the canvas and got up before the count of ten, but he was unsteady on his feet, forcing the referee to wave a stop to the fight. In spite of the Lewis camp protests, Boxing Monthly editor Glyn Leach pointed out that Lewis "only seemed to recover his senses once the fight was waved off," and that "in the opinions of everyone I spoke to at ringside, the decision was correct." McCall's win over Lewis marked Don King's return to power in the heavyweight division, since none of his stable of fighters had been able to win the heavyweight title since Mike Tyson lost it in 1990 (McCall worked as a sparring partner with Tyson and Cooper, and claimed Cooper is the harder puncher.) He successfully defended the title in a bout against 45 year old ex champ Larry Holmes in Las Vegas winning 114–113, 115–114, and 115–112 on the score cards, before returning to London to face Frank Bruno in 1995. During a press conference before the fight McCall claimed he was going to get revenge for America after Gerald McClellan had been rendered brain damaged after a fight with Nigel Benn a few months earlier. He had claimed that he was going to hurt Bruno and that the only thing Bruno would be able to do was throw illegal rabbit punches. The fight took place at the old Wembley stadium. Bruno started off well, working behind the jab and landing some big right hands. McCall seemed uninterested in fighting and lagged far behind on the score cards going into the latter rounds. By round 9 Bruno had built up a big lead on the score cards and looked comfortably in charge. McCall finally sparked into life in round 10 perhaps realizing that he was behind on the score cards. McCall landed several big punches over the final 3 rounds and had Bruno in trouble several times but Bruno managed to hold on and win the title by a unanimous decision. This gave McCall the distinction of becoming the first Heavyweight champion in history to both win and lose the title to a British fighter, and also the first American Heavyweight champion to have both won and lost the title in Britain (and Europe). McCall returned to the ring 6 months after losing his title when he beat future WBC heavyweight champion Oleg Maskaev in less than 3 minutes. By that time his trainers were Greg Page and George Benton. A month later after defeating Maskaev, McCall beat James Stanton in 6 rounds.

Lewis and McCall squared off again on February 7, 1997, in Las Vegas. In a bizarre fight, McCall refused to fight in the fourth and fifth rounds, beginning to cry and eventually forcing the referee to stop the fight and award Lewis the victory. The referee for the fight, Mills Lane, stated in an interview after the match, "In the third round, he got in close, and then seemed frustrated, and then he just backed off and put his arms down. . I thought he was playing possum but then I saw his lips started to quiver and I thought, 'My God, is he crying?'" Lane stopped the fight when McCall had refused to defend himself for several rounds.

In 2001 at the age of 36 he resurrected his career with a tenth round knockout of Henry Akinwande, at the time one of the most avoided contenders in the world, on a Lennox Lewis undercard in Las Vegas. McCall was ranked number 4 in the world off this performance, but was arrested shortly afterwards and imprisoned for over a year, losing his ranking. In December 2004 he lost a close points decision to fellow contender DaVarryl Williamson on a high profile Don King undercard from New York, and in 2005 he traveled to Germany for an eliminator to skillful and well regarded Cuban Juan Carlos Gomez, and was outpointed over ten rounds. However this loss was removed from McCall's record as Gomez later failed a drug test. Despite his legal troubles, McCall's career continued. He began his next run at a title with a first round TKO of Kenny Craven in June 2006. McCall defeated Darroll Wilson in a fourth round TKO in Louisville, Kentucky, on September 9, 2006, for the WBC Fecarbox Championship. On December 9, 2006, McCall defeated Yanqui Diaz via seventh round KO in Hollywood, Florida. On 16 June 2007, McCall defeated Sinan Samil Sam for the WBC International Heavyweight Championship by unanimous decision in Ankara, Turkey. The long inactive McCall defeated Australian John Hopoate by 2nd round TKO on the May 22, 2009, for the vacant IBA intercontinental heavyweight belt. McCall dominated the fight and knocked Hopoate down twice. He defended his IBA continental belt against Franklin Lawrence by a ten round unanimous decision on August 21, 2009, at the Orleans Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas. On October 23, 2009, he defended his IBA continental title again by a ten round unanimous decision against 6'8" Lance Whitaker. McCall's next opponent was Timur Ibragimov. The two fought at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Hollywood, Florida. Ibragimov was a fringe contender with a 27 2 1 record. McCall lost the bout by unanimous decision, with the scores of 117–111 twice and 119–109. It was his first loss since his comeback in 2009.

McCall's career has been mottled by several stints in drug rehabilitation facilities and arrests for disorderly behavior. He has attempted numerous comebacks, though the efforts have repeatedly been frustrated by run ins with the law. In January 2006 he was arrested by police in Nashville, Tennessee, who say they had to use a Taser on McCall after he tried running away from officers trying to arrest him for trespassing in a public housing development. Police officers informed the media that McCall had in his possession a glass pipe and a five dollar bill containing a small amount of cocaine. They further stated that the 40 year old McCall later spat at an officer and threatened to kill him. He was held on $299,000 bond and charged with criminal trespass, resisting arrest, assaulting police officers, threatening to kill an officer, and being a fugitive from justice on charges in his home state of Virginia. He was released on May 8, 2006. On the weekend before his scheduled fight with Zuri Lawrence at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in nearby Hollywood, Florida, McCall was arrested for possession of cocaine and drug paraphernalia in Fort Lauderdale, preventing him from fighting. He was ultimately sentenced to probation. McCall was able to get another big fight, this time against Fres Oquendo, scheduled for December 7, 2010. McCall won in a split decision over the favored Oquendo. On December 9, 2010, two days after his latest victory, McCall was again arrested in Fort Lauderdale for possession of cannabis and violation of municipal ordinance, causing him to violate the terms of his probation stemming from the February cocaine charge. As a result of the probation violation, he was facing six years in Florida State Prison. The Law Office of Roger P. Foley, P. A. represented McCall and was able to have him reinstated on his previous probationary term, modified to include drug and psychological evaluation followed by any necessary treatment. On December 16, 2011, his probation was terminated.

No. (Number)ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes75Win59–14 Hugo LomeliRTD2 (8), May 31, 2019 74Win58–14 Larry KnightUD6Nov 30, 2018 73Loss57–14 Marcin RekowskiUD10Apr 26, 2014 72Win57–13 Marcin RekowskiSD8Feb 1, 2014 71Loss56–13 Krzysztof ZimnochUD8May 18, 2013 70Loss56–12 Francesco PianetaUD10May 16, 2012 69Win56–11 Damian WillsUD10Aug 20, 2011 68Loss55–11 Cedric BoswellUD10Mar 18, 2011 67Win55–10 Fres OquendoSD12Dec 7, 2010 66Loss54–10 Timur IbragimovUD12Jun 15, 2010 65Win54–9 Lance WhitakerUD10Oct 23, 2009 64Win53–9 Franklin LawrenceUD10Aug 21, 2009 63Win52–9 John HopoateTKO2 (10), May 22, 2009 62Loss51–9 Juan Carlos GómezUD12Oct 19, 2007 61Win51–8 Sinan Şamil SamUD12Jun 16, 2007 60Win50–8 Marion WilsonUD8Feb 24, 2007 59Win49–8 Yanqui DíazKO7 (10), Dec 9, 2006 58Win48–8 Darroll WilsonTKO4 (12), Sep 3, 2006 57Win47–8 Kenny CravenTKO1 (10), Jun 30, 2006 56Win46–8 Wallace McDanielTKO3 (8), May 27, 2006 55NC45–8 Juan Carlos GómezUD10Oct 15, 2005 54Win45–8 Przemysław SaletaTKO4 (10), Aug 13, 2005 53Win44–8 Kelvin HaleUD8May 10, 2005 52Win43–8 Cornelius EllisUD8Apr 16, 2005 51Win42–8 Marion WilsonDQ (Disqualification)6 (8)Feb 5, 2005 50Loss41–8 DaVarryl WilliamsonUD10Nov 13, 2004 49Win41–7 Vernon WoodwardTKO3 (8), Sep 25, 2004 48Win40–7 Dennis McKinneyTKO3 (10)Apr 24, 2003 47Win39–7 Henry AkinwandeKO10 (10), Nov 17, 2001 46Win38–7 Matt GreenTKO1 (10), Sep 29, 2001 45Win37–7 Sedreck FieldsSD10Aug 11, 2000 44Win36–7 Marcus McIntyreKO3 (10), May 25, 2001 43Win35–7 Ric LainhartTKO1 (10), Feb 12, 2001 42Win34–7 Will HintonTKO1 (10), Dec 18, 1999 41NC (No contest)33–7 Samson CohenNC2 (10)Sep 25, 1999 40Win33–7 Samson CohenKO1 (10)Feb 24, 1998 39Win32–7 Abdul MuhayminUD10Feb 3, 1998 38Win31–7 Mike AcklieKO1 (10)Jan 6, 1998 37Win30–7 Mike DeVitoTKO2 (8)Dec 16, 1997 36Win29–7 Brian YatesTKO8 (10)Nov 4, 1997 35Loss28–7 Lennox LewisTKO5 (12), Feb 7, 1997 34Win28–6 James StantonRTD (Corner retirement)6 (10), Mar 23, 1996 33Win27–6 Oleg MaskaevTKO1 (10), Feb 24, 1996 32Loss26–6 Frank BrunoUD12Sep 2, 1995 31Win26–5 Larry HolmesUD12Apr 8, 1995 30Win25–5 Lennox LewisTKO2 (12), Sep 24, 1994 29Win24–5 Dan MurphyTKO1 (10)Feb 26, 1994 28Win23–5 Art CardKO1 (10)Dec 18, 1993 27Win22–5 Francesco DamianiTKO8 (10), Apr 23, 1993 26Win21–5 Mike DixonTKO2 (10), Jan 30, 1993 25Win20–5 Lawrence CarterKO3 (10)Jan 30, 1993 24Loss19–5 Tony TuckerSD12Jun 26, 1992 23Win19–4 Mike RouseTKO4 (10), Feb 15, 1992 22Win18–4 Jesse FergusonUD10Aug 8, 1991 21Win17–4 Danny WoffordTKO5 (10)Jun 8, 1991 20Win16–4 Bruce SeldonTKO9 (10), Apr 18, 1991 19Loss15–4 Orlin NorrisSD10Nov 17, 1990 18Win15–3 Lionel ButlerSD (Split decision)10Jul 16, 1990 17Loss14–3 Buster DouglasUD10Jul 21, 1989 16Win14–2 Bruce JohnsonKO1 (10), Oct 1, 1988 15Win13–2 Wesley SmithTKO2 (8)Sep 16, 1988 14Win12–2 David JacoUD10Jun 30, 1988 13Loss11–2 Mike HunterUD6Jan 22, 1988 12Win11–1 Kim AdamsTKO2 (8), Aug 30, 1987 11Win10–1 Richard ScottKO2 (8), Aug 11, 1987 10Win9–1 Tim MorrisonKO1 (6), May 30, 1987 9Win8–1 Fred WhitakerUD6Mar 21, 1987 8Win7–1 Al EvansUD6Dec 16, 1986 7Win6–1 Bashir WadudUD6Oct 25, 1986 6Win5–1 Larry RobersonTKO1 (4), Sep 13, 1986 5Win4–1 James ChurnKO (Knockout)1 (4), Aug 14, 1986 4Win3–1 Kimmuel OdumMD (Majority decision)4Aug 14, 1986 3Win2–1 Felix ShorterTKO2 (4)Jan 18, 1986 2Loss1–1 Joey ChristjohnUD (Unanimous decision)4Dec 6, 1985 1Win1–0 Lou BaileyTKO (Technical knockout)1 (4), Nov 2, 1985