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On this day: Heavyweight who is still fighting today at 60 becomes world champion by knocking out Lennox Lewis
Upsets in boxing are particularly visceral experiences – when the one man who seemed unbeatable has his shine of invincibility punched off by an unsuspecting challenger.
Fights like Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz, Leon Spinks vs Muhammad Ali and James ‘Buster Douglas’ vs Mike Tyson are examples that no fighter is safe from defeat in the ring, no matter how good they or the world think they are. One mistake in a fight and everything can come crashing down.
Today marks the 31st anniversary of one of, if not the biggest, upsets in heavyweight boxing history when Oliver McCall toppled an all-time great in Lennox Lewis.
Here is a look back at the night Lewis was dethroned by McCall.
The build-up
In the early 1990s, Lennox Lewis was one of the top heavyweights in the world. Born in England but raised in Canada, Lewis had won a gold medal at the 1988 Seoul Olympics and turned professional shortly after.
By 1992, he had captured the WBC heavyweight title after Riddick Bowe controversially vacated it rather than face him and successfully defended it against Tony Tucker and Frank Bruno.
Lewis was undefeated, with a growing reputation as a technically skilled and physically dominant boxer. Despite his title, however, he still sought greater recognition and was pushing for a unification bout with either Evander Holyfield or Mike Tyson, both of whom were higher-profile names in the division.
When those fights failed to materialise, Lewis instead lined up a defence against Oliver McCall, a relatively low-profile American contender and former sparring partner of Tyson.
McCall was well regarded as durable and tough. But his resume was not especially impressive, and his awkward, sometimes erratic fighting style led many to view him as not quite world title calibre. At the time of the fight, McCall had a record of 24-5.
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The fight
The opening round was a largely uneventful one, with Lewis coming out and boxing tentatively as he had become known to do.
He boxed well behind his jab and managed to tie up McCall when he would pounce with a wild attack. Lewis did get caught with a couple of counter left hooks in the early going, but it was nothing of concern for the incumbent WBC champion.
But the second round would be one of the most surprising and shocking boxing has ever seen.
Lewis came out with more intent, throwing a lashing two-shot combination that knocked McCall off balance – it was clear Lewis was looking for a short night’s work.
McCall plodded back into the centre of the ring, and as Lewis stepped in with his hands low to unleash another combination, McCall intelligently took his chance to strike while Lewis was in range.
The American detonated a counter left hook and overhand right combination that instantly put Lewis on the seat of his shorts.
Lewis slowly rose to his feet, but as he stood tall, his legs failed him, staggering around the ring, forcing the referee to call an end to the fight, and McCall fell to the ground in celebration
It was a shocking upset. The fight was over in less than two rounds. The British crowd at Wembley Arena was stunned, and so was the boxing world.
McCall — considered a heavy underdog — had knocked out the undefeated champion to win the WBC heavyweight title.
The aftermath
McCall’s win was one of the biggest upsets in heavyweight boxing history. While he had always been a staunch challenger, few expected him to beat Lewis, let alone knock him out.
The defeat was a massive blow to Lewis’s career. Critics questioned his chin and defence. However, Lewis responded constructively: he hired famed trainer Emanuel Steward, who had trained McCall for the upset.
McCall went on to defend his title once - defeating Larry Holmes in 1995 - before losing the belt to Frank Bruno later that year. McCall’s career afterwards was erratic, marked by personal issues and mental health struggles, which were most famously seen in his ill-fated rematch with Lewis in 1997, when, after not engaging in the fight at all, McCall refused to return to his corner at the end of the fourth round and broke down in tears.
He was forced out into the fifth round by his corner, still crying. But he refused to throw any punches, which led to the referee stopping the fight and McCall immediately leaving the ring.
Lewis would go on to regain the vacant WBC title in 1997, via that rematch with McCall, and ultimately become undisputed heavyweight champion by defeating Evander Holyfield in 1999.
- Read next | Oleksandr Usyk ready for Jake Paul fight... but will it take place inside a boxing ring?
John Gichigi/ALLSPORT
Where is McCall now?
This dramatic upset would be the crowning moment of McCall’s career, but it would not be the end.
Through all of his struggles, McCall continued to fight; it was the only thing he knew and fought until he was 54 before taking a five-year hiatus from boxing.
McCall made an official comeback in 2024 and has been undefeated in three fights since, collecting two wins and a draw in June of this year, two months after his 60th birthday.
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