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On this day in 1997, Oliver McCall lost to the legendary Lennox Lewis. 'The Atomic Bull' lost the bout after having a mental breakdown during the fight.
The pair had fought four years prior, where McCall sprung an upset by knocking out the Brit in the second round. In the process, he became WBC Heavyweight Champion, a title he would lose the following year to Frank Bruno.
Following two straight victories, he matched up with Lewis for the second time. Once again, the vacant WBC Heavyweight Championship was on the line. This time, the magic of their first encounter didn't translate for the American.
The first three rounds were normal enough, as Lewis was the more active fighter, winning the early exchanges with his jab. However, in the fourth round, the fight became legendary for all the wrong reasons thanks to McCall refusing to fight.
The referee tried to plod him into fighting for the entire fourth round. After being pushed out into the fifth, McCall began crying. He continued to refuse to fight as the referee eventually waved off the bout 55 seconds into the round.
Watch Oliver McCall vs. Lennox Lewis II below:
The fight was the end of McCall's career as a serious title challenger, as he never fought for a major world title again.
Oliver McCall has still yet to retire
When fight fans think of older competitors, they typically think of former World Champions such as Bernard Hopkins or George Foreman. However, Oliver McCall has both men beaten by nearly a decade in terms of age.
'The Atomic Bull' is currently 56 years old, but he's yet to officially retire from boxing. He competed consistently up until 2014, but took a hiatus after a unanimous decision loss to Poland's Marcin Rekowski. However, after four years away he returned back to the ring.
The American competed twice since 2018, scoring victories over Larry Knight and Hugo Lomeli. The victory over the Mexican Heavyweight in May 2019 was his last trip to the ring. He won the bout after Lomeli was unable to come out for the third round, not a bad stoppage victory for the former Champion.
As of now, Oliver McCall has yet to be booked for a return to the ring. However, if his career is anything to go by, he may not be entirely done inside the the ropes just yet.
