20 years ago today...Lennox Lewis vs Oliver McCall rematch...

As mentioned already, even Lennox Lewis realized McCall should never have been allowed to fight that night since he was not mentally fit. And seriously man.....Lewis was good but he didn't exactly make people quiver in their shoes. Tyson, Foreman & Bowe all didn't want to fight him. Foreman flat out said he would have ducked him now & in his prime when he was still active & on HBO telecasts. Lewis had to take Bowe & Tyson to court to get his original WBC title shot. They both vacated instead. Guys were not lining up to fight him. Although one interesting note I forgot about was McCall had to take Lewis to court to get his title shot. King tried to block him from defending against Phil Jackson but Lewis won when he said he would fight McCall next which he did & lost. Strangely enough McCall was the one guy Lennox didn't want to fight in his first title reign. What was the reasoning? No money in it? Surely he would get more fighting him as the mando with Don King putting in a purse bid. Did he see something in McCall that made him avoid the fight as long as he could? Manny Steward was training McCall at the time. He jumped ship to Lewis even after he led McCall to victory.

awesome match for sure

I think Foreman was like " I just want to get up there & give him a hug" or something along those lines...He was never stopped other than that fight & he was never knocked down... :lol1: yeah I remember that. I remember looking at tv in shock then just turning to my Pops like "why is this fool crying?"

Definitely one of the most bizarre things I've seen in the ring. I remember sitting there just looking at the tv in silence like....wait....what!? I think Foreman was like " I just want to get up there & give him a hug" or something along those lines...He was never stopped other than that fight & he was never knocked down...

Yes! he had a mental break down due to Lennox Lewis's presence.......people can talk all they want about drugs, but he was not the first fighter to take recreational drugs! Oliver Mccall was always a unstable character! I have that fight on my FB. There is the post fight presser with McCall & an interview with Lennox years later. He was totally messed up. He just got out of jail & rehab. He had no business fighting & the post fight presser he sounds pretty loopy... Lennox even said he should not be in the ring. He thought he was playing possum & was hesitant to jump on his because of the first fight knockout. Then he started crying which McCall claimed he was getting warmed up & was ready to unleash...lol

i genuinely believe Lennox Lewis's presence inside of the ring influenced Mccall's break down...(Never mind the cocaine). You should make this your Sig :crackhead

Definitely one of the most bizarre things I've seen in the ring. I remember sitting there just looking at the tv in silence like....wait....what!?

What? Had a mental breakdown due to Lewis's presence? McCall was a sparring partner for Mike Tyson...I really doubt that. He wasn't mentally ready but the greed of Don King put him there anyway. http://www.nytimes.com/1997/02/11/sports/hbo-should-have-pulled-out-of-bout.html Yes! he had a mental break down due to Lennox Lewis's presence.......people can talk all they want about drugs, but he was not the first fighter to take recreational drugs! Oliver Mccall was always a unstable character!

Lennox Lewis still had contempt for Oliver Mccall inside of the ring, when he saw that he was breaking down mentally! But i don't think it was a hallow victory, i genuinely believe Lennox Lewis's presence inside of the ring influenced Mccall's break down...(Never mind the cocaine).

I can't agree more.. one of the weirdest boxing moments.. Lennox though won his titles back wasn't happy the way he did..