Lennox Lewis vs Oliver McCall

Oliver McCall won the World Boxing Council heavyweight championship by stopping Lennox Lewis after 31 seconds of the second round at Wembley Arena on September 24, 1994. Lewis, unbeaten in 25 professional contests and making the fourth defence of his title, weighed 238 pounds. McCall came in at 231 pounds with a record of 24 victories and five defeats. The challenger was a 5½–1 outsider, and much of the discussion before the contest concerned Lewis’s proposed meeting with Riddick Bowe rather than the man standing before him. Approximately 7,000 spectators attended, expecting Lewis to take another step towards the larger contests being prepared for him.

McCall’s record was uneven but contained sufficient evidence of danger. He had defeated Jesse Ferguson and the unbeaten Bruce Seldon and had extended Tony Tucker closely over 12 rounds. He had also spent long periods as a sparring partner for Mike Tyson and was accustomed to working with powerful heavyweights. More importantly, Emanuel Steward had prepared him specifically to counter Lewis’s long right hand. Lewis’s trainer, Pepe Correa, wanted the champion to assert himself early, while Steward expected Lewis to reach with the right and leave his chin exposed to McCall’s counter.

The opening round was cautious and untidy. Lewis stood tall and attempted to establish his left jab, but he did not control the distance as securely as expected. McCall kept his gloves high, moved forward without wasting punches and watched carefully for the champion’s right. Lewis landed several jabs and carried the greater authority when he committed himself, although McCall appeared composed and was not discouraged by the difference in height and reach. Two judges awarded the round to Lewis, while the third scored it even. There had been little between them, but McCall had succeeded in making Lewis lead without obtaining a clear measure of the challenger’s reactions.

Lewis began the second round more aggressively. He stepped forward behind the jab and then committed himself to a long right hand. The punch missed as McCall moved slightly away and immediately drove a short counter right over the champion’s extended left. It landed cleanly on the jaw. Lewis fell backwards and struck the canvas heavily, his legs folding beneath him as McCall moved towards a neutral corner. The blow had not been thrown in desperation. It was the precise counter for which McCall and Steward had prepared. Lewis later acknowledged that he had overcommitted himself while attempting to force the right hand.

Lewis rose before the count was completed, reaching his feet at approximately six, and lifted his gloves when referee José Guadalupe Garcia looked towards him. His upper body appeared alert, but his legs remained uncertain. When Garcia directed him to step forward, Lewis staggered sideways and fell into the referee. Garcia immediately waved the contest over. Lewis recovered quickly enough to protest and insisted that he had been capable of continuing, but the referee maintained that the champion had not demonstrated control of his legs and would have been unable to protect himself from McCall’s next attack. Contemporary ringside opinion generally supported the stoppage, although Lewis and his corner regarded it as premature.

The official time was 31 seconds of the second round. McCall wept after the result was announced and described the victory as the fulfilment of a carefully prepared plan rather than a fortunate punch. Steward agreed, having recognised that Lewis sometimes remained upright and exposed after throwing the right. McCall had been given little chance beforehand, but he had remained patient, tempted the champion into the expected mistake and delivered the counter without hesitation. There were no scorecards of consequence beyond the completed opening round.

Lewis’s defeat was his first as a professional and immediately disrupted plans for the proposed contest with Bowe. His complaint about the stoppage could not conceal the technical error that had produced it. He had attacked without bringing his right glove back into a defensive position and had left his feet too square beneath him. McCall’s right hand caught him at the moment when he was both open and moving forward, increasing the effect of the blow. The result was sudden, but it was not accidental.

Lewis subsequently separated from Correa and employed Steward, the man who had devised McCall’s winning tactics. Under Steward, he became more controlled in his use of distance, less careless when delivering the right hand and more willing to establish his position behind the jab before attacking. McCall’s victory remained the greatest success of his career and returned a portion of the heavyweight championship to Don King’s promotional control. For Lewis, the defeat was severe but instructive. He had been treated as though his next great contest were already assured, while McCall concerned himself only with the contest taking place. One properly timed right hand settled the matter before Lewis had begun to demonstrate the superiority expected of him.