Alternate Realities: What If Oliver McCall Had Beaten Lennox Lewis Twice? – Ring News 24 | Boxing News

In what was one of the most bizarre heavyweight championship fights in history, Lennox Lewis finally became champion of the world once again when he overcame Oliver McCall for the WBC crown on February 7^th, 1997 at the Hilton hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada.

I remember there being some concerns that the American was not quite mentally right during the build up. There were even allegations that he had been using illegal substances. Nevertheless, the bout still went ahead. Lewis began boxing behind his jab, but in the second round McCall began pressing forward, charging while throwing in order to try and replicate the same result of their first fight. However, Lennox managed to hold on and get through, hitting Oliver with short uppercuts as he came in.

Things took a strange turn in the third when McCall began showboating, letting the attending crowd know that he wasn’t hurt taking some of Lewis’s power punches. After the bell ended the round McCall began pacing around the ring, refusing to sit down in his corner much to the bewilderment of his trainer, George Benton. The 4^th saw the fighter from Chicago walk around the ring with his arms by his side and refusing to defend himself. Even Lennox looked somewhat hesitant to keep throwing leather. Referee Mills Lane called time out to ask Oliver if he wanted to continue. He nodded yes and the fight continued. Things came to an end in the 5^th after Lane saw enough of the same thing and waved the fight over while McCall continued to pace around. The official verdict was a Lennox Lewis victory by technical knockout.

I have been wondering lately what if the opposite occurred and Oliver McCall had been in the right state of mind on that night and managed to overcome Lewis again.

For starters, there is no doubt that McCall would have been Lewis’s “boogeyman,” so to speak. That term is often given to a boxer who seemingly cannot beat a particular opponent, no matter what they try. They just have their number. But more importantly, there likely would have been nowhere else for Lewis to go. Retirement would have been the probable option and one that I think the Brit would have chosen. They often say that it depends on the manner of the victory. But I don’t think it would have mattered in this case. Any kind of a loss would have done irreparable damage to his career and legacy.

As for Oliver, I do not think his title reign would have lasted very long. Evander Holyfield was the WBA champion at the time and went on to capture the IBF crown by beating Michael Moorer in a rematch. I believe he would have lost to an average contender before ever getting an opportunity to unify his title with Holyfield’s. Just because a particular boxer is always capable of defeating someone else, that does not mean that they are somebody that deserves to be put on a pedestal.

So, we would have seen the most profound effects of a second Oliver McCall win over Lennox Lewis in the career of the 6’5 heavyweight.