McCall was a great fighter when focused. You could tell this was an evenly matched fight with one of the greatest heavyweights of all time. That was a clean KO of a great.
Yes I agree McCall was a very solid fighter he was one of Tysons long time sparring partners. He caught Lennox clean and took his titles. If only he was a little more mentally tough he probly would have had a cpl title defenses, he still had a great career! This actually should be considered a bigger upset than the tyson Douglas fight. Douglas was 29-4 & ranked #2 mandatory challenger and was on a hot streak! Tyson never got knocked out by one punch either. Lennox got ko'd twice in hos prime and lost the belts both times. Tyson had 2 losses in prime 1 to Douglas in early 20's and 1 to holyfeild in his late 20's. And both fights were absolute wars and great fights. Holyfeild has 5 losses in his prime at heavyweight and 10 losses all together at heavyweight. And had no title reign because every time he won it he lost it the next fight. Ali only had 1 loss to Frazier in his prime. This was a great win for McCall and really shows that at anypoint in the heavyweight division any pro can beat anyone on any given night. If your in the Top 20 rankings your a bad mofo and if your ranked in the top 10, then you probably got a good shot of beating anyone in the division. Heavyweight power is like that, some gus can jist take punishment better and some guys lose better as well!
When the ref. Checks you, you must be able to stand easily and take steps toward them showing you have good balance, if your still swaying from side to side like lewis was here, the ref. will not say your ok, go get beat up some more. Totally not safe. This was an excellent stoppage. You live to fight another day.
@@f.mazz.459 round, title, weight-class, shouldn't be on the ref's mind when making that call. It was the right and -very importantly- the fair call. A stiff breeze would'a knocked lewis down at that point, and that is unnecessary punishment. There will always be another round to fight another day unless your career is ended by a foolish ref.
What tha hell did the commentator say...Sucker punch? It was a perfect counter right.Already in the first round Oliver cought Lewis 3 times whit that same punch.But this time it connected perfectly.
Lennox Lewis was a late bloomer. I think Bowe, Holyfield, and Tyson would beat him prior to 1995. Tyson would’ve stopped this version of Lennox easily. Lennox showed more toughness later in his career.
@@dlt9784 To me, he fought better later in his career. He used his size; his leverage and right hand more effectively. He got cocky with Hasim Rahman and lowered his hands for some reason, but he was the best heavyweight after 1997 or whenever he got with Emanuel Steward.
@@jonmolina948 the only one I’d give a decent chance at this point would of been Holyfield. Bowe wanted nothing to do with Lewis, Tyson always struggled against talk fighters and Lewis even at this point would be the best tall fighter he’d ever faced. Lewis beat Holyfield with the jab, which he didn’t really perfect until he trained with Steward.
I know, lol. Running around all crazy, sees Lewis outta the corner of his eye and then bee lines to em like "oh yeah! I forgot to tell you something...l
@@phil-zz5hk Mccall had severe mental health problems you asshole. He had been hospitalized more than once and arrested several times in the year before the fight for all sorts of crazy shit. He was having a major mental breakdown before he even got in the ring, due to various problems that had nothing to do with Lewis. Lewis is the greatest HW of the 90s. But it's fucking shameful how so many of you Lewis fans love to shit on Mccall for this, as if it makes this loss go away. Do you really think it makes Lewis look better to say that he lost here to a coward, instead of to one of the other greatest HWs of the 90s?
Emanuel Stewart said that he trained McCall, and they watched film on Lewis. He figured out that Lewis would sometimes be badly off balance after throwing the right hand. So they trained over and over again to catch him just at that moment. And that is exactly what happened. Then Lewis did the smartest thing I have ever seen a fighter do. He hired Emanuel Stewart and said, "OK, you beat me. Now come over to my team and help me get better." And that's what they did. Stewart stayed with Lewis for the rest of his career. And they had a very successful campaign. Lewis beat McCall in the rematch, and even though Lewis lost to Rahman, he managed to win the rematch. Everyone loses fights. Joe Louis lost fights. Ali lost fights. Losing doesn't define your career. Coming back and winning the rematch helps. Lennox was OK. I always liked him. He should have fought Bowe, but that was partly Bowe's fault too.
@Samuelson baker It is unfortunate that Bowe really looked to duck Lewis when the belt in the can incident went down. But it is also fact that later, when contracts to fight were signed, Lewis lost a fight, maybe it is this one, and I also think I remember the same happened again later on but to Bowe? Maybe wrong though, off the top of my head with that...
@21LAzgoo we Did AJ not beat Ruiz in the rematch then, because Ruiz has a problem with food? Lewis and McCall signed contracts, McCall agreed to fight and showed up and decided against fighting. Not Lewis' fault.
@21LAzgoo we You are stating your opinion that the loss of McCall is on account of his not being at his best, regardless of addiction or not, McCall wasn't at his best, yes? I concede that I shouldn't have used the word "food" as being Andy Ruiz's issue as it seems it may've been the partying and poor training habits that brought him into the AJ rematch. Something Ruiz should've, but did not do, kept him from being his best in that fight, in the same manner your are affording McCall. So I was only asking you if you maybe saw the fights the same way. No disrespect or anything
@@user-wb9rg1be5m Yes, really. McCall got Lewis fair and square with a nice combo and a clean KO punch that he walked straight onto because he didn’t see that one coming. Same thing happened to Tyson Fury the other night versus Usyk - well, would have happened had the referee judged the fight as fairly as the one from this fight did.
Realmente. Ninguém diz que Lewis era um zombador de seus adversários. Tinha sempre um jeito de andar e sorrir zombeteiro. Mas pagou com duas grandes derrotas.
*Mandatory Tyson vs Lewis post:* After watching all of Tyson's early fights and all of Lewis's early fights, one thing becomes clear: *If a fight had occurred at any point in time during the 1980's, Tyson knocks out Lewis in the first round* . Tyson looked like a champion in his earliest pro fights. Lewis was sluggish, timid, awkward, and uncoordinated. Tyson made it look easy in his first 20 fights. Lewis struggled at times and took a long time to dispose of ordinary opponents. That being said, you can see the progression of Lennox Lewis as he gets better over his career. Tyson never really improved during his entire boxing career. He was at his best in his first pro fight, did the same thing in every fight, and then after prison he became a head-hunter of a boxer who stopped doing many of the things that made him successful earlier.
Honestly I feel sorry for McCall, he was actually quite good.He just had way to many mental issues to be great. Seeing the pig Don King there makes me really wonder how much he had to do with it!!
It's funny how everyone says Tyson didn't have heart. Tyson never got knocked out in the 2nd round or from a single punch. Always took a sustained beating before losing. He had a very underrated chin.
@@FFMM7 He got caught at awkward angle with that one. But the fight still ended with him on his feet. He took a sustained beating from Holyfield for 11 rounds before the referee stopped it.
Anyone is susceptible to being knocked out by a single punch if it lands flush with all the body weight behind it. Mccall just landed a lucky punch like that.
Holyfield almost gave Tyson a concussion with that dirty head butt he did in BOTH fights. That’s what really took Tyson down; he was SO mad the second time it happened that he bit his ear! 😂
Oliver McCall dropped him, however this was the start of Lewis legacy.He met one of the best trainers in Steward (RIP) and the best sparring partners out of McCall. What can I say...growing pains!!!
Classic glass chin. As for early stoppage, if you get up from a knockdown and you can't stand up straight without stumbling, it's over. Any responsible referee would have stopped it.
lennox don’t have a glass chin at all, although it’s strange he got kod here but he ain’t get kod from taking multiple huge shots from vitali which was supposed to be a fight his chin would be weakest in as that was his last and he was 38 in it which is out of his prime
This is why I cant put Lewis as an all time great. He was knocked out twice by one punch by McCall and Rahmanin in his prime. Yes he avenged those losses but I have Tyson and Holyfield ranked higher over Lewis as Lewis beat both Tyson and Holyfield was past their primes
@@briancamilli8873 Lol if you want to use your logic a washed up Holyfield also stopped Tyson. Tyson and Lewis were the same age. So if Tyson was past his prime then so was Lewis. Tyson also got his butt whipped by Buster Douglas for crying out loud. Lewis got knocked down by McCall because he threw a punch and McCall hit him with a shorter puncher. Rahman could bang. Lewis was dominating the fight and just got caught. Do you even watch boxing kid? Let me guess you probably have 180 pound Rocky Marciano over Lennox Lewis too.
Lewis didn't have an exceptionally strong chin, but he didn't have a glass one, either. Mc call, he hit him in such a way that he abruptly turned Lewis's neck, such an action makes even the strongest fall into unconsciousness.
I'm not getting into the boring and useless 'who's the best?' bullshit. The all time top 20-2000 heavyweights would all be capable of beating any other of them on the day, depending on fitness, attitude and a touch of luck. Lewis was one of the top 20 and he got that reputation partly through the ref stopping THIS fight. No one can be sure how much damage the next punch, or combination, is going to do when you're in the state Lennox was when he got to his feet.
Well spoken! Not only was he boring, but he often allowed defeated foes linger around in fights rather than finishing them like a champ of his caliber is expected!
Manny Steward had been training McCall to throw a right cross to follow Lewis's jab, which he sometimes let fall as he brought it back. It wasn't a jab. Lewis actually threw a long, looping left hook, from a distance and with no build-up. This meant his left side was completely exposed --- and BAM! Failure to take his opponent seriously enough. Getting Steward to be his trainer took him to a higher level and helped to turn into a great champ.
Great fight by Oliver - really stepped up when it counted. Much of the credit must go to that amazing man in his corner that helped Lennox resurrect his career soonafter.
Watching great fighters get knocked out with one good punch shows what a great legendary fighter Muhammad Ali was to withstand all the greatest punchers of the 60s and 70s. R.I.P. Champ.
Most fighters will get dropped down if they move forward into a power punch. Even Ali (like he was knocked down by the first clean punch of the fight by Henry Cooper). I wouldn’t say Ali had a great chin, because he fought going backwards, i.e. he always moved away from punches inherently due to his backwards style, and that gave him the advantage. I’d say that the fighters with GREAT chins were fighters that have NEVER been knocked down from the first clean punch of the fight despite them moving FORWARDS, these fighters would be David Tua, Mike Tyson, George Foreman, just as a few examples. These fighters took an accumulation of MANY power shots as they moved forwards, before they got knocked down.
Exactly! Lewis is one of the greatest in and out jumpers of all time in the heavy division, very fast and hited like a pilot driver. A real professional who was coming out to play 12 rounds and if the KO come then welcome, and known how to hit and not get hit. That's what professional boxing is about.
Could you imagine if Tyson had never went to prison in 91, he would have fought Lewis in 92, 93 or 94, and imo would have destroyed him. Same goes for Evander Holyfield. Instead Mike Tyson comes out of jail in 96, having not trained for 3 years. He lost three of what could have been great years for him in the early nineties.
Not Lennox and Evander's fault that he choose path that destroyed his own career. Tyson in his prime would lose to prime Lennox too (this version of Lennox was not it).
McCall made the most of his opportunity. Lewis is somewhat overrated based on beating Tyson and Holyfield = but he beat them when they were well past it. Based on what happened here, it is highly unlikely Lewis could have stood up to prime Tyson's speed and power.
+Maurizio Bruco personalmente ritengo che Lewis abbia avuto lo stesso problema di Holmes. Il fatto di non piacere alla gente. Entrambi grandi pugili, tuttavia Holmes negli anni è stato più autentico e genuino di Lewis che ha sempre cercato di sembrare quello che non era e ha recitato una parte che non gli si confaceva. Tyson a 22 anni era finito, quando ha combattuto con Holyfield era dopo 4 anni di prigione, non aveva più un allenatore decente. Se guardi i suoi incontri contro Holmes. Tucker, Ruddock, Berbick o Biggs e poi quelli con Holyfield sono due pugili molto diversi. Personalmente credo che però appartengano ad epoche diverse. Tyson fine anni 80 e inizio 90. Lewis fine 90 e inizio 2000. E questo indipendentemente dalla data di nascita.
I agree he would not have been able to stand up to prime Tyson's speed and power. However it should be noted that while he and Holyfield were past their primes, Lewis was actually a year older than tyson, so he was also past his prime.
Jobst Stormrider Lewis never fough a guy with longer or same reach as him...all guys he beat had much shorter reach...Mcall was the only guy who was close to Lewis by reach. Tyson style demanded much more energy than Lewis...even if Lewis is older his style was well suited for his age
His two losses came from single punch by not so great opponents. Sure Mccall was probably most durable heavyweight of all time but he's not a powerfull puncher, neither is Rachman. Lewis also got a lucky escape against Mercer, Holyfield rematch and Vitali.
This shows how important a fighter and trainer are- they’re not what they can be without that combo. Lewis proved it, Tyson did, and so did Wladmir… the right trainer with the right fighter is a legend.
Big difference Tyson won his every fight with his adequate trainer.wladimir or Lewis couldn't. And Tyson changed trainer without loss but. Lewis and Wk changed trainer because their overrated talent was debunked by a mediocre fighter.
@OHNSTAD85 It sure does!!!! Respect to Lewis for being tough enough to get back from his losses and he was a champ and true pro whereas Tyson was'nt dedicated,sadly BUT on his best night I take Tyson by a ko over Lewis!!!! Great upload.
wtf ... call it a sucker punch... that was straight in the face in a fast exchange... what is sucker about that... Lewis got his arse knocked out and would have gotten hurt if he stayed in... they saved his arse from injury that would have impaired his career... shtup with all the other garbage... KO!
I agree with you to a point. Lennox underestimated McCall, but that fight was stopped prematurely. Lennox also underestimated Rahmin, and did not arrive early enough in Africa to become accustomed to the high altitude. None the less, his unpreparedness cost him two important fights; however he did avenge both of them. I would not call Lennox a chump....He was not the greatest champion that I have ever seen, but he was the undisputed heavyweight champion for five years. A very long run by any standard. Still, he always struck me as a champion that did just enough to win, and did not seem to care if he impressed the public or not. You called him overrated? I don't know about that. It is well documented that Riddick Bowe, Mike Tyson, and Michael Moorer all ducked, side-stepped, or just did not wish to fight Lennox. He had enough talent to instill fear into the other top heavyweights of his day.
jasona9 Lewis was out on his feet, and was staggering around when he got up. The stoppage was absolutely correct. When the ref puts his arms around him, you even see him wobble backwards pulling the ref with him.
Al X I do not agree that "The stoppage was absolutely correct" as you wrote. Neither you nor I can be absolutely sure, and the champion should always get the benefit of the doubt. Lennox was up at six and prepared to continue. Foreman had to knockdown Frazier SIX TIMES to take his title. Watch Holmes vs. Shavers II. Shavers decked Holmes in the 7th, but he got up survived and eventually won. Perhaps Lennox could have done the same...perhaps not, but I am certain he deserved the chance.
usually the champion is given the benefit of the doubt in these situations and allowed to continue. We'll never know what would have happened had the fight been allowed to go on.
uchibenkei Quite to the contrary, if a boxer is wobbling and their movements are shaky, even if they beat the count, it is only reasonable to stop the fight. Why? It is only obvious to conclude that the fighter will be unable to defend himself/herself effectively, and that he/she will be exposed to unreasonable punishment. A good example of looking for signs of impairments such as unbalanced movements among other things is Gerald McClellan v. Nigel Benn. The fight was not halted quick enough, and as a result, Gerald ended up in a coma for 10 days, he lost 80 percent of his hearing, his eyesight has diminished, and he has short term memory. It only takes a few rounds (1,2,3,4,5) or a handful of punches to seriously injure or end the life of a fighter. A few examples: Max Baer v. Frankie Campbell,, it only lasted five rounds; Campbell later on died, Lupe Pintor v. Johnny Owen; Owen got knocked out 25 seconds into the twelfth round. he died, Omar Chavez v. Marco Antonio Nazareth; Nazareth lost by TKO in the fourth round; he was taken unconscious out of the ring, he died four days later. It is the Referees job to officiate and to stop the fight on his own discretion. Fighters often make the mistake of making poor decisions that might affect them negatively; thus, the referee is there in order to prevent tragedy. Do referees make mistakes in prolonging and ending fights to quick? Yes and Yes. However, Jose Guadalupe Garcia, the referee in this fight, made the right call. He has reasonable suspicion that Lennox Lewis would be unable to defend himself. In addition, I was trained by a featherweight contender from the 1970's, I was also trained by the man who trained Yori Boy Campas, and I was in Golden Boy's boxing amateur team. Ironically, what I have experienced within boxing does not warrant me the exclusive right of stating an unchallengeable viewpoint. Every person can state an intelligent opinion even if they have not stepped into the ring.
McCall had his last fight in 2018, and won lol. Crazy. He made his debut in 1985 and had his last fight 33 years later (after a 4 year retirement, but still after 29 years active up to 2014, then a one off 4 years later). Yeah fighting largely no ones, but 74 fights, over 30 years and he was only ever stopped once, in the Lewis rematc. Which was more to do with his crack induced breakdown and nothing to do with Lewis' punches, which McCall ate up. He might actually be the toughest, best chin heavyweight in boxing history. Only Ali and Vitali rival his chin.
Giulio Zoppello Except for Tyson who failed to beat the 10 count 3 times, unbelievable that people would think that Tyson was the best when he was kO'd and TKO'd 6 times.
jason phillips He was KO's when he was boiled drug addicted and without workout and motivation. Well trained i think that only few boxers in history could beat him. And Lennox wasnt one of them.
BONNEE MCGEE I remember the SOUL Brothers vs. the QUARRY Brother. Mike Q. really got leveled! Jerry was very shaken seeing his brother laid out like that. Jerry Q. likely would have lost to Ali anyway, but certainly was capable of fighting better. Seeing his brother laid-out before his fight with Ali was just too much for him. Regarding your point on Lennox. Was Lennox overrated? Maybe. Lennox always struck me as a Champion that was satisfied 'just doing enough to win', yet he had a long run as Champion. He may have been overrated; however it is a fact that he was either 'ducked' or 'side-stepped' by many great heavyweights of his period. Riddick Bowe, Mike Tyson, and Michael Moorer all had the opportunity to fight Lennox, but passed. I know that Tyson and Lewis eventually fought, but it was at a time when Tyson had nothing to lose. Even Oliver McCall ducked Lennox! McCall was offered a 'king's ransom' for an immediate rematch with Lennox. McCall and King knew he could not beat Lennox twice, and chose an aging Larry Holmes to fight instead. Still, I see your point, Lewis may have been overrated, but he definitely instilled fear into the top heavyweights of his period.
jasona9 That is certainly a fair assessment of Lennox Lewis, there were fights where he seemed just to want to do enough to win, like the Mercer fight and even the second Holyfield fight, Yet other fights he seemed to be seeking the KO like against Ruddock, Botha, Golota, Grant, Briggs and certainly the second Rahman fight, And he certainly did have a long run as a Champion, From when he was Handed The WBC belt in December 1992 up until he retired in 2004 he held a world championship belt or belts for 9 of those 12 years, Sep 1995 till Feb 1997 was the only time when he didn't hold a world Title belt
The re-match is fantastic, McCall cries for a round and a half' Haters can say whatever they like, Lewis avenged his defeats, and retired at the right time, not too many boxers can say that.
Retired because he was maybe a steroid freak coward fighter with a glass chin . He looked good against shot or sick fighters that's all. The unprepared Vitali klitschko used him like a punchin' bag and this coward retired.
John G Lewis was like a zombie. Mccal would knok him out agains. You are right when u said that Lewis in an all-time great (probably on 12-13 position in heavyweights) while Mccall is nothing. But the stoppage was good. The fight was over.
Giulio Zoppello Unfortunately we'll never know if what you said is true. Lewis was rocked, but many fighters have come back from being rocked. Lewis deserved a chance, but the ref didn't give it to him.
+PochocloEn3D No he would have gotten Knockout cold. He didn't know where he was for at least 2 minutes. He looked like a weeble wobble when he did stand up and was leaning on ropes after fight was over. He lost, but he did get a revenge fight and won. Even though he won the second fight with McCall on drugs. McCall if he didnt get hooked on drugs could have been so great.
Yep, similar to when Ruddock got hit on the side of his head by Lennox. He got up and pretend he wasnt hurtbut the damage has been done. Here you can count from the moment Lewis was floored, he was still wobbling at the count of 12.. so totally right stoppage.
A perfect count down, and a right decision. Went Douglas go down after the uppercut of Mike, needed this refree, may be would will reach the 15 or more seconds before Douglas stand up!.
@OHNSTAD85 true...the thing i liked about lewis tho..and I used to dislike him..is he came back and beat the fighters he lost too. he didnt go to pieces he went got in shape and came back better....very resilient
Manny Stewart really saved Lewis career as he trained Mcall in this fight and also Holyfield in 2nd Bowe fight, without Stewart he never reaches his greatness .
But your right about the effectiveness to some degree. Even pacman finally slowed down his head movement and the result, BANG, he gets ko'd! Once tyson slowed down his head movement,the opponents began hitting him and they were able to create a fight plan and gain confidence, something he didnt allow them to feel when he moved so brilliantly his upper body and the accurate combinations coming back at them, killed their spirit.IN 89, he didint offer that approach anymore and they got confident
@Yubarco Cus Damato turned over in his grave when he saw tyson ko Stewart in one round.It was the type of attack that was opposite to damatos ideals he taught to tyson. Tyson followed those ideals before 1989,this made him a better fighter then even post 89.His ability was all based on how he followed the program.Hope this clears it up
Lennox Lewis's chin was really his major weakness..... that 2nd round k.o. is amazing.... every times Lewis got hitted, he went down; also notice how much is breathless even after just a round at the end of the break.. the weight advantage has his downsides!
McCall and Burt cooper were both Tyson sparring partners if I'm not mistaken. McCall was clearly the more talented though. Too bad about the drugs. Does anyone have that rematch where McCall was coked up? I remember watching that like it was an episode of the twilight zone. Lewis's expressions were priceless!
Some fighter’s Mike beat was: Biggs,Tucker,Berbick,Spinks,Tubbs, Holmes( 39 but still,he never had been KOed before and was robbed against Spinks the second time) Past his prime he beat; Ruddock, Bruno (20-1 when mike fought him the first time), Botha (36-1)
@LastSeraphim I think his greatest weakness was his mind - he would come into some fights unprepared because he took his opponents to lightly. It cost him twice, once against McCall here, and again against Rhathman, and it almost cost him against Vitali Klitschko.
Agree 100% with you - Douglas went into that fight with a warrior mentality partly because of the death of his mother. He took it to Tyson and totally outboxed him.
Lennox is a true great, and a real gent. To come back and beat the only two guys who ever beat him, and to fight all the best guys in the world. They all make excuses about not being at their peak or whatever, but if thats even true its their problem....not for Lennox to worry about. He did all that could be asked of him by beating them all.
You have to be kidding, look at how lewis was staggering around the ring when He got up, when the ref hugs him after waving it off,lewis was still unsteady.the ref did a great job.
Ok, let me educate you.TYson's strength according to cus damato, was tysons defensive first posture and it was only able to be maintained when he lived in the gym and rooney kept after him day and night and it payed off.This style was very unique all depended on perfect conditioniong and when mike was 110%physically conditioned, his MENTAL STRENGTH WAS STRONG because he had confidence in his ability.Once he married givens, he left rooney and trained on his own,became a head hunter in 89.
Once the trainers and fighters saw the Bruno fight with tyson in 89, they all got hardons and realized tyson didnt commit as he did before, vs bruno in 89, tyson was already prepared to lose,it just happened to be douglas who got a hold of tyson when he simmered down even more then with bruno in 89.Vs bruno, tyson no longer moved his head, no more angle combinations, stood outside,threw a sloppy one head hunting shot at a time off the wrong foot,and followed it up with a sloppy left hook.
