If the Covid-19 pandemic hadn’t paralyzed the boxing world among other things, the tireless Oliver McCall probably wouldn’t have found any valid reasons to retire from professional boxing despite his advanced age. A sui generis character, the “Atomic Bull” managed to endure brutal punches for more than three decades, from those in training with Mike Tyson to those in world title fights. Today, we take a close look at the story of this fearsome yet unruly boxer who ended Francesco Damiani‘s career and knocked out the great Lennox Lewis in 1994.
A Tough, but Containable Boxer
With the right tactics and due caution, McCall could be neutralized even by less stellar boxers. Fairly planted on his legs and accustomed to repetitive and sometimes basic offensive actions, the American struggled to find his rhythm against those who didn’t offer him a stationary target. This explains the five defeats he suffered in his first 24 professional fights, a boxer whose main weapons were a good jab, immense physical strength, and a single perfectly executed move: the right hand aimed to counter the opponent’s right. But the real ace up the Atomic Bull’s sleeve was his incredible chin: never knocked down in his life, neither in training nor in a fight, neither as an amateur nor as a professional, McCall was simply indestructible. About his gym sessions with Mike Tyson, he said, “I think I’ve had over three hundred rounds of sparring with Tyson, and he never put me down. I put him down once, though.”
From Damiani to Lewis, McCall on Top of the World
The turning point in the American puncher’s career came in April 1993, when McCall clashed gloves with Francesco Damiani in Memphis. The Italian, trying to return to the top levels after a bitter defeat against Ray Mercer, was already on the decline and after two excellent rounds gradually faded until he surrendered in the eighth round: for McCall, the door to the world title swung open. What he did against our compatriot, however, was a mere trifle compared to what the Atomic Bull achieved at Wembley Arena the following year, when the whole world was shocked to see the great Lennox Lewis collapse under the weight of a terrifying right hand. The home fighter, guilty of presumption, challenged his rival on his preferred ground, but when he tried to land his right hand in the second round, he was perfectly countered by the challenger. BAM: McCall’s favorite move had worked splendidly!
Sweet and Bitter England: A Short-Lived Reign
Lewis’ team strongly protested the stoppage, but the referee’s decision was legitimate: though he got up in time, the British-Jamaican was visibly unstable on his feet. Landing the punch of a lifetime, however, hadn’t erased McCall’s flaws, which emerged once again during his first defense, when a 45-year-old Larry Holmes embarrassed him for long stretches, forcing him to a hard-fought comeback in the final rounds and a narrow points victory. The way to dethrone the champion had been laid out, and the belt’s transfer took place once again at Wembley, this time inside the Stadium, in front of about 23,000 spectators. Against the muscle-bound Frank Bruno, a wild finish wasn’t enough for the Atomic Bull to overturn a score heavily compromised in the first part of the fight, and the judges dealt him a well-deserved points defeat.
The Strangest Fight in History: McCall vs. Lewis 2
Soon, the WBC Title became vacant again. Mike Tyson, after taking it from Bruno, preferred to abandon it to face Evander Holyfield rather than defend it against Lewis. Thus, Lennox and Oliver faced each other again, this time in Las Vegas. Interestingly, the famous trainer Emanuel Steward, who was part of McCall’s team for the first fight, was now in Lewis’ corner as head trainer. After two balanced rounds, McCall took several hard punches in the third and had a sudden nervous breakdown: he walked distractedly around the ring with his hands down, didn’t return to his corner after the bell, and by the end of the fourth round, even started to cry! Referee Mills Lane let the show go on for a while but eventually had to declare a Technical KO. An unpredictable outcome? Not really. In the previous months, McCall had been arrested twice and spent time in a rehab center. His mental health was doubted by many, but his promoter Don King managed to convince everyone to greenlight the fight…
The Last Highlight and the Inability to Say Goodbye
Two months after the disastrous rematch with Lewis, McCall was forcibly admitted to a psychiatric hospital and declared mentally unstable and in need of treatment. Nevertheless, his career soon resumed, and a streak of ten consecutive wins led him to the last luxurious train of his life: a challenge against the gigantic and feared Henry Akinwande in Las Vegas. As usual, McCall lost ground early and reached the tenth and final round trailing. His right hand, however, was still there, and with less than 50 seconds to go, the British giant found himself unconscious on the canvas. That triumph could have given the Atomic Bull one last ride at the top, but the American proved incorrigible: he was arrested yet again, and his career was interrupted for more than two years. From that point on, McCall’s sporting journey became a stubborn race to nowhere, the quixotic adventure of a desperate man who continued to bounce between boxing fights, jails, and rehab centers, unable to hang up his gloves. Perhaps if all those who had made money off his back over the decades had made a minimum effort to help him, Oliver wouldn’t have needed to find peace between the ropes almost until he was 60. Our hope for his future is that he finally manages to turn the page and prove to be as solid in life as he always was in the ring.