On the evening of the 34th of September 1994. the WBC Heavyweight Champion of the World, Lennox Lewis, a 2-11 favourite, stepped into the ring to defend his title against the heroin addict Oliver Mc.Call, a man known as The Atomic Bull. Lewis easily won the first round but ran into a monster right hand that sent him crashing to the deck in the second. He beat the count but was so badly shaken that the ref stopped the fight. Oliver McCall became the new WBC Champion. He would then beat an ageing Larry Holmes before losing a points decision Frank Bruno.
Sadly, the life of The Atomic Bull would spiral out of control from that point on. He would have two more fights before he again facing Lewis in 1997. Four months before the bout Mc.Call was arrested for possession of cocaine and marijuana. A month later Oliver was committed to a rehabilitation centre for mental illness after his wife took out an emergency custody order against him. Documentation stated. "McCall presents an imminent danger to self or others as a result of mental illness or is so seriously mentally ill as to be substantially unable to care for self."
In the lead up to the bout for the vacant WBC belt with Lewis, Mc.Call was seen shadow boxing while naked in public. At this point, he had no business being in the ring, let alone fighting someone like Lennox Lewis, one the premier heavyweights on the scene. What unfolded in the ring that night was sickening to watch. The Atomic Bull, Oliver Mc.Call suffered a mental break down that pained him so much, it left him weeping. As the sporting world looked on in horrified fascination, his mind completely shut down. It was a terrible sight. He could barely defend himself and took a horrible hiding to the head. The best he could do was to place his limp fists in front of his face. Lewis punched through them with little resistance. It was a distressing sight.
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