Watched Lewis vs McCall 2 yesterday. Was amazed at McCalls durability

I think it was mainly wariness on Lewis’ part - the guy had sparked him in their previous match after all and McCall’s behaviour was bizarre and unprecedented, so hard to figure what was going on with him, at least initially.

We can possibly throw some mercy into the mix also but the bottom line for me was that Lewis wasn’t anywhere near offloading for all he was worth.

Having said that, I think McCall still felt at least some of the punches - and Ollie wasn’t completely sticking his chin out - notably keeping some distance, partially walking away and turning his head away from several punches.

 

He was a well known crackhead and I personally do not think the two things were separate.

 

That's how I've always viewed it. Lewis knew going in that the only way he was going to lose was if he repeated the same mistake as the 1st fight, so he did everything in his power to avoid it. He didn't want to risk the small chance that McCall was playing the greatest game of "possum" ever.

 

In all fairness, McCall always turned his head away from punches, even if it was more visible here.
You can see in their first fight that when he throws the 1-2 that dropped Lewis, he threw it BLIND. McCall had a very good chin, but he still has said that he still felt Lewis' punches. Which is nothing against him.
Guys like Chuvalo have also said that they have been hurt and even wanted to go down, but he'd simply had the grit to not go down.

 

Sure, my observation doesn't take from the fact that McCall had a great chin at any rate. Even given that McCall turned his head from punches, be it previously and more so during the second Lewis fight, it means he didn't just leave his jaw out there to be hit - and even when he virutally dropped tools vs Lewis, McCall was still mindful to utilize some measure of evasion and not take the full brunt of every punch.

 

Ok, and do you think the monster uppercut he threw + big overhand right and left hook were there to gently touch McCall's cheek ?
He was trying to hurt him to end this bizarre match quickly (and I'm not faulting him given McCall unpredictability).

 

The point about McCall remaining a little defensively aware is a good one - Lewis was being sure to make his cautious efforts count and McCall was noticeably mindful of the same.

This awareness is also an indication that McCall at least understood the danger he was in. This seems to align with his being psychiatrically evaluated post-fight and being deemed ok - albeit that, given the events, he was advised to explore further psychiatric consultations.

I think Lewis played it just about right, all things considered. McCall could be a strange cat, anyway - this extreme display of whatever it was notwithstanding.

 

I agree. I also, regardless of happenings prior to the fight, think it gets overblown a bit. I've made a lengthy post on this a couple of years ago and might dig it up. McCall was the same old McCall for quite a while before getting more and more frustrated and forlorn when he realized that gaping opportunity that he drove his right hand thru in the first fight simply wasn't there anymore and was never going to be.

I've even seen people stating his crying coming into the ring was proof positive he wasn't ok to fight despite him doing the exact same thing in the first fight, and others in fact.

That's the way i always come out, McCall said of his teary eyed arm waving entrance. I pump myself up to the highest level of intensity. You can't cook with cold grease. I make myself hot. I turn on the fire, then, when the grease gets popping hot, i throw the chicken in and get to cooking. I come out very focused and ready to explode. Everybody might not do it that way but it's the way i do it.

McCall was a perennial loose cannon.

Also -

BEST PUNCHER
LENNOX LEWIS: There was two; both come from London. The first one was with Bruno. I got hit with a right hand (in the first round) … and it made my eye swell. It made me timid coming in because if you hit it again, it’s gonna split, and I never had my eye cut in a fight. The second one would have to be in the third round of the second fight with Lennox Lewis. The punch I got hit with – and I remember that punch – it was a wallop. I looked over his shoulder and saw his momma rooting for him to knock me out, and I thought of my momma not being there. When that man hit me I was going to retaliate, and I broke down. The overhand right that hit me sent me reeling into the ropes, and as I came back I could have just held him if I hadn’t broken down. I thought, “Wow.” I just shut down. I’d pick Lennox. I’m just going off what went through my mind. Bruno hit me dead in the eye, but it wasn’t as brutal as far as the shock to my body or pain as that right hand was. When Lennox hit me with that right hand in the third round, that was a crunching right hand. It makes me think I don’t know how I could take the punches that came after it with my hands down.

 

Spot on!

 

Lewis is still cocky and thinks he would beat McCall in their 2nd fight, like he was nothing for him even knowing McCall knocked his ass.
McCall would beat him again if he was mentally stable with Steward in his corner.

 

While I definitely think McCall was in some kind of mental distress and undergoing a breakdown in front of our eyes, a closer look at some of his tactics/how he handled himself are interpreted in light of his non-effort:

@JohnThomas1 pointed out that McCall had cried going into the ring in other fights, including the first Lewis match.

And the thing where he disengaged and turned his back and walked halfway around the ring also wasn’t new — he did it vs. Larry Holmes in his title defense and I’d suspect if you looked for it you’d find him doing it in some other fights. It’s like he would hit a reset button but you can also notice that he sort of looks over his shoulder and you have to assume that if Lewis/Holmes/whoever tried to jump him when he did that, he’d either throw the sucker punch to catch them coming in or he’d turn and assume a defensive posture.

If you equate either of this things to him having a breakdown, you’d have to assume he won some other fights while having the same sort of breakdown. It’s just that most people look at it through the lens of him flaking out and shutting down so they attribute things that weren’t uncommon for him to the breakdown.

I think the real evidence of mental distress comes from how few punches he threw (basically not fighting), wandering around the ring between rounds rather than going to his corner and not listening when his cornermen were pleading with him to do something.

 

Not sure if this is a compliment or an insult haha

 

Crackheads are known for their insane resilience and durability. No disrespect to Mr. McCall, but it's very obvious to me that his drug habits had something to do with how good his chin was and wasn't a purely physiological thing.