Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, September 25, 1994 TAG: 9409270054
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: WEMBLEY, ENGLAND LENGTH: Medium
McCall pulled a stunning upset early this morning when he knocked down Lewis with a crunching right hand to the jaw and stopped the British boxer 31 seconds into the second round to win the World Boxing Council heavyweight title.
The punch dropped Lewis on the seat of his pants. The champion struggled to his feet but wobbled, and referee Lupe Garcia of Mexico gave him a standing eight-countbefore wrapping his hands around Lewis and stopping the fight.
``Most people look at me and see a sparring partner,'' McCall, a 5 1/2-1 underdog, said before the fight.
They no longer will say that.
``I was never a sparring partner,'' McCall said defiantly after the fight, arguing that he was more than a mere punching bag for the men he sparred. ``I got the best of every [sparring] round - Tyson, everyone.''
Lewis was furious that the fight was stopped.
``I was totally robbed,'' he said. ``I was cleared to fight on.''
He did, however, appear to be hurt badly when the referee signaled the end. ``It was a counter right hand dead on the nose,'' said McCallw, who
has been living in Martinsville, Va., and training out of a house in Winston-Salem, N.C. ``I talked to Mike Tyson on the phone before the fight and he kept saying, `Throw the right hook! Throw the right hook!''' McCall said.
The previously unbeaten Lewis, the only British boxer to hold a piece of the heavyweight title this century, had thrown a couple of punches and started a hook when McCall came over the top with a right hook that dropped him and sent an estimated crowd of 7,000 home in disbelief.
``It was a lucky shot,'' a dejected Lewis said. ``I can't believe it. The referee asked me if I was OK - and it was over. I thought it was an awfully fast count.''
The stunning victory knocked Lewis out of a big-money defense against Riddick Bowe, the former undisputed champion, that was being talked about for March. Michael Moorer holds the WBA and IBF heavyweight titles and is scheduled to fight George Foreman in November.
The victory by McCall also put promoter Don King back into the heavyweight picture. King, who was not involved in the promotion of this fight, is McCall's personal promoter, and now it is possible he might have a piece of the title to give former champion Tyson a shot at when Tyson gets out of prison next year.
Lewis started the second round well, but then came the right hand. Lewis made it back to his feet, but he was visibly hurt.
McCall, who was supposed to make $1 million, improved his record to 25-5 with 18 knockouts. Lewis, whose purse was $3.5 million, has a 25-1 record with 21 knockouts.
by CNB