
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, October 6, 1994                   TAG: 9410060046
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: LAURENCE HAMMACK
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

AND IN THIS CORNER ... THE ATTORNEY

Two weeks ago, Oliver McCall found himself in the national sports spotlight as the new World Boxing Council heavyweight champion. This week, McCall found himself in Roanoke traffic court.

McCall, who lives in the Martinsville area and trains in Winston-Salem, N.C., was charged in March with driving on a suspended operator's license in Roanoke. When he did not show up for a hearing, he was charged with failing to appear.

All that was before Sept. 24, when McCall shocked the boxing world with an upset over Lennox Lewis, knocking the British boxer to the mat 31 seconds into the second round to win the WBC heavyweight title.

On Tuesday, McCall was in Roanoke General District Court on his failure-to-appear charge. He was fined $25, and ordered to come back to court in November to face the suspended-license charge.

Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Ann Gardner, who remembered watching McCall's technical knockout punch on television, did not recognize the boxer as he sat in the courtroom waiting for his case to be called.

By the time she realized she was up against a heavyweight, Gardner said, the case had been transferred to another courtroom.

by CNB