Ex heavyweight champion who beat Lewis and Holmes makes alarming ring return tonight aged 61

The boxing comeback of former WBC heavyweight champion Oliver McCall – the man who famously knocked out Lennox Lewis in 1994 and retained his world title against Larry Holmes next – will continue tonight in Nashville. McCall, aged 61, tipped the scales at a surprisingly low 234 pounds for his fight with Jeremiah Williams, aged 54.

But despite weighing his lightest in many years, plenty of fans and experts are expressing concern for McCall and his overall well-being as he continues the comeback he launched in November of 2024. McCall is currently two wins and one draw into a ring return with an uncertain endgame. This will be fight number 79. Williams, who has not boxed in almost two years, holds a 19-14-2 record and has been stopped just three times.

Questions remain over what kind of contest will unfold in tonight’s scheduled six-rounder, and why it is happening at all.

McCall was originally slated to face another veteran, Ike Ibeabuchi. However, promoters stipulated the fight would only go ahead if fans generated 12,500 pay-per-view pre-orders at around $15 each. That target was not met, and the bout was subsequently scrapped. Instead, we have tonight’s matchup, adding another grim chapter to a comeback that feels entirely disconnected from modern boxing.

Can McCall – who still holds the distinction of never having been knocked down in a professional fight, three decades on from his shocking stoppage of an undefeated Lewis – still compete at his advanced age? Or might Williams, who appeared to be in good shape at the official weigh-in, finally put a stop to his campaign?

McCall is still hoping for big paydays, having recently called out Jake Paul. Those who tune in or turn up for tonight’s fight at the Plaza Mariachi in Nashville, Tennessee, will find out exactly how much the veteran has left in the tank, but nobody in the sport will believe high-profile main events are around the corner.

Above all, as has been echoed ahead of each of “The Atomic Bull’s” three comeback fights since turning 60, fans hope both men emerge safely.