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Lennox Lewis takes on Oliver McCall in a rematch for the vacant WBC Heavyweight Title on HBO
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00:00Chocolate!
00:03Yeah, you went several years without having people pounding on the top of your head, George.
00:06Well, there's a look at the 251-pound Lennox Lewis
00:09as we get ready to watch him take on the weighty matter of trying to avenge his only loss,
00:15that one by knockout, to Oliver McCall.
00:23Who is Lennox Lewis the boxer? Interesting.
00:26He presents as formidable a picture as there is in the heavyweight division.
00:32Yes!
00:33He has the ability to do everything.
00:45He's among the great curiosities of boxing,
00:48a fighter with a hulking physique and fists full of thunder,
00:51who squirted with opportunities but never punched his way to the top of the heavyweight division.
00:56The other knock on Lewis?
00:58When he fights, you rarely know what you'll get.
01:00Will he scrape and claw like a British bulldog?
01:04Or, as was the case in his loss to Oliver McCall,
01:07will he be nothing more than an English muffin?
01:11No one could be as good a fighter as Lennox Lewis thinks he is.
01:15It's impossible.
01:16If he's half as good as he thought he was, he'd be Joe Lewis.
01:18I think that helps me, in a sense, having a lot of criticism,
01:20because it helps motivate me, because it wants me to prove them wrong.
01:23I'm always proving them wrong, and they're getting paid $12 an hour.
01:27I'm getting paid millions.
01:29But getting paid millions will never erase the questions which surround Lewis.
01:33After the McCall fight, in which he suffered his first loss as a professional,
01:37Lennox made a strategic change, bringing in Emmanuel Stewart as his trainer.
01:42In the first Lewis McCall fight, Stewart had stood in Oliver's corner.
01:47So now, as he looks for redemption, Lennox can take from Stewart
01:51a unique understanding of his only professional loss.
01:54Lennox, the first coming in the ring for the fight,
01:56he had a very confident look in his face,
01:58but it seemed like he was kind of still bewildered by the intensity that he saw in Oliver McCall.
02:03I was really hyper about the fight.
02:05I just wanted to go out there and just hit him and explode with my right hand.
02:10Our entire strategy was based around Lennox Lewis's right hand, which we knew he would throw.
02:14We were throwing a lot of left hooks, mainly to make Lennox twist his body over to his left,
02:19which would be to McCall's right, so eventually he would catch him with the right hand.
02:23Lennox misses with the right, and McCall gets a right hand to the body inside.
02:27It's the first round of the prototype. So far, it's a good one for Oliver McCall.
02:32Lennox Lewis hasn't really established anything in round one.
02:36When Oliver came to the corner and says,
02:38you're just barely missing him with that left hook, right hand combination.
02:41When he jails, you know, you're blocking and you're throwing a hook,
02:43keep doing it because it's not landing, but it's moving him off balance.
02:45Come back to the short right hand.
02:46That's right, but you're moving him off balance when you throw that shot, okay?
02:48And in Lennox's corner, to our advantage,
02:51his trainer was telling him to just go out and get this bomb out.
02:54Stay on the stick. Keep in the circle. When he's inside,
02:57try to catch him, he'll come in.
02:58I think that was the wrong advice to give me at that point.
03:00Going into the second round, Lennox Lewis had been instructed to just come out and knock out Oliver
03:05as if he was just a nobody.
03:07I just wanted to throw that right hand and I basically committed myself
03:11and helped Oliver McCall punch me on the chin.
03:15Now that they're going to fight again, I believe that Lennox will come in much better prepared
03:30than it was the last fight.
03:31Lennox Lewis will win. He will not step into no right hands.
03:34He'll definitely go out there and do the job and he's learned from his mistake.
03:39This fight means a lot to him personally because he's fighting the only man that's beating him
03:44and who knocked him out and took his championships.
03:46If Lennox can look very impressive in this fight, I think the public would then
03:49almost force a fight between Lennox and one of the big names.
03:52So it's not just important to win this fight, but we need to win it and look very impressive in it.
03:56If Lennox Lewis genuinely wants to return to the top, he must be impressive in his rematch with McCall.
04:02And as he focuses on his future, the memory of the first fight drives him toward the redemption he so desperately desires.
04:09Being called champ is great. It's a great feeling. It's like crowning you're the king.
04:14It was a great feeling raising up the belt and now having the opportunity to do it again,
04:20it's going to be even greater feeling to know that I've accomplished it twice.
04:24We're minutes away from the rematch as Lennox Lewis and Oliver McCall go through final preparations in their dressing rooms,
04:34getting ready to come into the ring against each other for the second time, this time live from Las Vegas.
04:42Once again with Larry Merchant and Larry, uh, Oliver McCall all but closed his eyes, wound up, fired a big right hand, landed,
04:49and suddenly held a heavyweight championship of the world.
04:52A lot of water under the bridge since then, but in effect the question has to be,
04:55was that one great lucky punch or the kind of thing that could happen again?
04:59Jim, when one guy throws a punch in boxing and the other guy gets his jaw in the way, that's just boxing.
05:06I'd compare it to a professional songwriter who has one big hit song, Frankie Lyman and Why Do Fools Fall in Love?
05:15One swing can change your career in boxing, unlike most other games.
05:21The question tonight is, does McCall have a second big hit in him?
05:27And if he does, how will Lewis respond to it?
05:30Certainly he didn't respond as well as he might have liked to in the first fight,
05:33which brings up the psychological question, George, as to who holds the upper hand here.
05:38Is Oliver McCall, as the result of his one great punch against Lennox Lewis, always going to hold the psychological advantage over Lewis?
05:46Or is that now erased?
05:47No, it happens in the amateur all the time.
05:49One guy faces the one fellow, then he recovers and he makes a tour around the country in a rematch, and he wins.
05:56He beats the guy who knocks him out.
05:58Lennox Lewis has had the opportunity of a year to go by, enough time to recover, recoup and get his confidence back.
06:05He's been hit by heavier punches, and he maintained his pause, he didn't panic.
06:10So I think that the idea of the last fight was totally wiped out now.
06:13This is a whole new day.
06:14Well, Oliver McCall is a man who's always looking for a whole new day, because in his multi-problematic life,
06:21going into the ring and fighting is a refuge for him.
06:24His bigger battles are always outside the ring.
06:27It's one thing to act a little bit crazy, because then you're cloaked in mystery.
06:36You become an interesting character if you have a little bit of an air of danger.
06:42But it's an entirely different thing to be crazy.
06:46He's a little crazy.
06:48It's been almost two and a half years since Oliver McCall stunned Lennox Lewis and became a heavyweight titleist.
06:56Today, McCall struggles with the same problems he's faced most of his life, drug and alcohol abuse, and run-ins with the law.
07:03Oliver McCall denied an interview to HBO Sports, but many boxing writers were willing to help tell his story.
07:10Oliver's troubles began in childhood, on the streets of Chicago.
07:14He was a street kid who had some of the problems that a lot of guys have when they grew up in a big city in difficult circumstances.
07:22You know, got involved in taking things that weren't his, and all those kinds of things that you quite often find.
07:29And boxing kind of saved him, I think, to some degree.
07:32He would go to a spa with Tyson, and it was funny, because he was the only guy who appeared to be happy to be there.
07:38In the ring, McCall was seen as a workhorse, not a contender.
07:42But from 1991 to 1994, he gradually moved up in the rankings, and was given his title shot in late 94 against Lewis.
07:50Before training for that fight, Oliver was rumored to have been in drug rehab.
07:54At the fight in London, he was kept under close watch.
07:57They set up training camp 35, 40 miles outside of London, because they did not want him in a situation where he could slip away and come back at 4 o'clock in the morning.
08:06And it drove him crazy.
08:08You have to really clamp down on this guy, because he's a little bit of a loose cannon.
08:12Still, McCall won.
08:14Emmanuel Stewart, chosen to train him for Lewis, denied any stories of drug abuse while they were together.
08:20Before I got involved with Oliver, I heard a lot of things about his past, but I never experienced him.
08:26And he developed a respect for me as a father-like, and I think that's why I was so effective with him.
08:30I found Oliver to be a very extremely intelligent person.
08:34He's a gifted Oliver, an athlete also.
08:37But after that victory, Stewart left McCall for Lewis, citing differences not with McCall, but with his camp.
08:44Oliver then lost his title to Frank Bruno in September 1995, and was arrested three times last year.
08:51In April, possession of marijuana in North Carolina.
08:54In July, the police found crack and marijuana while Oliver drove down a bike path in Chicago.
08:59In December, at a hotel in Nashville, Oliver threw a Christmas tree and spat at police.
09:05He's trying to, you know, be a cat with a lion live, so to speak.
09:11And he's testing him. He's losing.
09:13And he's taking a lot of chances. He thinks that he can get away with certain things.
09:17And he thinks nobody's kind of looking.
09:19You know, how many times do you have to go through that to get the message?
09:23This time it's no secret McCall was put into drug rehab only eight weeks before tonight.
09:27Supposedly, he's also been training at the same time.
09:31I'm just not really sure how you can do that.
09:33You know, there's some people that everything is a distraction to.
09:37There's some people that nothing, you know, for whom nothing is a distraction
09:42because either they have very intense concentration or else they don't give a damn.
09:48And I think Oliver probably falls in the second category.
09:51The reality is that Oliver McCall has much more at stake than just his boxing career.
09:56He's a husband and the father of seven children.
09:59He has children that he loves and they love him.
10:03And it's time to take care of that situation.
10:06Stop worrying about boxing and money and all these other things that apparently overwhelm him.
10:11Because if he keeps going this way, they're only going to be able to visit him evenings from seven to nine.
10:17That's a choice he would have made for himself.
10:19I wonder if winning the fight could be the worst thing that could happen to Oliver McCall.
10:23Maybe he needs to lose and realize it's over and get on with his life.
10:27If your life's not in control and you become heavyweight champ of the world again, you move that much closer to falling off the edge.
10:34It may be that one day Oliver McCall can continue fighting and clean up his life.
10:40But it hasn't happened yet.
10:42Tonight he battles Lennox Lewis.
10:44Tomorrow he continues a fight which is probably still bigger than he will acknowledge.
10:49And we bring it back live in the arena for the tale of the tape between Lennox Lewis and Oliver McCall.
10:56Both 31 years old.
10:57Lewis with a two and a half inch height advantage.
10:59Highest weight of Lewis's career.
11:01Also the highest weight of McCall's career.
11:04And Lewis has reached a two inch advantage there.
11:06Larry?
11:07Lewis wants to blame his weight on the fact that he has grown an inch.
11:15I think that if you believe that I could probably sell you some ocean side real estate here in Las Vegas.
11:22Sell us the punch stat numbers instead.
11:24This is a two fight average of their most recent fights.
11:28You can see how active they are.
11:30McCall who has never been knocked down is not a very active fighter normally.
11:34Now we will go to the jabs and we will see that Lewis has a distinct advantage there
11:41which tells us why Lewis should have won the first fight and didn't.
11:45Will the numbers be in his side tonight?
11:48Lewis also a heavy betting favorite here in Las Vegas to win this fight.
11:52Harold Letterman with the rules of the belt.
11:54The Lennox Lewis Oliver McCall fight is scheduled for 12 rounds.
11:57There is no standing eight count.
11:59No three knockdown rules.
12:01Only the referee can stop the fight and he can be saved by the bell in the 12th and final round only.
12:06Jim?
12:07We need some killed.
12:12And Lennox Clodis Lewis makes his way toward the ring.
12:17He mentioned longest layoff of his career, only one fight Larry in the past fifteen months of Lewis' life.
12:24And is my guess is that has contributed more to his present weight than anything else.
12:32I know George believes that if you can make a change, as he did after coming back to the ring 10 years later, that he can use it to his advantage. We haven't seen that Lewis has been able to make that change so far.
12:49You think he can, George? No doubt about it. He's just got to think big, act big, and fight big. If you think small and you're big, you won't be able to do it. You've just got to think of yourself as a giant and be in control.
13:05I like a fighter when he's at near his benchmark weight, when he is quick, has stamina. I don't know of any case where adding that much weight in this short a period of time has really helped a top heavyweight.
13:22We've looked long and hard through boxing records to find another case where a trainer trained one fighter in a championship fight in any weight class and then came back to train the other fighter in a championship rematch.
13:38But that is the case for Emanuel Stewart tonight, as far as we can tell. It has never happened before.
13:43And the record for Lennox Lewis, 29 wins, one loss. That was to McCall. A lot of people thought that Lewis should have lost his last outing in May of 1996 against Ray Mercer in New York.
14:01He eked out a very close decision in that 10-rounder, took a lot of punishment en route to winning the fight.
14:07And now Oliver McCall, who won a coin flip, and I say won the coin flip because he has the right to come out second and now can make Lewis wait in the ring, has so far made no indication to us that he's going to come out of that dressing room.
14:26Despite the fact that he knocked out, he is a 3-1 underdog, largely because he looked lethargic beating the 45-year-old Larry Holmes and looked like he had slipped himself a Mickey when he lost the title to Bruno.
14:44But he may be one of those fighters who fights better as a challenger when there's something to win than as a champion when there's something to defend.
14:57You've known those kind of guys, haven't you, George?
14:59Yeah, sometimes it's easier to get yourself outworked up when you're something out there to gain.
15:04When you get it, I figure you only have something to lose.
15:07It's not easy to fight like that.
15:11Very few fighters can do it.
15:14If you saw the fight in London, September of 1994, you might remember how wildly worked up McCall was as he made his way toward the ring that night.
15:24He's an emotional guy to begin with.
15:36Well, it sure looks like he wants to fight.
15:38Well, he decided not to make Lewis wait after all as he runs into the ring with his various entourage members trailing behind.
15:51And here's the record for Oliver McCall, who seemed to be throwing a punch at Larry Merchant as he came up the stairs into the ring.
16:0628 wins, 6 losses, no draws, 20 KOs.
16:10McCall has never been knocked out.
16:12I ducked it, Jim.
16:17And now let's go up to Michael Buffer, the ring announcer who doesn't duck anything.
16:21Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Las Vegas Hilton, where tonight, main events in association with your undisputed, undefeated king of beers, Budweiser.
16:34This Bud's for you.
16:35Present 12 rounds of boxing for the vacant WBC heavyweight championship of the world.
16:44This round is sanctioned by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
16:49Chairman, Dr. Elias Ghanom.
16:51Commissioners, Nat Carasali.
16:53Lorenzo Fertitta.
16:54Luther Mack.
16:55And Dr. James Nave.
16:57Executive Director, Mark Ratner.
16:59Physicians at ringside.
17:00Lead physician, Dr. Flip Homansky.
17:03Attending positions, Dr. James Wishgame.
17:06Dr. Al Capanen.
17:07And Dr. Robert Poy.
17:09The timekeepers at the bell and counting for the knockdown seconds will be Jane Broadfoot and Mike Lachella.
17:15This contest also, of course, is sanctioned by the World Boxing Council.
17:20President at ringside tonight, Jose Suleiman.
17:24WBC Supervisor, Edward Fangaraja.
17:27The three judges scoring the contest on a ten-point must system will be Anik Hung-Tung-Kam, Larry O'Connell, and Dalby Shirley.
17:39And when the bell rings, the man in charge of the action, your referee, Mills Lane.
17:44And now for the thousands in attendance, and the millions watching around the world, this is the moment we've all been waiting for.
17:57From the Las Vegas Hilton, ladies and gentlemen.
18:03Let's get ready to rumble!
18:05In the blue corner, wearing black, weighing 237 pounds, he brings a professional record of 28 victories, 20 by knockout, against six losses.
18:24This evening he plans a return to glory by proving his victory over two and a half years ago against the man he now faces was not a fluke.
18:33Ladies and gentlemen, from the Windy City, Chicago, Illinois, introducing the WBC number two-ranked heavyweight contender,
18:44the former WBC World Heavyweight Champion, the Atomic Bull, Oliver McCall!
18:54And across the ring, in a red corner, wearing white trim with a Union Jack, weighing 251 pounds,
19:09he's a 1988 Olympic gold medal winner, who now, as a professional, has a record of 29 victories,
19:1624 by knockout, with only one defeat, and tonight, he has the chance to regain this title, by avenging that lone loss on his record.
19:28From East London, England, presenting, the number one-ranked WBC heavyweight contender,
19:34former WBC heavyweight champion of the world, Lennox Lewis!
19:46All right, hey, no, hey, no, step back.
19:56Hey, Lennox, just a minute.
19:58There you go, that's right.
19:58Oh, wait a minute, Greg.
20:00Manny, if he goes right there, I'm not going to call it low, all right?
20:04No problem.
20:05We've already gone through the instruction.
20:07This is with the title.
20:08Come on, dude.
20:08I expect a tough, clean fight.
20:10Protect yourself at all times.
20:12Any questions for Mr. Lewis' corner?
20:14No problem, no question.
20:15Mr. McCall's corner.
20:16Let's get it on!
20:20Jim, you might call this the civil trial after the criminal trial.
20:25Let's see if the verdict is any different in a new venue with a new set of jurors.
20:31And speaking of the venue, a three-year absence from the major boxing scene for the Las Vegas Hilton,
20:36which you may remember some of the times you've been here in the past,
20:39where Leon Spinks' upset of Muhammad Ali in 1978,
20:43Michael Spinks' upset of Larry Holmes in 1986,
20:47the night that Mike Tyson knocked out Trevor Burbick to become the youngest heavyweight champion ever,
20:53that was here.
20:54Julio Cesar Chavez' dramatic 12th round KO of Meldrick Taylor,
20:58behind on the scorecards,
21:00that was here as well.
21:01Round one begins.
21:06Emmanuel Stewart said that he expected Lewis to be tentative for the first few rounds of this fight
21:11until he shakes off the memories of his loss to McCall in 1994.
21:18The memories of that one punch.
21:20Stewart goes on to point out that Lennox is by nature a cautious counter-puncher at the beginning of his fights anyway.
21:40Amid all of his turbulent emotions the last time around,
21:44McCall effectively followed the fight plan put forward by Stewart.
21:47Does he have another plan tonight?
21:54In the early going of the first fight,
21:57there was such a look of intensity on McCall's face,
21:59it looked like he was in labor.
22:01He's been much calmer coming into this round.
22:05Come on, let's go, come on.
22:07Mills Lane asking McCall not to jump on top of Lewis
22:11and try to maul him as he's done a couple of times early on.
22:15What about Lennox Lewis' jab, George Foreman?
22:18Let's face it, Lennox Lewis can win this fight with just his left hand.
22:22If he fell down and just uses his left hand,
22:24he won't have any problems at all.
22:27Keep his right hand at home until it creates itself.
22:30From long reach, he can do it.
22:32Lewis has a long-standing tendency to paw with the jab
22:35or to hold it out there and leave it there.
22:38Is it getting any better?
22:40Well, he's got that reach,
22:41and when you have the reach like that and the power like that,
22:44you can do anything you want,
22:45so long as you're not breaking the rule.
22:47That time he hooked after shaking the jab.
22:50He hooked off the jab.
22:53And I've got to say that
22:54now that we see Lewis in the ring with trunks on,
22:58251 double and bat on him.
23:00Well, he's got a great body.
23:01There's no doubt about that.
23:02He can conceal it.
23:04Trunks are a little high.
23:05When you have that much reach,
23:10Lewis can have Alamacall slinging and going wild all night
23:14and not be able to reach his head
23:16if he just stands back and uses his reach.
23:19Good body punch by Macall.
23:21When you're 250 pounds,
23:23you don't want to be hitting the body much.
23:25Let him go!
23:26Let him go!
23:26Let him go!
23:28Let him go!
23:30Let him go!
23:32Let him go!
23:33Round one.
23:44Kind of a feeling out round for Lewis.
23:48Macall
23:49made some noise early
23:51and has been largely acquiescent
23:54in the last two minutes of the round.
23:57Macall jumped up Lewis,
23:59which played right into Lewis's hand.
24:01There you saw the very eager Macall
24:10leaping into the ring
24:13before the fight.
24:17He didn't seem that eager
24:18during the first round.
24:21Use the jab.
24:23Use the jab.
24:23You'll hit the guy with something.
24:24Don't run in, Oliver.
24:26Because this guy's trying to set you up.
24:28He's jabbing.
24:28He's out jabbing you.
24:29Right, okay.
24:30But you got to out jab him.
24:31Okay.
24:31Let's take your time
24:32and you'll hit him.
24:33Don't be anxious
24:33trying to hit him with nothing big.
24:34Just use the jab.
24:35You'll see the big shot.
24:37You understand?
24:37Now, but stay on top of the guy.
24:39Keep him going back.
24:40Don't you go back
24:41because this guy
24:42can't fight too well
24:43going back.
24:44He can't throw punches.
24:45If you let him come forward
24:47he's going to be able to hit you.
24:53Come on, Manny.
24:56George Benton
24:57asking Oliver McCall
24:58for more aggression
24:59saying Lewis can't fight
25:01if he's going backwards.
25:03McCall was unable
25:04to make Lewis go backward
25:05in an effective way
25:06in the first round
25:07and Lewis comes out
25:08and establishes
25:09that pumping jab
25:10at the beginning of round two.
25:1249 of Lewis's
25:1357 thrown punches
25:15in the first round
25:16were jabs.
25:17He didn't land
25:17but ten of them
25:18but he set the tempo early.
25:21You know,
25:21Lewis has got to be
25:23patient of course.
25:25He's going to be
25:25a little reluctant
25:26because of the earlier fight
25:28in that right hand.
25:30Let this guy rush him.
25:31His partner told him
25:33to charge Lewis
25:34but you never want to follow
25:35and charge a puncher around.
25:38That's when you get yourself hurt.
25:40Come on, quick grabbing.
25:41Come on, I'm going to
25:42get some grabbing.
25:42Come on, quick grabbing.
25:43You want to make a puncher
25:44chase you.
25:45Come on, come on.
25:46Because he's not effective
25:47going forward.
25:48And as McCall threw
25:49two wild overhand lights
25:50you saw how wary
25:51of that punch Lewis is.
25:53Now there's a good
25:53stiff jab by McCall
25:54inside.
25:55His best punch
25:56of the fight so far.
25:59And Lewis
25:59demonstrates exactly
26:01what Benton talked about.
26:03Doesn't throw punches
26:04when he backs up
26:05and opens himself up
26:06by dropping his hand.
26:07Instead of coming in
26:09and clutching
26:10or punching
26:10he backs up
26:11and leaves himself
26:12open.
26:13The hard right hand
26:15by Lewis
26:15and he just
26:18misses an uppercut
26:19that might have
26:20done even more
26:21there.
26:21So Lennox Lewis
26:24begins to throw
26:25the right
26:26and takes advantage
26:27of the charging
26:28McCall
26:28with that uppercut.
26:29Yes, on this occasion
26:30rather than backing up
26:31he threw the uppercut
26:33when McCall
26:35was charging it.
26:36And McCall
26:37ducks his head
26:37and looks away
26:38as Lewis
26:39misses over his right hand.
26:41Lewis suddenly
26:51finding something
26:52with the uppercut
26:53here in the second round.
26:56That's going to
26:57slow down McCall's
26:58charges
26:58although here
26:59McCall gets to him
27:00with the left
27:00and the right.
27:01This one knows
27:11250 pounds
27:13start working
27:14against you.
27:15You can't just
27:16bump up into a guy
27:16with that much weight
27:17all night
27:18and not start feeling
27:19the results
27:20on your body.
27:23McCall trying to
27:24land the right hand
27:25over the top again.
27:26This time Lewis
27:27blocks one
27:27and fires his
27:29own right hand.
27:31Lewis definitely
27:32looks gun shy
27:33when McCall
27:34releases the right
27:35but aside from
27:36those moments
27:37he's getting
27:38the better of Oliver.
27:44Now this is
27:44what you call
27:45backing up.
27:46Lewis is doing
27:46a good job
27:47of backing up.
27:48Really
27:49you called
27:50when he was
27:50running back
27:51but that's not
27:52backing up.
27:53He's fighting
27:53a good fight
27:54moving back.
27:58Another uppercut
27:59lands in there
28:00from Lewis
28:00as round two
28:01comes to a close
28:02a round largely
28:04dominated by
28:05Lennox Lewis's
28:06uppercuts.
28:07You got to keep
28:09your right hand
28:09up.
28:09Your right hand
28:10is getting a little
28:10sloppy okay.
28:12Keep your right
28:12hand up
28:13and start getting
28:14to him a little
28:14bit first okay.
28:15You got to
28:16start breaking
28:17the head a little
28:18bit more.
28:19You let him
28:19initiate a little
28:20bit more.
28:21Break it up
28:21but you're not
28:21going to look
28:22faster.
28:23Your hands are
28:23coming from
28:23too long.
28:24Okay.
28:25And the boy's
28:26nothing but if you
28:27want to look at
28:27his family
28:27you want to see
28:28how bad he
28:28looks.
28:29Anytime they're
28:29running you
28:30run and put
28:30your eyes down
28:31but don't go
28:31to the rope
28:32try to go
28:32on a circle
28:32and keep
28:33your hands up.
28:33George is he
28:34throwing this
28:35uppercut
28:35correctly or
28:36from inside
28:37or is he
28:38too far
28:38outside?
28:39Well this
28:39is a big
28:40man.
28:40He's way
28:41up there.
28:41He'll never
28:41be able to
28:42throw a
28:42perfect uppercut
28:43because he's
28:43coming from
28:44so his arms
28:45have got to
28:45go down to
28:46the level
28:46of his
28:46opponent.
28:48And there
28:48you saw
28:48a good
28:48right hand
28:49later in
28:49the round.
28:50It's going
28:51to turn out
28:51a polo
28:51no matter
28:52what.
28:54By
28:55punch stat
28:55numbers in
28:56the first
28:56two rounds
28:57Lennox Lewis
28:57has virtually
28:58doubled Oliver
29:00McCall's punch
29:00output.
29:01McCall
29:01releasing 57
29:02punches.
29:03Lewis
29:03throwing 111.
29:0591 of those
29:06punches counted
29:06by our punch stat
29:08numbers figures
29:09were jabs.
29:12Come on!
29:13Come on!
29:13Come on!
29:13Come on!
29:14Come on!
29:14Come on!
29:14Come on!
29:15Come on!
29:15Come on!
29:16Come on!
29:16Come on!
29:16Come on!
29:17Come on!
29:17Come on!
29:18Come on!
29:18Come on!
29:19Come on!
29:19Lennox Lewis
29:21criticized throughout
29:22his career for
29:22bad balance
29:23getting a little
29:24steadier on his
29:24feet now
29:25as round
29:25three begins.
29:34Lewis is doing
29:35some good
29:35boxing
29:36although
29:36Oliver McCall
29:37is not putting
29:38his punches
29:38together
29:39he's trying
29:39more to
29:40psych this
29:41man out
29:41rather than
29:42whippings.
29:44Are you
29:45suggesting
29:45George
29:46that he's
29:46trap shooting
29:47looking to
29:47lay a trap
29:48and just
29:48laying that
29:49big right
29:49again
29:49more than
29:50anything
29:50else
29:51trying to
29:51wait around
29:53and fights
29:53go quick
29:54you know
29:54another uppercut
30:07lands for
30:07Lewis
30:08finding
30:09as George
30:09Foreman
30:10points out
30:10opportunities
30:11to box
30:11effectively
30:12yeah
30:13that's what
30:13he want
30:13to do
30:14is to box
30:14move around
30:15save his
30:16power
30:16for when
30:16he sees
30:17something
30:17perfect
30:17Oliver McCall
30:22has got to
30:22mix it up
30:23and make
30:23this boy
30:23get wild
30:24with him
30:24if he can
30:25make
30:25Lewis get
30:25wild
30:26then he
30:26can get
30:26that right
30:27hand in
30:27again
30:27but as long
30:29as Lewis
30:29is able
30:30to stand
30:30flat footed
30:31flick the
30:32jab
30:32and keep
30:33McCall
30:33at a distance
30:34like this
30:34there isn't
30:35much Oliver
30:35can do
30:35that's true
30:36three minutes
30:37goes by
30:37real quick
30:38you gotta
30:39remember
30:40Oliver McCall
30:40was a bit
30:41smaller
30:41the first
30:42time
30:42they
30:42fouled
30:42so that
30:43right hand
30:43was delivered
30:44a lot
30:44quicker
30:45interesting to see
30:53what kind
30:53of stamina
30:53McCall
30:54has tonight
30:55if this
30:55goes into
30:55the later
30:56rounds
30:56remember
30:57he was in
30:58rehab
30:58for
30:59one of his
31:01multiple
31:02substance abuse
31:03problems
31:04at the beginning
31:05of his training
31:05camp
31:06Lewis now
31:07landing
31:08hard right
31:08hands
31:09from over
31:09the top
31:10behind the
31:10jab
31:11now Lewis
31:13if he wants
31:14he can just
31:15do that
31:15all night
31:16why change
31:16anything
31:17McCall
31:20is doing
31:20the acting
31:21job
31:21because he
31:21can't do
31:22anything
31:22else
31:22McCall
31:25is starting
31:26to look
31:26around
31:26and mug
31:27for the
31:27crowd
31:27as though
31:28he's either
31:29bored
31:29or frustrated
31:30one thing
31:31he's not
31:32doing
31:32for the
31:32moment
31:33is winning
31:33rounds
31:34he's hardly
31:35fighting
31:35right now
31:36he has
31:38so much
31:38confidence
31:39in his
31:39stamina
31:39he's been
31:40in with
31:41some of
31:41the good
31:41boxers
31:42before
31:42and later
31:43on
31:43they wear
31:44down
31:44good combination
31:47by Lewis
31:47left hook
31:48and a right
31:48hand over
31:49the top
31:49McCall
31:50dancing
31:51as if
31:51to say
31:51you can't
31:52hurt me
31:52but Lewis
31:53is piling
31:53up points
31:54easily
31:55against a
31:56two passive
31:56Oliver McCall
31:57that's
31:58that's
31:58what
31:58you
31:58want
31:58your
31:59fighter
31:59to
31:59do
31:59win
32:00every
32:00round
32:01if
32:01a
32:01knockout
32:01comes
32:02good
32:02that
32:03was
32:03almost
32:03a
32:03two
32:04point
32:04round
32:04Lewis
32:05was so
32:05dominant
32:06I gave you two rounds
32:08I gave him another one
32:09so you got two rounds
32:10in the bank
32:10I gave you one another one
32:12to him
32:12okay
32:12working the jab
32:14feeling alright
32:14take it down
32:16some
32:16and start ripping him
32:17to the bottom
32:17a little bit
32:17now okay
32:18but you have not
32:19pushed him back
32:19anymore
32:20McCall is doing
32:21a very strange
32:22thing here
32:23folks
32:23he's walking
32:24around
32:24he's wandering
32:25around the ring
32:26he hasn't gone
32:26to his corner
32:27and he's trying
32:28to figure out
32:28what's gone wrong
32:29why he's not
32:31into this fight
32:32the people in his
32:36corner are looking
32:37at him
32:37and wondering
32:38what's going
32:38on
32:39and you can
32:40see the disgust
32:41on George
32:42Benton's face
32:42I wonder if that's
32:44against the rules
32:44or not
32:45Harold you know
32:46anything about
32:46you're supposed to
32:48stay in the corner
32:48George
32:49but I tell you the truth
32:50he doesn't have to
32:50sit down
32:51you don't sit down
32:52for example
32:52but you are supposed
32:53to stay in the corner
32:54you can't wander
32:55out into the middle
32:55of the ring
32:56the referee should
32:56have definitely
32:57got it back
32:57to a corner
32:58Oliver McCall
33:00threw a total
33:00of 15 punches
33:01according to our
33:03punch stat numbers
33:03in round number 3
33:04and here he takes
33:06a hard right hand
33:07to begin the fourth
33:08so whether McCall
33:12is disgusted
33:13with himself
33:13his corner
33:14the referee
33:15Lennox Lewis
33:15the whole occupation
33:17of boxing
33:18who knows
33:19Lewis seems unsure
33:20what to do
33:20as McCall
33:21occasionally
33:22looks away from him
33:23and invites him
33:25to attack
33:25this is a bizarre scene
33:26bizarre scene
33:28what should Lewis do
33:29George
33:29well you gotta
33:30stay within the rules
33:31don't break any rules
33:32by hitting your guy
33:33behind the back
33:34or something like that
33:35then you can get
33:35Joseph in trouble
33:36it looks like he's quitting
33:38and I'm surprised
33:39that Mills Lane
33:40in his 19th
33:41heavyweight championship
33:42fight
33:43hasn't gone over
33:44and said something
33:45to him about
33:46you gotta fight
33:47Oliver you gotta fight
33:49that's what Mills
33:51should be saying
33:52to him
33:52because he's not
33:53doing anything
33:54this is one of the
33:54strangest things
33:55I've ever seen
33:56in a championship fight
33:58well on Tuesday
33:59of this week
33:59and he's shaking
34:00his head at George
34:01as if to say
34:01there's something wrong
34:02I've got nothing here
34:03unless he's playing
34:05the greatest game
34:06of possum
34:06I ever saw
34:07right hand by Lewis
34:13McCall able to take it
34:14even though he had
34:15his hands down
34:16it's gotta be
34:19a difficult thing
34:19for Lewis
34:20he's aiming punches
34:21at a sitting duck
34:22here
34:22I don't know
34:23if the referee
34:24should let a fight
34:25like this go on
34:25I mean this is not
34:26what audience
34:27now Mills Lane
34:28is gonna call time
34:29and have a conversation
34:30with McCall
34:30McCall has thrown
34:38one punch in the round
34:39this is a bizarre display
34:41I personally have never
34:43seen anything like it
34:44he's not even looking
34:47at Lewis
34:47as he walks away
34:48as far as you know
34:49alright let's go
34:52to Larry Merchant
34:53who's with George Benton
34:54in McCall's corner
34:54Larry?
34:56this man's mind
34:58George you're saying
35:00that you think
35:00something he snapped
35:02in there
35:02well you're watching
35:03it
35:03you ever seen
35:05anything like
35:05it's in your life
35:06never
35:06did you see any sign
35:09of anything wrong
35:10with him during training
35:11no
35:11never
35:12did you see any sign
35:14of him
35:15of anything in the
35:16dressing room
35:16before the fight
35:17nothing
35:18do you think
35:20the referee
35:20should stop this fight
35:22because he's not
35:22fighting back
35:23I mean this man's
35:26going I won't voice
35:26no opinion on that
35:27but you see this man
35:29he's still there
35:30all he's got to do
35:31is fight
35:32thank you George
35:33well Oliver McCall
35:40has been talking
35:40religion this week
35:41saying that
35:42he has found
35:43God in his life
35:44that's his new
35:45mechanism for
35:46attempting to deal
35:47with all the problems
35:48that have haunted him
35:48in the past
35:49Tuesday
35:49he told a group
35:51of boxing writers
35:51I'm going to retire
35:52after this fight
35:53it's not godly
35:54to train for
35:54a long period of time
35:56to go out
35:56and try to hurt
35:56another man
35:57then Wednesday
35:58at a pre-fight
35:59news conference
36:00he said no no
36:00I'm not going to retire
36:01I will keep fighting
36:02after I win the championship
36:04but something
36:05interferes with
36:07Oliver McCall's
36:07motivation
36:08I found four closes here
36:10Jerem I think
36:11this fight should be
36:12stopped right now
36:13yeah the fight
36:15shouldn't go on
36:16I wouldn't want to
36:16I mean this is a farce
36:18what is the oath
36:19saying the first time
36:20is tragedy
36:21the second time
36:22is farce
36:23there's something
36:24wrong with Oliver McCall
36:25he's near tears now
36:27he doesn't really
36:29want to fight
36:29he's crying in his
36:31corner
36:31I've never seen
36:32anything like this
36:33he's overwhelmed
36:34with some sort of
36:36emotion
36:36don't do this to yourself
36:37don't do this to yourself
36:39man
36:39come on
36:40come on
36:40take the right
36:41come on
36:42he doesn't want to fight
36:43come on
36:44sit down
36:45sit down
36:45come on
36:46sit down
36:47sit down
36:47you want to fight
36:50you want to fight
36:52here you want to fight
36:53come on
36:54come on
36:55come on
36:55second down
36:56come on
36:56come on
36:57you can win this fight
36:58you can win this fight
36:58come on
36:59come on
36:59you heard Mills Lane say
37:07do you want to fight
37:08reluctantly it seems
37:10he said yes
37:11but it doesn't
37:12show on his face
37:13McCall's share
37:16of tonight's purse
37:17amounts to close
37:18to three million dollars
37:19if I was in the
37:22commission here
37:23I would hold
37:23that purse up
37:25this is a disgrace
37:28it's almost like
37:31you're watching
37:32a man come apart
37:33at the seams
37:35in a life
37:36built in crises
37:37Oliver McCall
37:38is having one
37:39right now
37:39before the eyes
37:41of the world
37:42and it's placed
37:42Lennox Lewis
37:43in an awfully difficult
37:44and awkward position
37:45Lewis doing what
37:47he has to do
37:48you wonder how much
37:52longer Mills Lane
37:53will allow this
37:54to go on
37:55and that's
37:57that's going to be it
37:58well I've seen
38:02some strange things
38:03in boxing
38:04that is surely
38:06one of the strangest
38:07with a whimper
38:08not a bang
38:09Lennox Lewis
38:10has just become
38:12the WBC world
38:13heavyweight champion
38:14for the second time
38:15in his career
38:16Mark Ratner
38:18executive director
38:19of the Nevada State
38:20Athletic Commission
38:21joins us now
38:21at ringside
38:22Mark your take
38:23on what you just saw
38:24we are going to
38:25hold up his purse
38:26we are not going to
38:27let him cash his
38:27letter of credit
38:28we're very upset
38:29with what happened
38:30we'll have a full
38:31investigation
38:31but he will not
38:32get paid tonight
38:33it did not appear
38:35as though he wanted
38:35to fight
38:36that is correct
38:36we're very upset
38:38thank you very much
38:39Mark
38:39so now Larry Merchant
38:42goes into the ring
38:42and George
38:43that was painful
38:43yeah but this guy
38:45has had a painful life
38:46for the last few moments
38:47he's been under
38:48counseling for drugs
38:49and believe me
38:50there's a great
38:51lot of young people
38:52in that fix
38:53in the same
38:53fix he's in
38:54someone's going to
38:56have to help him
38:57the last thing he needs
38:58in his life
38:58is the pressure
38:59of boxing right now
39:00yeah that's a lot
39:00of pressure
39:01and the crowd
39:01is cheering
39:02and you really
39:03I wanted to just
39:04get up there
39:04and embrace him
39:05and let him know
39:05it's going to be okay
39:06it's going to be okay
39:08because what do you
39:09what do you go from here
39:10let's hope
39:11let's hope he can
39:12continue to pursue
39:13the path of religion
39:14in which he now believes
39:16and that that can be
39:18the reconstructive mechanism
39:19in his life
39:19yeah believe me
39:20there are a group
39:21of people in this country
39:22who's in the same
39:23shape he is
39:24and they really need us
39:25and this guy
39:27is in bad shape
39:28and he need us
39:28and I don't know
39:29I'm sorry to see
39:30the boxing crowd
39:31see something like that
39:32because maybe
39:33they're unfamiliar with it
39:35but we see this
39:35every day
39:36in the lives
39:37of our young people
39:38who got mixed up
39:39got on the wrong side
39:40of the track
39:41and they can't get back on
39:43George you're a devout Christian
39:44your belief in God
39:45is the central motivating factor
39:47day to day in your life
39:48has it ever made you feel
39:49like you did not want to box
39:50no this is a job
39:52it's a profession
39:53remember
39:54there are people out there
39:55who are in his condition
39:56who are airline pilots
39:58stewardesses
39:59stewards
39:59you name them
40:01we do everything
40:01and so
40:02they've probably felt like that
40:04I don't want to
40:05go to work today
40:06let's go to Michael Buff
40:07for the ring announcers
40:08for the official particulars
40:09ladies and gentlemen
40:11here at the Las Vegas Hilton
40:13referee
40:14Mills Lane
40:15has to call a halt
40:17to this bout
40:18it comes as
40:20Albert McCall
40:21refuses to defend himself
40:23referee declaring
40:24a technical knockout
40:25at 55 seconds
40:27of round number 5
40:29the winner
40:29and now
40:31a two time
40:32WBC
40:33heavyweight champion
40:34of the world
40:36the pride of
40:37great
40:37Lennon
40:38Lennox
40:40New
40:41a stunned crowd
40:49at ringside
40:50here at the Las Vegas Hilton
40:51you heard the boos
40:52you saw some people
40:53throwing cups of ice
40:55and beverages
40:55on McCall
40:56and his entourage
40:57as they left the ring
40:58Greg Page
41:01removing the gloves
41:02from McCall's hands
41:03and McCall discussing
41:04with bystanders
41:05over there
41:06whatever it was
41:07that motivated him
41:08to stop fighting
41:09in the middle of his
41:11proposed championship
41:12battle with
41:13Lennox Lewis
41:14Larry Merchant
41:14stands by
41:15with the two time
41:17WBC heavyweight
41:18titlist
41:18Lennox
41:21congratulations
41:22I guess
41:23what did you see?
41:26well I think
41:27the main thing is
41:27you know
41:28I went out there
41:29and just asserted myself
41:30I didn't allow him
41:30to come in too much
41:31I think he found it
41:32difficult to get through
41:33through my jab
41:34I was just playing with him
41:35with my jab
41:36just popping it out
41:37waiting for him
41:37to make a move
41:38and you know
41:40when he started
41:40walking away
41:41I thought it was a joke
41:41at first
41:42I thought he was trying
41:42to knock me into something
41:44but then you know
41:45it kept on going
41:45so I just picked up
41:46the pace
41:46and just continued
41:47do you think that
41:48his idea was to come out
41:49try to land one more
41:51big right on you
41:52and end it
41:52otherwise he really
41:53didn't want to fight
41:54well you know
41:55the first time we met
41:56I realized that
41:57it was a lucky punch
41:58and I told the world
41:59that it was a lucky punch
41:59because he doesn't have
42:00enough skill
42:02that can contend with me
42:03the main thing
42:04I just went out there
42:05and just put my jab out
42:06and he couldn't really
42:07contend with that
42:08and you know
42:08basically gave up
42:09do you think he was
42:10having some kind of
42:11a breakdown in the ring
42:12I don't know
42:13I wore these white trunks
42:15for a reason
42:15but you know
42:16what was the reason
42:17oh just to look
42:19just to look good
42:19and have a mental
42:20kind of stress on him
42:22you know
42:22seeing me come out
42:23as a you know
42:24as a gladiator
42:25in some sense
42:26what do you want
42:29to do next
42:30next I want to get
42:32in the ring
42:32as soon as possible
42:33and just continue
42:33the winning success
42:35that I'm having
42:35thank you very much
42:37Lennox Lewis
42:38and now I'm with
42:39Emmanuel Stewart
42:40Emmanuel first
42:41I have to ask you
42:42about Oliver McCall
42:44since you trained him
42:45for the last fight
42:46tell us what you
42:49thought happened
42:50I think he almost
42:52got like a miniature
42:53breakdown emotionally
42:55he was very frustrated
42:56I think the size
42:58of Lennox
42:58totally had him in awe
43:00and after trying
43:01to get in
43:02Lennox did what we
43:03told him
43:03it was not a hard jab
43:04it was just a
43:05continue like a range
43:06range of jab
43:06but just keep him
43:07at a distance
43:08and keep him frustrated
43:08we figured about
43:10seven or eight rounds
43:10we would knock him out
43:11but he just got
43:12totally frustrated
43:13because he could not
43:14effectively get in
43:14and I think
43:15it just got to a point
43:16being that he's such
43:17a high strong
43:18emotional guy
43:19that he just said
43:20forget it
43:20did he in some sense
43:22revert to being
43:23a sparring partner
43:24after that
43:25I think to a certain
43:26degree he did
43:27resemble a lot
43:27of his sparring
43:28partners that we
43:29worked with
43:29and we had watched
43:30a lot of George
43:31Foreman's films
43:32believe it or not
43:32and we went back
43:33to just use that
43:34we called it
43:34so all the time
43:35steadily feeling him
43:36with a left hand
43:37and being ready
43:38to take a step back
43:39with your right foot
43:39as soon as he comes
43:40forward
43:40and it worked
43:41and mentally
43:41it just broke him
43:42down
43:42he was so
43:43when a guy's
43:44really charged up
43:45and wired up
43:45the way that he is
43:46it's very easy
43:47to confuse him
43:48I recall
43:50and I mentioned
43:51earlier
43:51that after the first
43:53than just before
43:54the first fight
43:55he seemed
43:57wired up
43:58beyond being
43:59wired up
44:00we thought he was
44:00having a breakdown
44:01before that fight
44:02he came in
44:03in a much more
44:04low key way
44:05this time
44:06what did that
44:07signal to you
44:08he could never
44:08attain what he was
44:09that night
44:10that's one of those
44:10unbelievable highs
44:12they tried to do it
44:13and that was why
44:14Lennox's orders
44:14was to not do
44:15nothing aggressive
44:16the first round
44:16was to clinch him
44:17wrestling enough
44:18throw him down
44:19to kind of
44:19slow him down
44:20a lot of what
44:20Evander did
44:21to Tyson
44:22when a guy's
44:22really wired up
44:23you wrestle him
44:24and do different
44:24things to kind of
44:25slow him down
44:26and get him out
44:26of his rule
44:27and after he got
44:28out of that
44:28charged up mode
44:29it was just a matter
44:30of time
44:30before he just
44:30got frustrated
44:31and said I quit
44:32what did you
44:33tell Lennox
44:34between rounds
44:35because certainly
44:35you probably
44:37had never had
44:37a fighter
44:38faced with
44:39that situation
44:40I thought that
44:42Oliver was up
44:42to a trick
44:43he was just
44:43trying to
44:43sucker punch
44:44to get Lennox
44:44to come in
44:45so the first round
44:46that he did
44:47that I was a little
44:48cautioned
44:48but after the last
44:50time I saw it
44:51I said just go ahead
44:51and charge him
44:52and put a combination
44:53of punches together
44:54and he's going to quit
44:54this question
44:55I've heard stories
44:57of Emmanuel
44:58that after this fight
45:00you may go
45:01to train Mike Tyson
45:02would you comment
45:03on that
45:04I'm with Lennox Lewis
45:05everybody's saying
45:06this but me
45:07so you haven't
45:08negotiated
45:08and you are
45:10Lennox Lewis' trainer
45:11I've still got work
45:12to do with Lennox
45:13we got a fight
45:14I guess in May
45:15against Akawanda
45:16or whatever
45:16and then hopefully
45:17after that the fight
45:18Holyfield
45:19probably
45:19whoever
45:20Tyson
45:20thank you very much
45:22back to you
45:23Jim and George
45:24alright
45:25let's briefly
45:26take a look now
45:27at the moment
45:27at which
45:28Mills Lane
45:29elected to stop
45:30the 19th
45:30heavyweight championship
45:32fight of his
45:33refereeing life
45:33it was an all too
45:35anticlimactic moment
45:37for
45:38I'm trying to see
45:41a monitor here
45:41an all too
45:42anticlimactic moment
45:43for the crowd
45:44which paid big money
45:45for tickets
45:47for tickets to the fight
45:47and a dangerous
45:48moment as well
45:49Lennox Lewis
45:50was doing what
45:50he had to do
45:51trying to land
45:52big right hands
45:53against an Oliver McCall
45:55who was barely
45:56defending himself
45:57and Mills Lane
45:59at that point
46:00had seen enough
46:01and now we bring you
46:02live to ringside
46:03with the referee
46:04himself
46:05Mr. Let's Get It On
46:06Mills Lane
46:06Mills you've
46:07you've had a lot
46:07of tough assignments
46:08in boxing
46:08that had to be
46:09one of the toughest
46:09it was amazing
46:11I think
46:11something happened
46:12I think he's
46:13some type of
46:14an emotional
46:14breakdown
46:15it looked like
46:15he was crying
46:16his lip was quivering
46:17and then I thought
46:18at first he was
46:19playing possum
46:19and then he
46:20he just wouldn't
46:21defend himself
46:22and I mean
46:23there was just
46:23no use for it
46:24to go on
46:24was it painful
46:26for you
46:26and a little scary
46:27to watch Lewis
46:28throw in those
46:28big right hands
46:29against a guy
46:30who was barely
46:30defending himself
46:31especially when he
46:31had his hand down
46:32with no chance
46:33to defend himself
46:34and not even
46:34want to
46:35it looked like
46:35he almost won
46:36to get knocked out
46:36when you went
46:37to McCall
46:38between rounds
46:39four and five
46:39and asked him
46:40if he wanted
46:41to continue fighting
46:42did he seem
46:42to be indicating
46:43to you
46:44that he thought
46:44he did
46:44yeah he said
46:45I gotta fight
46:46I wanna fight
46:46I gotta fight
46:47but then he came
46:49out and did
46:49exactly the opposite
46:51now you could
46:51have disqualified
46:52him it seems
46:53to me
46:53for walking
46:54around the ring
46:55between rounds
46:55and not going
46:56into his corner
46:57well I don't know
46:58you can stand up
46:59you're supposed
46:59to be in your corner
47:00when the bell rings
47:01but you can stand up
47:02so I don't think
47:03that's a round
47:03for disqualification
47:04did you ever
47:05consider asking
47:06his corner
47:07what the heck
47:07is going on
47:08with this guy
47:08and what should
47:09I do
47:09I didn't ask him
47:10what I should do
47:11I don't want
47:12the corner
47:12telling me
47:12but I did
47:13go to the corner
47:13and say
47:14what's wrong
47:14with your kids
47:15something's wrong
47:15here
47:16well Mills
47:17I think you come
47:18out of it unscathed
47:19because nobody
47:19got hurt
47:20and let's just hope
47:21that the next
47:22heavyweight championship
47:23fight you do
47:23has a little more
47:24action than this one
47:25thanks Jim
47:25thanks Jim very much
47:26alright Mills Lane
47:27one of the greats
47:27of his trade
47:28now let's turn
47:29our attention
47:29back to George Foreman
47:30and George it seemed
47:32to me that Oliver
47:33was trying to send
47:34a message to you
47:35even during his
47:37unusual performance
47:38here he was looking
47:38at you from time
47:39to time
47:39with a look that
47:40seemed to say
47:41I'm not sure
47:42whether I want
47:42to be here
47:43what did you make
47:43of him
47:44I signaled to him
47:45to keep boxing
47:45this is your sport
47:47this is a livelihood
47:47we've got kids
47:48to feed
47:49don't ever put
47:50this sport to shame
47:51he looked at me
47:52as if to say
47:52I'm not gonna do that
47:54I'm just
47:55I'm not gonna do it
47:56so I figured
47:56he had some sort
47:57of breakdown today
47:58and he's gonna really
47:59need to be embraced
47:59by his family now
48:00it's gonna be hard
48:01to live with
48:02or something like that
48:02a lot of us felt
48:03that Lennox Lewis
48:04would benefit enormously
48:05from a stirring
48:06win here tonight
48:07you know if he could
48:08perform well
48:09attack Oliver McCall
48:11knock out the guy
48:12who had knocked him out
48:13does he gain anything
48:14from this?
48:15no doubt about it
48:15he was able to keep
48:16him at bay
48:17with that left jab
48:17and make it look easy
48:19whenever Oliver McCall
48:20tried to throw a right hand
48:21he just waved it off
48:22frustrated him
48:24that was part of the reason
48:25that he just
48:26literally quit
48:27what do you make
48:29of the heavyweight division
48:30these days George
48:30of course you're
48:31back as an active fighter
48:32now after having taken
48:34a little bit of time
48:34away from the ring
48:36you've got Lewis
48:37who holds a championship belt
48:38Holyfield has a couple of them
48:40Akinwande is seen
48:42by his promoter
48:43Don King
48:43as a factor in all this
48:44what do you make
48:45of the heavyweight division
48:46right now?
48:47well because of television
48:48a lot of people
48:49didn't know
48:49previously
48:50in the past
48:51that boxing
48:51has always been like this
48:53it's nothing new
48:54it's the home of the good
48:55bad and the ugly
48:56but look
48:57the fighters
48:58are getting into the ring
48:59they're making a living
49:00they don't have to fight
49:00a lot of fights
49:01to get a big purse now
49:02they don't have to end up
49:03walking on the heels
49:05and things of that nature
49:05so as a rule
49:07boxing is in a good state
49:08some of the boxers
49:09they're not in such
49:10a good state though
49:11well one of them
49:12tonight obviously
49:13was Oliver McCall
49:14and we told you
49:15about the personal problems
49:16that have dogged him
49:17throughout his life
49:17obviously
49:18as I told you
49:19before the fight
49:20those are bigger issues
49:20in his life
49:21than whether he wins
49:22a boxing match
49:23Larry Merchant's been
49:24trying to get into
49:25McCall's dressing room
49:25to find out what's
49:26going on there
49:27let's see
49:27what he's got
49:28Larry
49:28Jim I've been
49:30Jim I've been trying
49:31to get in
49:32without much success
49:33commission doctors
49:35have been talking
49:36to McCall
49:37we don't know
49:38the results
49:39of those talks
49:40we've tried to get
49:41people in the camp
49:43of Oliver McCall
49:45to talk to us
49:45but nobody is talking
49:47right now
49:47we have heard
49:48from George Benton
49:49before
49:50it's as strange
49:52to him
49:52as anyone else
49:54here at one moment
49:55and Mark Ratner
49:56will be with us
49:57of the commission
49:58and Mark
49:59what can you tell us
50:00that you didn't know
50:01ten minutes ago
50:02nothing right now
50:04I'm absolutely shocked
50:05I've never seen
50:06anything like this
50:07in my 15 years
50:08in boxing
50:09and we're very upset
50:10as a commission
50:10and we are
50:11going to have
50:12a full investigation
50:12and withhold
50:13any money
50:14that he would have
50:14coming tonight
50:15what legally
50:16can you withhold money
50:18on what basis
50:19my attorney generals
50:20are right now
50:21with us
50:22for failure
50:23to honestly compete
50:24he did not compete
50:26in an honest manner
50:26in my opinion
50:28and we are
50:29going to do that
50:29and that's
50:30in the rule book
50:31yes it is
50:31and so can you
50:33withhold the entire
50:34purse of
50:35three million dollars
50:37to everybody
50:38in this camp
50:39what we're going to do
50:40is have a hearing
50:40we'll hold the money
50:41until we find out
50:42exactly what happened
50:43tonight
50:43but there will be
50:44he'll have his
50:45day in court
50:45is there any precedent
50:47for you
50:48actually withholding
50:49the money
50:50and not paying him
50:51and giving the money
50:52back to the promoter
50:53and or the public
50:54in some way
50:55this president
50:57we've had
50:57we've had fine people
50:58before
50:58I don't believe
50:59we've ever fined
51:00anybody the complete
51:01purse like this
51:01but we have to have
51:03a hearing
51:03so it's possible
51:04that there will be
51:05a major fine
51:07on Oliver McCall
51:08yes there will be
51:09he'll have his day
51:11in court
51:11but there could be
51:12a major fine
51:12yes
51:13and as far as
51:15the purse is concerned
51:16is this a legal matter
51:17that's very difficult
51:18for you
51:19to adjudicate
51:20well I have
51:21I have my
51:22two attorney general
51:23deputies here right now
51:24and we're discussing it
51:25as we speak
51:25thanks very much
51:27Jim
51:27and a final look
51:31at Oliver McCall
51:32one thing
51:32which cannot be denied
51:34this is a man
51:35in severe
51:36personal turmoil
51:37and stress
51:37in no way
51:38was this an act
51:39Oliver McCall
51:40would have had to
51:41have been
51:41an academy award
51:42caliber actor
51:43to have fooled
51:45anybody with
51:45the kind of
51:46stress and turmoil
51:47that he was
51:48undergoing tonight
51:48obviously George
51:49that was
51:50entirely real
51:51and at this point
51:52regardless of which
51:53side of the fence
51:54you're on
51:54I think
51:54you gotta feel sympathy
51:55for a guy like that
51:56a lot of sympathy
51:57because not only
51:57he's just
51:58probably tonight
51:59the standard bearer
52:00for the condition
52:01of a lot of people
52:02really we're gonna have
52:03to stop and think
52:04about what we're gonna
52:04do for these people
52:05they're out there
52:06they don't know
52:06what to do with their lives
52:07they want to go to work
52:08in the morning
52:08but they just don't know
52:10what to do
52:10and McCall has problems
52:12and we just can't
52:13walk away from it
52:14and it's entered into
52:15the ring with us now
52:16incidentally
52:17we have to find some remedies
52:18here
52:19we tried to talk to
52:20both Oliver McCall
52:22and his promoter
52:22Don King
52:23without success
52:24I mentioned before
52:25the fight
52:25that if Lewis
52:26got a victory here
52:27he might ultimately
52:28be headed toward
52:29a matchup with
52:31Riddick Bowe
52:32a lot of people
52:33talked about that
52:33matchup for a long time
52:34obviously Bowe
52:35is an entirely
52:36different kind of
52:37boxing commodity
52:38now than was the case
52:39six or seven months ago
52:40how would you see
52:41a battle between
52:41Lewis and Bowe
52:42at this point
52:43I think Riddick Bowe
52:43if he takes him
52:44about a year or so off
52:46come back
52:46rejuvenated
52:47he can whip this guy
52:48Riddick Bowe can
52:49where a lot of other guys
52:50can't because he's tall
52:51and he's brave
52:52and that's what you're
52:53going to need to fight
52:54someone like
52:54Yeah Bowe and Galata
52:55are really the two guys
52:56who are big enough
52:57to fight Lennox Lewis
52:58on his own terms
52:59talk about Galata
53:00this guy may want
53:01to have a child or two
53:02first
53:02before he goes back
53:03to Galata
53:04Fabulous George
53:07alright well
53:08thanks very much
53:09pleasure as always
53:10Larry
53:11what does this do
53:12to boxing's
53:13heavyweight division
53:13well I don't know
53:15maybe Lennox Lewis
53:16will now join
53:17the foreign legion
53:18and in that way
53:21he can meet
53:21Riddick Bowe
53:23ready for Bowe
53:23right on the shores
53:24of Triple E
53:25you know tragedy
53:27and farce
53:29and nobody
53:30really has any answers
53:32the crowd around us
53:34is as befuddled
53:35as you no doubt are
53:37I've often called
53:40boxing the theater
53:41of the unexpected
53:42and I think this time
53:43we went beyond
53:45the theater of unexpected
53:46indeed
53:47well that'll
53:49that'll be it
53:50for the moment
53:51on boxing
53:51we'll have a final word
53:52on what happened
53:53tonight in just a few seconds
53:54let's look ahead
53:54to some upcoming programming
53:56Def Jam
53:57coming to you live
53:58for HBO Boxing After Dark
54:00when on the 22nd
54:01we'll present a card
54:01featuring the Junior Lightweight
54:02Championship rematch
54:04between title holder
54:05Arturo Gatti
54:06and Tracy Patterson
54:07then on March 8th
54:08a Junior Bantamweight
54:09doubleheader
54:09spotlighting Johnny Tapia
54:11against Jorge Barrera
54:12and Danny Romero
54:13defending his title
54:15against Jaji Sibale
54:16some of the best
54:17in the business
54:17work the night shift
54:18as you'll see
54:19on HBO's
54:20Boxing After Dark
54:21join us March 10th
54:23for the next installment
54:23of Real Sports
54:24with Bryant Gumbel
54:25among the stories
54:26to be featured
54:27in this edition
54:28a profile of the nation's
54:29top college basketball player
54:31Tim Duncan
54:31of Wake Forest
54:32and a look at the
54:33growing phenomenon
54:34of women's boxing
54:35is it a valid
54:36competitive sport
54:37or merely a sideshow
54:38Real Sports
54:39the only program
54:40of its kind
54:41and it's only
54:42on HBO
54:43here at the
54:44Las Vegas Hilton
54:45tonight
54:45a dubious return
54:47to the sport of boxing
54:47for this grand hotel
54:49Lennox Lewis
54:49declared the winner
54:51on a TKO
54:52at 55 seconds
54:53the fifth round
54:53against an Oliver McCall
54:55who had some sort
54:56of breakdown
54:57during the course
54:58of the fight
54:58and chose not
54:59to defend himself
55:00as the rounds progressed
55:02and coming up
55:04immediately following
55:05tonight's coverage
55:05of world championship
55:06boxing
55:07stay tuned
55:07for Dennis Miller
55:08live on the east coast
55:09and drop zone
55:10in mountain
55:11and western regions
55:12so now for George Foreman
55:13Harold Letterman
55:14and Larry Merchant
55:15I'm Jim Lampley
55:16saying so long
55:17from the Las Vegas Hilton
55:18in Las Vegas Nevada
55:20happy birthday
55:22to the executive producer
55:24of HBO Sports
55:25Ross Greenberg
55:26tonight's telecast
55:27of world championship
55:28boxing produced
55:28by Rick Bernstein
55:29and directed
55:30by Mark Payton
55:31the feature producers
55:32Dave Leapson
55:33and Eric Paulin
55:34the associate producer
55:35was Kirby Brad
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29:32
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