Gabcast! Boxing Along the Beltway #38 - Oliver McCall Discusses February 24 Bout in Springfield!
Former WBC Heavyweight champion "The Atomic Bull" Oliver McCall talks about his upcoming rematch against Marion "Jackhammer" Wilson on February 24 at the ABC Sports Complex in Springfield, VA.
Wow! For someone who has been fighting as long as Oliver McCall has he sure sounds Ok. I'd never heard him interviewed before and he sounds like a pretty nice guy.
ReplyDeleteHe sound better than. Riddick Bowe- Melvin Foster-Vincent Pettway
ReplyDeleteDigital, I went to the "press conference" and offered this report up to FightNews for free and I guess they chose not to post it. My paper didn't want anything either, so I'm posting it for your fans, on the house! -- John
ReplyDeleteOver kimchi and other somewhat less identifiable food Thursday at a Korean restaurant in Northern Virginia, Oliver McCall and Marion Wilson sat down at the far ends of a long table for a press conference on their heavyweight fight Saturday night at the ABC Sports Complex in Springfield, Va.
Both fighters looked trim and in good shape for a clash between such old fighters. McCall, No. 5 in the WBC but unranked everywhere else, is 41 years old. The well-traveled Wilson, who hasn't fought since losing a four-rounder to unbeaten Chazz Witherspoon in June 2005, turned 50 last October.
The McCall-Wilson bout is part of a two-fight package McCall has put together with Virginia-based promoter Han Kim to prepare for a scheduled June showdown with WBC No. 2 Sinan Samil Sam in Istanbul, Turkey. McCall's next fight, against an unnamed opponents, is March 23 at Rosecroft Raceway in Oxon Hill, Md., Kim said.
"I'll be fighting Samil Sam, the No. 2 heavyweight, but who better to fight to prepare me for a tough fight with Samil Sam?" said McCall, 49-8 with 36 KOs.
McCall and Wilson have met once before, on Feb. 5, 2005, in Washington, D.C., a bout in which Wilson was disqualified for excessive holding. The ancient Wilson, 12-40 with 5 KOs, has been renowned for his durability, having never been stopped, although Witherspoon had him in trouble when they met on a Ballroom Boxing show at Michael's Eighth Avenue in Glen Burnie, Md.
He has faced, besides McCall, a who's who list in the heavyweight division, including Tony Thompson, Hasim Rahman, Larry Donald, Oleg Maskaev, Carl 'The Truth" Williams, Obed Sullivan, Ike Ibeabuchi, Andrew Golota, Shannon Briggs, Kirk Johnson, Tyrell Biggs and Francois Botha.
"Mo Wilson is not retiring," Mo Wilson said. "Hasim Rahman is next when I retire Oliver McCall."
McCall, the former WBC titleholder, is 21-1-1 with one no contest since being stopped in five rounds by Lennox Lewis 10 years ago in a bid to regain his belt. He looked at his 50-year-old opponent across the table and finished up his lunch box special at the Palace Restaurant in Annandale at a table with several Korean reporters who follow promoter Kim's fights.
"I'm 41 years old. I'm no young chicken, either," McCall said. "The guy I just fought [Yanqui Diaz], I'm 10 years older than he is. It ain't the age, it's how you handle yourself in the ring. If you do that and go the distance and go to the scorecards, you should go ahead and fight."
Asked if he was referring to Wilson or himself, McCall replied, "Both of us." -- John Scheinman
I agree with the first poster. McCall sounds amazingly sharp. Hey Gary, any idea why none of the fights are posted on boxrec?
ReplyDeleteGreat report of the presser John! Appreciate you posting it. Don't get bummed Fight News and FightWire don't give me the time of day either.
ReplyDeleteLinda