One of only two men to have beaten Lennox Lewis is set to fight again at 61

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Oliver McCall, one of just two boxers to have ever defeated Lennox Lewis in a professional ring, is planning to continue his career at 61 years old with a potential clash against former heavyweight prospect Ike Ibeabuchi, now 53, pencilled in for this Thanksgiving in New York on November 26. McCall originally won the WBC heavyweight title from Lewis with a shocking upset knockout in 1994, before Lewis exacted revenge two and a half years later in one of the most bizarre world title fights ever staged, a rematch that famously ended with McCall bursting into tears mid fight rather than continuing to compete.

More than 32 years on from that original world title win, McCall is refusing to hang up the gloves, having already boxed three times in a seven month stretch between November 2024 and June 2025, picking up two wins and a draw across that run, starting with a win over Stacy Frazier, nephew of the legendary Smokin Joe Frazier. He is now hoping to break his own existing record as the oldest former heavyweight world champion to win a professional bout.

Ibeabuchi, the proposed opponent, is a genuinely fascinating name from boxing's more tragic corners. Known during the late 1990s as The President, he defeated both David Tua and Chris Byrd and was closing in on a genuine world title shot before an arrest ended his career and kept him out of the ring for 26 years. He finally returned last year with two outings in Nigeria, winning one but also suffering the first defeat of his entire career in the other.

According to BoxingScene, the promotion behind this potential fight, PrizeFightingTV, will only actually stage what it is openly calling a horror show if 12,500 fans agree to pre book the pay per view at $9.95 each, which is a fairly unusual and transparent way to frame a fight's commercial viability directly to the public before committing to actually putting it on

Ex Champ Who Beat Lewis To Return At 61boxingnewsonline.net