Oliver McCall, 61, defeated Jeremiah Williams in the fifth round of their heavyweight bout in Nashville on Tuesday.

McCall turned professional in 1985 and, nine years later, scored a huge upset when he knocked out Lennox Lewis to win the WBC heavyweight title. He would lose the belt in 1995 when Frank Bruno defeated him over 12 rounds.

McCall’s life has been the proverbial roller coaster ever since.

He would be pulled out of a 1997 rematch with Lewis while suffering a deeply distressing breakdown, the tears and misery on his face all too public. It was a contest, given McCall’s problems outside the ring, that should never have occurred.

When he was arrested in 2006 and jailed for 30 days after brawling with police, he spoke of his 20-year battle with crack cocaine addiction. At that time, however, McCall was still on the fringes of the title picture, and a victory over Sinan Samil Sam in 2007 set up a WBC eliminator with former foe Juan Carlos Gomez. McCall would lose on points, and though there would be the odd noteworthy victory – most recently against Fres Oquendo in 2010 – he faded from prominence.

Sporadic comebacks followed, with his latest return beginning in 2024. A proposed 2026 bout with Ike Ibeabuchi was canceled due to a lack of interest, with too few fans willing to pay for the event.

A bout with Williams, 54, was quickly arranged instead. A cut opened from what appeared to be a clash of heads before McCall – trundling after his opponent and throwing one-twos of varying effectiveness – hurled a right hand that worsened the injury in the fifth round. As the two fighters fell into a clinch, Williams alerted the referee to his cut eye. After an inspection, the fight was stopped at 2:55 of the round.

Williams fell to 19-15-2 (13 KOs), while McCall improved to 62-14-1 (41 KOs).

What remains unknown, however, is why the Tennessee Athletic Commission sanctioned a boxing match between two fighters with a combined age of 115.