American 59-year old former WBC heavyweight champion Oliver McCall made history on Tuesday, November 19, after defeating countryman Stacy Frazier to break the longstanding record of the oldest former heavyweight fighter to win a professional bout. The previous holder of the record was American legend Larry Holmes who himself broke the record at the age of 52 during his 2002 unanimous decision (UD) win over Eric Esch, better known as “Butterbean” throughout his career.

Oliver McCall (60-14, 39 KO’s) and Stacy Frazier (16-23, 15 KO’s) headlined a Country Box card at the Texas Troubadour Theatre in Nashville, Tennessee on November 19. Both heavyweights (200+ lbs) came in at questionable ages, with McCall entering the ring at 59 while Frazier was 54 at the time he stepped into the ring.

Their non-title bout, scheduled for 4 rounds, lasted for 2 rounds and depicted McCall arguably losing the 1st round in an attempt to tire Frazier out. Despite throwing most of the punches in the initial round, a worn down Frazier was unable to stop McCall’s barrage of punches in the 2nd round, eventually leading to the match being stopped and called in favor of Oliver McCall who notched a technical knockout (TKO) win to his record.

Notably, the match took place several days after 58-year old Mike Tyson’s bout against Jake Paul on November 15. During his earliest years as a pro during the 1980’s, McCall was one of Tyson’s main sparring partners and reportedly sparred with the former three-belt undisputed heavyweight champion for approximately 300 rounds.

McCall’s victory has further broke a new record as he broke the record of becoming the oldest heavyweight fighter to win a professional bout after defeating Frazier at the age of 59, in addition to also becoming the oldest former heavyweight world champion to win a pro boxing bout. McCall previously became the oldest winning heavyweight fighter in 2018 after defeating fellow American Larry Knight at the age of 53.

Preceding McCall’s record-breaking feat in 2018 had been boxing legend Larry Holmes who defeated Eric “Butterbean” Esch in 2002 at the age of 52. Holmes and McCall also have a notable past with each other with McCall’s first and only successful world title defense coming against Holmes whom he defeated in 1995 to retain his WBC heavyweight title. Prior to facing Holmes, Oliver McCall recorded an upset TKO victory over British heavyweight legend Lennox Lewis in 1994 to become the WBC heavyweight champion.

The oldest heavyweight champion remains George Foreman who broke the record in 1994 after defeating Michael Moorer in 1994 to become the unified [WBA & IBF] champion of the heavyweight division.