Ex-heavyweight champion McCall loses decision

Ex-heavyweight champion McCall loses decision

Published Jun. 16, 2010 5:07 a.m. ET

Timur Ibragimov of Uzbekistan won a convincing unanimous decision over former WBC heavyweight champion Oliver McCall on Tuesday.

Ibragimov was the busier and more accurate fighter throughout the 12-round fight, winning 117-111 on two judges' scorecards and 119-109 on the third.

The bout was McCall's first since his arrest on drug possession charges Feb. 13 in Fort Lauderdale.

McCall (54-10) connected early with a left jab to the head but Ibragimov stepped up his punch output in the second round with rights to McCall's head.

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McCall, 45, found the range in the sixth and seventh and connected with rights to Ibragimov's head. However, Ibragimov (28-2-1) continued to set the pace and managed to score lead rights into the final rounds.

In the third, Ibragimov (28-2-1) remained the busier fighter with rights to the head.

Ibragimov, weighing 229 pounds (104 kilograms), enjoyed another solid round in the fifth, landing left jabs and rights to the head. McCall, 256 pounds (116 kilograms), scored with a strong right to the head late in the round but it was not enough to offset the busier Ibragimov.

McCall, 45, found the range in the sixth and seventh and connected with rights to Ibragimov's head. However, Ibragimov continued to set the pace and managed to score lead rights into the final rounds.

McCall ended Lennox Lewis' first reign as heavyweight champion with a second-round knockout victory in September 1994. After a successful defense against Larry Holmes in April 1995, McCall lost the title against Frank Bruno five months later.

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