By James Slater: Due to an injury suffered by “White Buffalo” Frans Botha, another veteran will step in to face unbeaten Italian southpaw Francesco Pianeta this Wednesday in Frankfurt, Germany: former WBC heavyweight king Oliver McCall.
The bout, set for ten-rounds, will see 27-year-old Pianeta, the former European Union champ, face arguably the toughest foe yet of his pro career. Heaven knows, 47-year-old McCall, 56-11(37) has had his share of troubles – both in the ring and out of it – yet his record of never having been stopped, or even decked, remains intact. Can the huge (6’5” approx 242-pound) Italian who is based in Deutschland become the first man to put a serious dent in “The Atomic Bull’s” extraordinary chin?
Pianeta, held to a draw by Albert Sosnowski in 2009 but otherwise sporting a perfect pro record, is a fair puncher but far from a murderous one. McCall may not have fought since August of last year (a points win over the useful Damian Wills) and he may have won just two of his last four, but if he’s in shape (if he’s had time to train or if he’s been in training waiting for an opportunity like the one he now has), McCall might score the upset. One thing’s for sure, Pianeta will not have an easy time in there.
Wins over Scott Gammer, Matt Skelton, Mike Marrone and that draw with Sosnowski don’t look too bad on Pianeta’s record, and a win over McCall would look nice also. It goes without saying how a KO win would look great. I can’t see McCall getting stopped on Wednesday, however. Pianeta really needs to step up his quality of opposition, and after he’s pounded out a hard night’s work of a UD win over the man who once stopped the great Lennox Lewis, hopefully he will look for a fight with a top-10 or even a top-20 opponent.
McCall will likely earn his pay cheque as he usually does these days: by testing a young contender and giving him some serious work along the way; sometimes even handing him a loss – and there is always the chance McCall could score the upset in Germany. Would it really be a massive shock if McCall put a first loss on Pianeta’s record? Wednesday’s fight could prove to be very interesting.