A former rival of Lennox Lewis won’t be returning to the ring as planned after all.

Lewis has already seen one of his past conquerors back in action lately, as Hasim Rahman competed at the age of 53 in September against Phillip Triantafillo in Lowell, Indiana.

Despite having ambitions of becoming the oldest world heavyweight champion in history, it wasn’t to be for Rahman in his comeback, as his first fight in over 12 years ended in a six-round points defeat.

The only other man to beat Lewis was then planning a bout of his own, as Oliver McCall was scheduled to meet fellow veteran Ike Ibeabuchi in November.

McCall famously beat Lewis by second round stoppage at Wembley Arena in September 1994 to win the WBC heavyweight title, but came up short in their rematch in Las Vegas in February 1997 when the bout ended in the fifth round after the American was visibly upset and unable to continue.

Despite now being 61, McCall has remained active in recent years, last fighting in June 2025, but the planned clash against Ibeabuchi has been cancelled after the event failed to reach the number of sales required.

The promoters had previously announced that the bout would only go ahead if 12,000 pay-per-views were purchased ahead of time, but with that number not achieved, the plug has been pulled.

While it seemingly won’t be Ibeabuchi next for McCall, he could still yet fight before the year is out, having also been linked to a clash against American journeyman Jeremiah Williams.