Psychiatrists Disagree on Cause of McCall’s Conduct in the Ring

So what really caused Oliver McCall to lose not only a World Boxing Council heavyweight title fight Friday night, but also, seemingly, his mind? What caused him to refuse to fight, refuse to defend himself, refuse to even walk back to his corner between rounds? Why did he break down in tears and stroll around the ring as if his opponent, Lennox Lewis, weren’t even there?

It wasn’t drugs in McCall’s system. That was determined by a blood test administered immediately after the fight under the rules of the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Results of that test, announced Monday, showed that McCall was drug free. It was the second time in less than a week that he had passed a drug test. McCall, who has admitted to a drug problem, had been tested last Tuesday, a day after his arrival in Las Vegas for the fight.

In a rambling, emotional news conference Saturday, McCall insisted that his unorthodox actions were part of a strategy to confuse and eventually wear out Lewis.

Leonora Petty, a psychiatrist who examined McCall on Saturday morning but said she hadn’t seen the fight, said, “I think his mental state is just fine. . . . I spoke with him. He gave me answers and I made an assessment.”

But that’s not the opinion of Marc Shatz, a Beverly Hills clinical psychiatrist for more than two decades. He specializes in treating athletes and entertainers and has treated student-athletes at UCLA. Shatz didn’t examine McCall, but he was ringside at the fight.

“It was not drug-related at all,” Shatz said. “[McCall] had a nervous breakdown. The mind fragments, falls to pieces. It often can be drug-induced, but it doesn’t have to be. In today’s drug world, we always point first to drugs as the cause. It could be stress, anxiety or many other causes. It was an emotional breakdown. I observed all the symptoms first-hand. He walked around the ring. He ignored his corner. His eyes had a glazed look, as if he were in a disassociative state, as if he were not there at all, detached. All that indicates a breakdown. This was someone clearly in mental trouble.

“People have breakdowns all over the country every day. What made this so unusual was that it happened in front of 5,000 people and on . . . HBO.”

How does Shatz reconcile his views with those of Petty, who had the advantage of personally examining McCall?

“I totally disagree with her,” he said. “I’m sure when he talked the next day, he sounded normal. A man can sometimes get a bit rational. Sometimes one can go in and out of psychotic states of mind. One can create a false self that can fool even the professionals.

“He requires more extensive examination. If [Petty] had seen his behavior that night, she would have understood. Everyone there that night saw him go nuts.”

Shatz said he became concerned when McCall entered the ring. McCall said on Saturday that he hadn’t felt emotionally ready before the fight. The anger he has always felt toward opponents wasn’t there, he said. McCall added that it was because he has undergone a religious conversion since giving up drugs.

“When you ask the Lord to forgive you, you forgive others who have trespassed against you,” McCall said.

Entering the Las Vegas Hilton ballroom, where the fight was to be held, McCall broke from his handlers, raced down the aisle and aggressively jumped through the ropes.

“He bounced into the ring hyper and became manic once in the ring,” Shatz said. “He may have had a mini breakdown right there.

“In the first round, it looked like he got his mind back. Then, it started to disintegrate. At first, I thought he was out on his feet. By the end, he was out of his mind.”

McCall fought normally for the first two rounds, although Lewis, who was knocked out by McCall nearly 2 1/2 years ago, had the edge. By the third round, McCall’s erratic behavior had taken over. At 55 seconds of the fifth round, referee Mills Lane, who had twice warned McCall about his behavior, stopped the fight and declared Lewis the winner.

What next?

McCall, whose $3.075-million purse has been held up by the commission, faces a hearing around mid-March at which commission officials will determine the fate of the purse and could fine or suspend McCall, who said Saturday he would like to resume training in two weeks and get another fight soon thereafter.

“With his denial in the press conference, it could be difficult for this man to get the help he needs,” Shatz said. “He needs a long-term treatment program. He can train if it’s therapeutic for him, but he shouldn’t make an application to fight for at least a year.”