By Sean McDaniel: Former WBC heavyweight champion Oliver McCall (56-11, 37 KO’s) will be facing 27-year-old heavyweight contender Francesco Pianeta (25-0-1, 14 KO’s) on Wednesday night in a scheduled 10 round bout at the Brandenburg Halle, in Frankfurt, Germany.

The two big heavyweights weighed in today in Germany. McCall, 47, weighed 253.5, and Pianeta came in at 242.5.

For Pianeta, #13 WBO, this is a slight step up from the guys he’s been facing his entire seven year pro career. Pianeta has been matched against largely 2nd tier opposition with the exception of his bout against fringe contender Albert Sosnowski in April 2009, and Pianeta was less than impressive in that fight, receiving a controversial 12 round draw in a fight he appeared to lose. Pianeta, 6’5″, has good size for a heavyweight, but his power is less than impressive and his stamina is also a limiting factor for him.

Pianeta tends to clinch a lot, as he fades usually after three or four rounds and doesn’t throw a lot of combinations. Pianeta’s best wins have comes against Matt Skelton, Robert Hawkins and Zack Page. As you can see, those are 2nd tier heavyweights and for some reason Pianeta’s handlers have been reluctant to move him up against quality opposition despite him being 27. Sadly, McCall amounts to being a big step up for Pianeta, and it’s going to be interesting to see how he does in this fight.

McCall is coming off a 10 round decision over Damian Wills last year in August. Before that, McCall was beaten by Cedric Boswell last year in March. McCall beat Fres Oquendo by a 12 round split decision in December 2010. McCall also beat Lance Whitaker by a 10 round decision in October 2009. McCall blew a chance for a title shot in 2007 when he was beaten by Juan Carlos Gomez by a 12 round unanimous decision in a WBC heavyweight title eliminator bout.

McCall has a real good chance of beating Pianeta tomorrow night as long as he doesn’t gas out. McCall is the better puncher and the better skilled fighter. However, he’s really up there in age and that could be a problem for him tomorrow night.