All around boxer for me. He was equally comfortable at any range more or less, only depending on the opposition really. Kalambay, because of his superior speed and legs, he wanted to have within range. And Toney, with his superior power and handspeed but lack of movement, he wanted to keep at range. Personally, I think he had his best moments at mid-range where he didn't have to move in and out, but rather could just shift angles and position with small shifts and steps.
McCallum was good at picking his spots, too. Also, his fight with Watson was a good example of an older fighter dominating a younger one.
I see what you mean about an all rounder as he is a 9 out of 10 in almost everything but when it comes to body punching he is a 10 out of 10. I think Azumah was a 10 out of 10 in certain thingsand he had explosive1 punch oases en he choose to use it.
I also think he was most comfortable at mid-range, where he could get off his combinations without having to reach for the opponent or move around too much (not that he ever wasted any movement). He could do it all including getting it done on the inside if the task at hand required it, but he was probably most content on standing fairly square to his opponent while regularly exchanging punches. He could deal a beating to an aggressive opponent looking to go shoulder to shoulder with him or stalk down a mover who ran from him but it wasn't necessarily his ideal style of fighting. Here is a fight in which an opponent basically fought to all of McCallum's strengths and gave him a very comfortable night: [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1dlKTdTcLg[/ame] 4:10 onwards
Yeah, pretty much what's been said. Versatile all round boxer that excelled at middle range but could do well putting the pressure or fighting at distance. The solid defense, the jab and the strong inside game would always keep him in the fight and allowed him to shift between distances when struggling to find his opponent. Outstandingly rock solid. My favorite "modern" technician.
It's crazy the way his skillsets alligned together. Such a solid jab combined with such great body punching. Very comfortable at any range but not comfortable enough to fight any style against anyone. Certainly comfortable enough to adapt mid fight though. Looked vulnerable against toney in the first fight late on (still did enough to win on my card) which isn't befitting of his tough guy image. I think the easiest way for me to sum him up is by saying watch his fights. You can't really get the full picture without watching most of his major bouts as he demonstrated a hugely variable skillset over his career. I certainly underrated him in the past but as it is I certainly think he's one of the greats. His lhw run is a decent finish but it's his lmw-mw exploits that put him above a whole lot of his generation. Shame he never got that truly defining fight with hearns. Had he beaten him and beaten Jones before retiring he'd probably make my top 15. I'm not sure where I rank him now but considering the fights i've seen of his lately, it's a lot higher than i'd have previously done. I think he's a greater mw than Toney and a greater lmw than everyone bar Hearns.
The last round of Toney I is a shame in some ways, but I don't think it does anything to detract from his image; okay, he's not seen as having a Hagler-level of chin because of it but it levels itself out when you see Toney years later punching at heavyweight. And McCallum survived! The only chin blemish I can think of for him...he took Jackson to the cleaners because he felt he was such a hard puncher! Mike's chin was of the very highest quality IMO, coupled with his defence and smarts there isn't one fighter from 11 stone to middleweight I'd pick to stop McCallum.
A news reporter actually said that McCallum's chin belonged on par with the chins on Mt. Rushmore after the fight with Toney. I thought it was impressive of McCallum to take those shots by Toney despite clearly tiring at the end. These were by no means light punches that he was taking here: [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaMOxrkYqqY[/ame] 8:15 You can't really get hit more flush than McCallum was hit at around 9:40.
