Mickey Walker v Mike McCallum

The difference that stand out the most when watching the film is the frequent clinching in the Walker fights compared to almost no clinching in the McCallum fights.

That's because McCallum's superior balance.

Another interesting thing to note, is that the fighters in the Walker footage still have those straight back, chin up stances (with low hands). But watching Louis, Robinson and others of the coming generation that had changed to more or less the stance most used today (but still with a generally lower guard, though).

Walker might be the greater fighter and the one that achieved more. I don't know frankly. But judging from that footage his skills were below those of McCallum, so I'll go with Mike.

 

Watch Paul Berlenbach. Chin tucked in. Bobbing and weaving and crouching. Ace Hudkins and Dave Shade were crouchers as well, no straight back or chin up stances.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esp-W5Y5rbE

 

Oh really. So Mickey fvcking Walker is gonna do what the so called mighty Jones, and Toney plus the hard punching Jackson couldn't, and stop Mike McCallum.

Dream on.

 

styles make fights, i don't think mike getting stopped is likely but walker would throw, and probably land, significantly more than any of those names.

the question, imo, is more whether walker could continually walk through mike's shots, not without a lot of damage certainly, but he was a tough guy.

 

Yeah, it seems like the 20's and 30's were transitory eras in that aspect. Dempsey, for example, had his chin on his chest already in 1919.

 

Actually, I think the low hands might have been a result of the straight back stance. It seems impossible to get a good, stable guard with such a stance. You need your shoulders hunched forward to get stability and strength behind a high guard.

 

Yes and hence Walker would get schooled :yep

 

Go back and re-read the 4th sentence of the second paragraph.

 

He had better defense than you are giving him credit for and he was able to avoid and/or absorb heavyweight punches for a good portion of his career.

 

He beat Hall of Famers in every weight class from welterweight to light heavyweight, and drew with a Hall of Famer at Heavyweight.

That is a very compelling p4p argument.

If he is not top 10 in any weight class as you claim, then it is because he spread himself too thin.

 

he had a competent defence(he was an offensive minded guy) and power nulifying head movement, but round 1 of the schmelling fight shows max landing oh rights, uppercuts and a hook, left hooks and a jab.

with a days extra thinking and reading the thread i am tempted to change my pick to walker tbh, but since i said it would be close i will stick with mike in a close/controversial fight.

 

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If he did not have good defense, Jack Sharkey would have canned him.

 

I'm not sure I agree with that .. McCallum fought even w a prime James Toney well past his own prime .. Walker was very strong and courageous with a terrific chin and a hard hitter but he was wild and hittable . No one likes it to the body and Mike would blast him to pieces .. Mike was easily as fast and far, far more surgical .. He would box and punch him .. From what I read Walker was diced up by Latzo because he could not catch up .. he was boxed .. It also appears he got a gift against Tiger, another fast guy ... Mike was bigger, had a longer reach, was a terrific boxer, worked all angles, body punched as well as any fighter that ever lived and had an iron chin .. he was also better conditioned ..

I have a ton of respect for Walker .. he was tough as nails .. no one had more guts .. a dangerous guy for sure .. I just think Mike had skills to outbox him and the body work to hurt him .. Mickey would have to be in the best shape of his life and highly motivated to have any shot . McCallum was a surgeon ..

 

So, Mickey Walker who was great enough to beat someone like a Paul Berlenbach , stronger by far than anyone McCallum even MET, drew with a young Jack Sharkey, beat a Maxie Rosenbloom
who would have slapped most any light HW silly, whipped a powerful HW Paolino Uzcudun who stopped a Harry Wills, beat one of the toughest MWs ever in Ace Hudkins, and flattened a tough British MW Tommy Milligan in London in such a convincing fashion that years later after the Randy Turpin upset of Ray Robinson, ringside reporters said surely the "Mickey Walker of the Tommy Milligan fight would have beaten Ray Robinson who lost to Turpin most assuredly". Do not sell the Toy Bulldog short
as there were none tougher than the Mick...