How highly do you rate Mike McCallum?

Very complete boxer. He beat Julian Jackson. He beat Graham, Watson and Steve Collins who are each regarded as great fighters in the UK. He beat Milton mccrory, sambu kalambay and Don Curry. He won titles at light middle, middle and light heavyweight. He drew with James Toney and when past his best Roy Jones could not stop him.

Mike was truly a great fighter.

 

He was a boxing sorcerer and had a chin of iron which he never seems to get much credit for.

He got walloped with ferocious shots off Toney at 35 years old that would turn a lot of guys over , Mike eat his best up like candy.

Manny wanted him nowhere near Hearns and Duran Hagler and Leonard knew better.

 

A great, great fighter. He would have beaten Leonard, Hearns and Duran at 154 over 15. None of them wanted anything to do w him. He had the best shot against a prime Hagler of anyone of that era.

 

I disagree with this, but your entitled to your opinion. I Love Mccallum, thought he was top 5-10 fighters of the 80's and early nineties. But out of the 4 fighters you named, the only likely win would be Duran. And possibly Hearns. But I would favor Hearns. Though Mccallum was indeed a very high risk but low reward fight Hagler, Hearns, and of course Leonard showed that extra gear, that Mccallum seemed to lack, even in his prime. Would he go seek and destroy with Hearns like Hagler and Leonard, or would he choose to wait,look for the perfect counter, fall behind and lose a Dec? Curry and Jackson were taking the fight to Mccalum, but got nailed by one of Mccallums perfect counters. Hearns probably wouldn't be reckless against Mccallum. Use that excellent jab, drop the right hand occasionally . He'd realize his best chance to win was boxing smartly. Could Mccallum go attack mode Like Leonard and Hearns? Never saw him do it even when he had to know he was losing certain fights. And he wouldn't do against Hearns,Hagler or Leonard.

 

McCallum went after super puncher Julian Jackson early and TKO'ed him in 2 rounds.
Mike took Jackson's best, and then "Body Snatched" Julian. Fight was for JMW title with
Mike weighing 152 lbs. Doubtful Leonard or Hearns would slug with Jackson early.

 

I can't say McCallum would beat them all. That's a tall order. He was a fine fighter though without any glaring weakness.

I would have loved to see Hearns/McCallum at '54. Could Mike get inside on Hearns and score to the body? Hearns jab was mean and fast. Ask Leonard's eye. Could Hearns stay strong enough over the distance without wearing down?
It would be uncomfortable fight for McCallum because he was more of a boxer puncher. Hearns would fight his normal style.

 

I think Hearns would be the one that would be uncomfortable, being Mike & Hearns had sparred many rounds against each other. Plus, Hearns definitely didn't like it "downstairs" (see Leonard & Hagler fights), and Mike was famous as the "Body Snatcher".

 

Your right in that they did spar a lot and knew each others moves. Remember though McCallum had to get past some of the best firepower in boxing history. Could he get there consistently enough without getting caught on the way in?

 

As good a fighter as McCallum was, I wouldn't pick him to beat Leonard, Hearns or Hagler, although I'd expect him to be highly competitive with all of them. The only guy I would be confident saying he would beat in the 80s is Duran, but with Duran it was all about conditioning. If he came in in the same shape that he did against Davey Moore, I think it would be a titanic struggle.

McCallum was clearly one of the best fighters of the 80s but no-one should automatically assume he could beat any or all of the Fab Four just because they never fought him. They didn't need McCallum at that time because they had each other to fight so I've never really believed that he was ducked, just that the money and profile weren't right.

But McCallum was a top, top fighter regardless.

 

Great fighter. Underappreciated in his day which has inevitably led to some revisionism and him being a bit overrated in some circles, but still a great fighter. Ordinary speed of hand and foot with average defensive reflexes, but compensated for to a reasonable degree by an excellent overall skillset and cute, slick technique. He mixed his attack and defence very well, rolling and weaving from side to side with punches at mid to close range and countering with accurate, varied shots. He was rangy too and had a good jab, able to fence quite well at range and get on his bike when needed, turning and spinning opponents at ring centre with clever half steps and angles.

I don't think he was a slouch on the front foot but he wasn't a natural either. Speed and good movement definitely bothered him and forced him out of his comfort zone.

 

Great post Jel, I agree with every word more or less.

 

Fine post.

 

You never disappoint lol.

 

Love threads like this which make me scribble lists on post-it stickies, when I really should be working, of fights to find and re-watch on YouTube. Anyone be a gent and recommend a couple of McCallum bouts outside the obvious peak years ones, which are interesting? And no spoilers would be grand