Bernard Hopkins vs Mike McCallum at 156lbs, 160lbs and 175lbs

Nigel Benn says you need at least a year and four journeyman ten-rounders to grow/settle into a new division

 

He beat him 3 years later after Kalambay already had his debilitating loss to Nunn. That was an either way type of fight, too.

I had Kalambay beating Kalule myself. Very close, though. Great technical battle. So was the McCallum/Kalambay rematch, actually.

 

Yup. Hopkins at all weights.

 

Or bashed up by Echols

 

Assuming this is the younger more aggressive and active middleweight version of Hopkins, rather than the negative spoiler he became later, this could actually play into McCallum's hands. I'll take McCallum's greater versatility to see him through on points.

At 175 this would be a snoozer.

 

And Robert Allen. To this day I maintain that Hopkins milked that situation for all it was worth.

 

McCallum would counter with long body shots those frequent lead rights of the straight up, straight in 90s Hopkins, and the noughties B-Hop with head more off-centre and staying out of range or in-close gets hit on his way in to butt/hold behind the less frequent rights with pull counter rights or parry counter rights from MM. When B-Hop is out of range waiting, MM's long jab would be active towards his face pleasing judges and drawing B-Hop onto right uppercut counters.

Kalambay led with his jab, faster feet and hands than Hopkins and only threw his back hand as a counter. They are very different. Kalambay was more slippery too, and lower centre of gravity; head less off-line to draw the leads to slip and counter.

 

Are we forgetting that McCallum won the first four rounds against an absolute peak Roy Jones, clearly, while carrying 30lb of fat on his waist and being 40 years old?

Jones beat Hopkins in first or second gear with one hand, before he really started peaking as superhuman.

 

I'm forgetting that completely. Wait, I never learned that to begin with and I watched Roy beat McCallum recently.

 

Interesting.

I also gave the sixth to Mike. Mike was 5-1 up, but just too faded and watered to maintain it.

 

referee: Brian Garry | Ric Bays 120-107 | Paul Herman 120-107 | Jay Kassees 120-107
interim World Boxing Council World Light Heavy Title (supervisor: Juan J Sanchez)

 

And?

Stanley Levin looked after them well.

 

Mike beat him in the rematch and the first fight was not a landslide as you want to make it appear.Then again, I looked at Hopkins record at 160 and I do not find anybody of the class of Kalambay. His close losses against Taylor also do not speak for him.

 

Yeah after a decade reign undefeated he was fresh as a daisy too, absolute peak.

 

Yeah but Bernard reached his prime late. He was unusual in that regard. He also beat some damned good fighters after Taylor