Toney vs McCallum is one of the highest level boxing matches I've ever seen

Then you've never seen Botha v Schulz.

 

Fact. He was a level above all of them.

 

That must mean Kalambay vs McCallum is the GOAT level.

 

I thought Toney won both fights.

 

Well yes, but do not forget the context. It is well known Toney was not in top shape.

 

It says more about the greatness of McCallum than it does Toney imo. Mike was 10 years older than James, and already in his mid late 30's. And they had 3 fights. I will say that James was the more talented fighter , but McCallum was greater longer imo. And those fights proves that to me

 

what you mean? in terms of ATGs rankings, I would rank Toney slightly higher than Mc Callum. This is a guy who went up tp heavyweight christ sake and was successful at it.

 

Oy with the excuses.

Toney fought on July 29 at 168 pounds. The fight was announced September 1 by Bob Arum, and logic tells us that it wasn’t negotiated in a single day, so James knew less than a month after fighting Roy Jr that it was on the horizon.

They fought in mid-November.

Roy said he had a tough time coming down from180 to 168. Toney claims he entered camp at 207 — if he gained 40 pounds in a month, that’s (a) a little hard to believe and (b) an indictment of him as a fighter. Other reports (Associated Press for one) say James was 200 when he opened camp.

Roy weighed 178 in the ring per the Nevada State Athletic Commission.James weighed 182.

We know this: It was a fair fight with both given ample time to be ready. James only had to weigh what he did a month before the announcement. If he decided to eat like a pig rather than train, that in itself is proof of Roy’s superiority — discipline and preparation are qualities that define greatness.

Roy Jr toyed with James Toney in the ring. There’s nothing we saw in even a glimpse that says Toney would have been competitive with RJJ.

Sometimes boxers don’t train properly to give themselves an excuse. Or they say they didn’t train properly rather than admit they got beat by a better man.

This is true throughout the history of sport: Winners adjust; losers make excuses.

Roy was the dominant fighter and their result against each other AND all the other results from their fights in and around that time underscore that Roy Jr was by far the better fighter … in part because he was a professional.

 

Roy Jones was like Secretariat at the Belmont. He was so fast it seemed like he was on a separate track from ordinary horses. I recall Gil Glancy comparing him to Willie Pep at 168lbs.

 

McCallum vs Kalambay 2 is pure poetry in motion.

 

90's RJJ was the most unreal fighter I've ever seen. Probably the best as well.

 

Roy was from another planet or another dimension. He should have been tested for the X gene and trained under Charles Xavier with the other mutants.

 

I love Sumbu in the first fight repeatedly doing a tap-jab to the chest with a second jab to the head … over and over. Mike never figured out how he was clearing a path for the scoring jab (or at least not how to deal with it).

Masterclass. Everyone should watch Sumbu and McCallum too — it’s like a PhD degree to absorb what those guys were doing.

 

Pure poetry and artistic boxing at its finest indeed. Kalambay could have won that fight too if he wasn't too overly conservative in the first half. He didn't get into his groove until the second half of the fight and by then it was already too late.

Kalambay's fight with Ayub Kalule is also great to watch as well.

 

The first fight with Mike McCallum, Iran Barkley and Doug DeWitt are great performances from Kalambay. Such a classy and underrated technician.