Could anyone else have stood toe to toe with Jackson the same way that McCallum did?

Well he wasn't just standing there in front of him winging shot for shot. Watch him roll under some and lean away from others . When he does this, he comes with the uppercut to the body. He WAS the Bodysnatcher after all.

Jackson was coming out winging. He was going to land something anyway given how much leather he was throwing so McCallum had to do something to stem the tide. Can't run.

 

That's What real counter punching is. Inside the pocket, make or let your aggressive opponent lead, slip, or ride his shots, punish the opponent, break him down with clean pin point shots to the head and body, minimal use of energy, always in a position to exploit the opening.

 

that is what it is. slipping and being in position to punch and then from that punch land other combinations, and Mike was good at that..

 

Tyson was great at that at the beginning. Slipping punches and then being inside so he could land on the inside and work his way upstairs. When he got older his defense slipped so he was hit more coming in and then he was not as close to land his inside punches so it affected his whole game.

 

McCallum threw his game plan out the window when Jackson started like he did. He said so in an interview. He knew he must get Julian out of there before Julian got him. Brilliant bit of boxing there by a guy with a very high ring IQ.

 

Seems like Jackson "stung Mike once", but like you said, McCallum stated putting some bad stuff on Jackson.

 

Mike was a great fighter. It helped in this fight he had a great Chin and the confidence to play it like he did .If your Chin wasn't iron you ended up like Terry Norris.

 

Bingo.

 

Other fighters that would win a firefight with Jackson at 154... Mugabi vs Jackson would be great. I feel that Jackson's greater handpseed would let him land the big bomb first and take Mugabi out.

Hearns could definitely blitz Jackson from the outside, but if he stayed in the pocket with him... Hard to say. Perhaps Tommy's long arms would let Jackson land the sharper punches at that range. And when he lands it's good night Tommy.

Mosley and DLH...I think they were getting too high up in weight at 154 to stand in the pocket and trade with a monster like Jackson.

Canelo? With the same day weigh-in he probably wouldn't even make 154 so it's a bit hard to say. He has the tools, though. Very good skills in the pocket, fast hands, good power and an iron chin.

The Duran that beat Moore would have a good chance. Especially if he managed to thumb Jackson like he did Moore. It was just the kind of fight he was suited for at that stage.

 

Which is interesting because it shows he does have power. I noticed in many of his fights that he has an underrated jab like in the Curry fight. People focus on his bodypunching, but his jab is great and might be the reason for the Curry swelling. I remember I wondered what caused that swelling.So I went back and watched that first round over and over since I noticed swelling at the end of round one slightly.. So something started it. And I noticed Mike's jab landing over and over on that same spot. So it could have been as simple as Mike's jab starting that swelling. He works every angle well in fights from the outside and then it moves to the inside. Although I don't think he could work things as well with a guy like Tommy with his jab, or Marvin with his southpaw stance. Saying he can beat Curry or McCrory is different than a Hagler or Hearns. But he was good and had great fundamentals. Great thinking.

 

Rewatched this fight which I usually don't like to do because I was a huge Jackson fan (and a big McCallum fan, also).

Observations:
1)Julian's shorts are pulled up to his chin. Thankfully, Eddie Eckert ignores those shots on the waistband.
2) Julian was doing everything right against Mike's defense. When Mike went low to avoid hooks to the head, Julian changed his angles, went for hybrid uppercuts. He never forgot to beat on the body in between head attacks. The problem was that Mike was just better and figured a way to engineer a stoppage (if not exactly a KO).
3) Julian didn't seem in bad shape at the time of the stoppage. He was against the ropes but seemed to wading thru the shots and offering counters occasionally. If anything, he was stopped for his own inactivity, but seemed in fine shape immediately after the stoppage. Thoughts?

 

Look at the punches he throws back just before the stoppage. Tired, sloppy arm punches with nothing on them. He looks done, unable to answer McCallum's barrage with anything even slightly meaningful. That seems like a good point for a ref to stop a fight.