Could McCallum have beaten Hagler?

Was that Hearns talking with McCallum in the interview?

 

Curry was done after he lost to Honeyghan.NAME 1 performance by Curry AFTER Honeyghan that was Curry at his best?

 

He was looking damn good against McCallum prior to being caught, as good as ever technically. His durability more than anything is what seemed to leave him after the Honeyghan bout, though we can't really be sure if he ever could've handled those kinds of fighters or punchers at his best.

He was definitely not "shot" against McCallum though, that's foolish to say.

 

Curry's first fight after the Honeyghan fight was an absolute clinic against Tony Montgomery. Montgomery fouled his way out of the fight. Curry had 2 fights after McCallum that were good efforts. He nearly shut out Lupe Aquino and he knocked down Gianfranco Rosi 5 times en route to stopping him. Granted not hall of famers but they were his primary competition at 154 at the time (in addition to McCallum and a few others). I'm inclined to give McCallum credit for his win over Curry.

 

yeah but Mike did not punch as hard as Mugabi and that is why Hagler could not come forward and fight his aggressive fight. Against Mike, Marvin would be more calm and move forward and I think get a late knockout. Mike was overrated. He fought some good guys but he also lost to Kalambay,Toney and should have lost to Graham.

 

I don't think McCallum not punching as hard as Mugabi would have any bearing on the outcome of this fight, nor would anyone get stopped. If ever a fight is going the distance, this would be one. If Julian Jackson or RJJ cannot stop McCallum I very much doubt Hagler will.

I could see McCallum outworking the 1986/87 version of Hagler as Marv at that time was slowing down and the Hearns fight, the fact he was fighting only once a year and age were all taking their toll.

Prime Hagler wins 8/10 fights IMO but it would always be a close fight.

 

Well I think you are right about the inactivity. Hagler after Hearns took a year off. He was not the same with Mugabi as he was with Hearns that is for sure. He looked stiff and not really fluid with Mugabi. About the power, I think Mugabi had fast enough hands to hit that version of a rusty Hagler, and Hagler felt his power. Mugabi was throwing much shorter punches than he had for a lot of his 26 knockouts previous to Marvin and Marvin could not really get his groove in that fight too early. I do not think Hagler either knew what to expect from Mugabi. But the power and not knowing Mugabi made Hagler a little weary of just walking in. Like I said, I think that was a terrible fight for Marvin. He just was not sharp. Hagler was a guy who had fast hands and worked well when he was busy. Inactivity took away his strength. But regardless, regarding a McCallum fight I just see Marvin being stronger and winning the fight on a late knockout. The Marvin I am talking about is the Marvin of 1985 and before when he was active. With Hearns, Marvin was sharp. He threw punches very quick and fluid, so did Hearns. Very equal fight for both. I think the punch stat after Hagler/Hearns was almost identical for the whole fight. I am not that high on McCallum. He was beaten by Kalambay in April of 1988 by decision. And Graham should have beaten him on the cards, so if those guys could decision him what would Hagler of 1985 do when he was active.

 

Yes! Would he?? i don't know. McCallum certainly was capable of putting together a performance that would earn him a victory. I would picture an ultra close decision regardless. I would probably lean towards Hagler in a one time fight, but I would not feel confident enough to wager a large sum of money on it. McCallum is crafty enough to go the distance with Hagler, and I would be surprised to see either guy get KO"D.

 

Mugabi as good as he fought in the early rounds and as hard as he hit early on did not have the stamina or experience of McCallum. I would imagine that by the 8th or 9th rd...Mccallum is hitting as hard or harder than the Mugabi that was entering those rds for the first time. Early on Mugabi had a power advantage, but I don't know that that translates to more power for the fight duration.

 

Graham himself said 'he didn't do enough'. He also beat Kalambay, who was a great fight in himself. He also arguably beat Toney and he was past his prime by that stage and the first was still a draw.

Those 3 fighters are arguably better opponents than any Hagler faced as champ and certainly more skilled (bar perhaps the smaller Leonard/Duran)

 

the second kalambay could have gone either way imo.It was a closer fight than the first Toney fight which i thought Mike clearly lost, due to fading at the end.He was getting too old by that point.

 

Curry vs Aquino was a so-so fight for Curry.Aquino did next to nothing and Curry would look great one round and then horrible the next round.

The Montgomery fight was against a limited fighter with a padded record who shouldn't have been in the ring with Curry.

There is no performance after Honeyghan that you could consider a stellar effort by Curry.Watch the Mccallum bout and you see Curry leading somewhat with his head.PRIME Curry never did that.

 

I think Hagler of 1985 could eke out a close decision over McCallum but he's never stopping him. I just don't understand your logic as to why you think Marv, not a huge puncher, can stop McCallum when the likes of Jackson failed. McCallum's chin is top class - he was never stopped and it took a light heavyweight to floor him. McCallum did not cut much either nor was he injury prone. I don't see the likes of Thomas Hearns or Eugene Hart stopping him, never mind Hagler.

 

McCallum, in your opinion, not having the power of Mugabi is irrelevant as Hagler had confidence in his chin after the fight with Hearns. He always had confidence throughout his career when it came down to his punch resistance, but the Hearns fight just rubber stamped the approval of his chin even further. I don't think Mugabi's punching reputation at jr middleweight scared Hagler enough to make him cautious.

 

Mike McCallum would have had to actually earn the shot before he could have fought Hagler. The middleweight division was a minefield, with upsets amongst the contenders happening left and right. That might be part of the reason that McCallum stayed in the safer confines of the 154 lbers.