I like Mike with the reason being his versatility and he did move up and win a title at 175 and even fought James Toney at Cruiserweight in his last fight. He could handle guys that were physically stronger than him which Tiger without question was. The other thing was I don't think Tiger could hurt him. For as strong as Tiger was he was more of a pressure guy than puncher which his sub 50% ko rate indicates. When he did stop guys it was usually because of attrition not one shot. As great as Tiger was he was somewhat one dimensional where McCallum was anything but that not to mention no one ever stopped McCallum. Only Julien Jackson had him badly hurt and McCallum ended up winning that fight against probably the deadliest puncher ever.
I don't fancy Tiger against any really useful boxer. I think that some posters underestimate Tiger's power: the dude could really hit. Tiger's problem was landing that power and I don't think he'd be able to get it to stick on Mike. McCallum on points.
I agree. Tiger was a hard, thudding puncher that took a physical toll on his opponents but he wasn't that one shot KO kind of guy. There are all kinds of stories from the guys of his era about his physicality and how punishing he was. With that said, he could be outboxed and as defensively sound as McCallum was I just don't see a way.
15 rounds is a l--o--n--g time for McCallum to be in the ring with Tiger and I don't see McCallum hurting Tiger enough to keep him off. I think Mike would fade late
McCallum is too well rounded, he’d outbox Tiger on the outside and would be able to hold his own when he’s forced to fight, I’d actually say McCallum is more skilled on the inside, the only thing he’s at a disadvantage in is strength, but McCallum didn’t rely on his strength even when inside fighting anyway, he was actually slicker than given credit for and he could slip to the right and sneak uppercuts in. He could easily fight on the inside in spots here as long as he doesn’t hang around there too long and allow Tiger to get him against the ropes, box him, then occasionally go inside slip to one side to create opportunities to sneak clean punches in, then get back out and back on his boxing. Tigers success would comes when he gets McCallum in a corner or against the ropes where he can not allow McCallum to use his skill by using bully tactics, but I don’t think those instances would come enough. On the inside, as long as it’s in the middle of the ring, McCallum could still get the better of that and if Tiger tried bullying him, he could just get off as has room to get out, the only problem would be if it was against the ropes as McCallum would have no room to get back on the outside, but like I said, I don’t think this happens enough for Tiger to win. I actually think, as long as McCallum has room to get out, McCallum should opt to get inside at times so he can get some clean punches off and since he’s more skilled, more fluid etc and has a better defence, he’s more likely to land the better punches and avoid Tiger’s, then after he’s got some work off, get back out, just don’t stay inside too long for Tiger to bully him to the ropes. On the outside, Tiger doesn’t box, he just looks to get up close with the earmuffs, so on the outside, McCallum can just keep the jab on him, going round the side, slipping in uppercuts, going up and down with the jab, there’s not much Tiger can do at range.
he was well-rounded, but he wasn't necessarily spectacular in any 1 area IMO - for example, he didn't have the footspeed of Griffith or the fastball right of Giardello. he also had a tendency to fade late in his fights @ mw. On the flipside, Tiger had deceptively fast hands & could counterpunch effectively off the front foot when an opponent lacked a distinct speed advantage over him. his performance in the 4th Giardello fight was a masterclass in aggressive counterpunching IMO. This content is protected
If it's 15 rounds, Tiger makes it a huge battle of attrition,as one dimensional as Tiger was, Mike wasn't exactly an outboxer,can move can jab but not to a level like how Giardello did vs Tiger,and even si Giardello also split some losses and wins vs Tiger himself. Dick Tiger SD.
I think McCallum’s defense and durability coupled with Tiger’s relative low KO rate prevents Mike from getting stopped. With this very likely going to the cards it might be close but I’m leaning towards Mike to get a narrow points win.
He had decent feet, but what he didn’t have in terms of foot speed compared to other guys, he made up for by also being capable on the inside, so he may have to fight up close more than someone with ATG foot speed, but because he had the ability to fight his way out up close, it wouldn’t be a bad thing, and he has enough foot speed to outbox and stay away for the most part.
