How good was McCallum?

I just watched one of his fights last week and they mentioned about the age. They compared him to Jersey Joe or Archie Moore for that reason. Something like that. It was on youtube against a kid named Randall Yonker.

 

James Toney: the best I faced

Best fighter: Mike McCallum -- That’s an easy choice, right off the top of my head it’s the Body Snatcher. He was the best fighter I fought at middleweight, super middleweight and cruiserweight. Out of all the fighters I fought, I respect him the most because he made me think about everything I tried to do. Before McCallum I was just runnin’ in on everyone, but he made me slow down and think for the first time.

Best Boxer: McCallum -- Yup, it’s him again. It’s between McCallum and Michael Nunn, but I gotta go with McCallum because he was a master boxer who wasn’t afraid to stand his ground. Nunn was mostly fast. I admit that he outboxed me for about nine rounds, but my body shots slowed him down. I told him during the fight ‘I’m gonna catch you!’ And I did.

Best puncher: Merqui Sosa -- Sam Peter is the hardest puncher I’ve fought, but pound-for-pound it’s Sosa because he hurt me the most. I’ll never forget that fight, we fought on an ESPN show in Atlantic City on a Sunday. I went at him like I did everyone back then and that mother f_____ hit me so hard in the third round I was seeing triple for the next three rounds. He knew how to hit and he was so awkward that I couldn’t time him and he caught me high on the head.

Quickest hands: Roy Jones -- He was fast. I’ll give him that, but that’s all I’ll give him. I would have knocked him out if I wasn’t drained from losing 44 pounds in six weeks. I went in (that fight) like a fool and wasn’t properly prepared.

Quickest feet: Nunn -- He had some fast-ass feet (laughing), didn’t he? He was an escape artist for nine or 10 rounds, ‘til I caught up to him.

Best defense: McCallum: He was right there in front of me, but I had a hard time hitting him with clean punches. I basically came into my own by fighting him. I learned how to be elusive without running around the ring by fighting Mike McCallum three times.

Best chin: Tony Thornton: The punching postman from Philly! (laughs) I thought I was gonna knock him out easy. He was squared up with his chin right there for me to hit but I hit him with every punch I had and he wouldn’t budge. I hit him with my best left hook and he didn’t blink.

Best jab: McCallum: Mike’s jab was like a piston. There were other guys I fought who had good jabs, like Nunn and Jones, but they just had speed and they just flicked it. Mike popped that jab with authority. He was an old-school fighter.

Strongest: Samuel Peter: He was just a big-ass African with brute African strength.

Smartest: McCallum: Come on, who do you think it is? Who’s the one fighter I truly respect? You got it, the Body Snatcher, Mike McCallum. I fought my share of boxers who thought they were clever like Roy Jones, Michael Nunn, Montell Griffin, and Reggie Johnson, but they were all scared to really fight. McCallum boxed, he fought, he defended, and he didn’t run all over the ring. He could do all that because he was smart.

http://www.ringtv.com/blog/1070/james_toney_the_best_i_faced/

 

"brute African strength" That's one of the few times I've heard Toney actually be serious and not just sound like a trash talker. I wish he was like that more often. Thanks for posting that.

 

He faced harder punchers than both.

 

Robinson? Satterfield? Marshall? Murphy? Nardico?

 

I can't blame McCallum for that, you'r manager is supposed to get what is best for you, he was clearly betrayed IMO but I would not call McCallum ducked.

Apparently Joe Frazier is like that aswell.

I think he would be the type of guy that would'nt really have a lot of times for fans etc... but once you knew him he was nice.


I can't really add much but I really like McCallum stylistically.

 

Mccallum was good but gets so overrated now its funny.Ducked by Hearns,Hagler,Leonard?Please don't make me laugh.Duran-Hearns sold more tickets then Duran-Mccallum easy as that.Never heard Mccallum challenge Hagler from 1984-1986.Matter of fact Mccallum DECLINED a fight with Sugar Ray Seales because"I'm a jr.middle and Seales is a middleweight".
Hearns? Went to jr.middleweight to get to middle to challenge Hagler.Hearns always wanted to fight Hagler.
Mccallum?Got his shot on HBO and BORED everyone to death against the crude Sean Mannion who Mccallum should have stopped in 8 rounds only Mccallum let Mannion hang ALL 15 rounds.Not exactly making a case to meet the Hearns and Haglers.
Then when Mccallum finally had some momentum built up Kalambay BOXED his ears off.

 

:huh:huh:huh

Great stuff, Toney actually comes off as very likable there.

Betting he talks **** almost exclusively when he's around his "posse" or when he's trying to sell fights.