How good was Mike McCallum?

Mr Pibb · Nov 4, 2013

Boxed Ears said: ↑

Well, he's got you there, Drew.
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:rofl

Mr Pibb · Nov 4, 2013

Rock0052 said: ↑

According to you, he wasn't supposed to beat Curtis Stevens. :rofl
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I was wrong.

I thought Stevens would be able to capitalize on GG's many defensive lapses.

Golovkin is the new Librado Andrade.:rofl

Hard to beleieve he has over 300 amateur fights.

elmaldito · Nov 4, 2013

Mr Pibb said: ↑

I was wrong.

I thought Stevens would be able to capitalize on GG's many defensive lapses.

Golovkin is the new Librado Andrade.:rofl

Hard to beleieve he has over 300 amateur fights.
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You are smokin the good ****

Mr Pibb · Nov 4, 2013

elmaldito said: ↑

You are smokin the good ****
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GG didn't look like a guy with over 300 amateur fights to me.

Drew101 · Nov 4, 2013

Forza said: ↑

kalumbay was a low IQ brawler, he had less talent than proksa
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Well, yeah. Blanchard Kalumbay clearly wasn't the best fighter out there, though he served as a fairly durable trial horse for a while. Proksa may have more talent, but this guy probably edges him in the chin category...

http://boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?human_id=320720&cat=boxer

Thing is Forza, I was actually talking about Sumbu Kalumbay...

Colt Seevers · Nov 4, 2013

Top Notch

kk17 · Nov 5, 2013

Mr Pibb said: ↑

GG didn't look like a guy with over 300 amateur fights to me.
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because he fights with this new stalking puncher style at the moment.
If Golovkin moves up to 168 and fights big guys with good chin's like Froch or Kessler we might see him more boxing he has excellent footwork, balance, distance feeling and timing

Mr Pibb · Nov 5, 2013

kk17 said: ↑

because he fights with this new stalking puncher style at the moment.
If Golovkin moves up to 168 and fights big guys with good chin's like Froch or Kessler we might see him more boxing he has excellent footwork, balance, distance feeling and timing
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So he's hiding all those skills from the smaller guys and will unveil them when he moves up..........................boxing ain't like that.:deal

If he had those skills he'd be showcasing them NOW..

Loudon · Nov 6, 2013

the cobra said: ↑

1. Hagler in or near his prime beats McCallum in an excellent, competitive fight. Duran's too small and too past his prime by the time of his run at 154/160 to best McCallum, but if on form, he'd give a good account of himself in a tidy, little technical battle. Hearns and Leonard make for very interesting match ups, but if taking the best version of each at the weight (Kalule for Leonard, Benitez or Duran for Hearns), I'd back them to win. McCallum would have a pretty good shot at gradually breaking Tommy down with bodywork throughout and stopping him late in a similar manner as Leonard, but more often than not, I suspect it'd be a Hearns decision.

2. For as long he wanted to stay at the weight, he'd be its boss, no question.

3. Yes. GGG would be fun and interesting, but McCallum would almost certainly get the better of him. He'd smash up the rest of the middleweight division until he started to seriously fade.
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Great reply, I enjoyed reading this.

Have you seen the video of Mike sparring Tommy at the Kronk?

Loudon · Nov 6, 2013

Boxed Ears said: ↑

Mike McCallum was one of the single smartest fighters that ever stepped into a ring, for me. He could hit but he wasn't one of the biggest hitters, he had good hand speed, but not great, he was a bit like Bernard Hopkins in that, he was not the RJJ of his time, he wasn't the super athlete. His footwork could be ponderous. But he was the brain. He was the guy that timed you, the guy that tricked you, the ultimate analyst and master manipulator. A trap-setter.

I think he's one of the best to do it, and teak tough on top of the ring IQ, very durable, but like a JMM, he could get hurt and the combination of will and craft always got him out, no matter what. He was the total professional. One of the most mentally composed guys you could hope for. I mean, when you watch him against Toney, these are two of the most at-home guys in a boxing ring. That they fought is like a gift to hardcore boxing fans, and that they did it twice, it's a miracle that we have technicians like this, giving those rounds, in the era of beautiful film, it's some of the best stuff on a two-way street you can see on film like this.

He's one of my all-time favourites. I think fights with the fab four, all four, and McCallum, could have made Mike a superstar. I think he knew that. But the problem was he was the worst risk-reward for those guys. Just the flat out worst. He would have stood in with any of them, but they already had each other. Plenty of risk, but so much more reward, among that group, there was no way Mike was breaking in with them. The timing was actually awful. Some people think the more stars, the better the opportunity, but it was actually THE OPPOSITE with Mike. Because he couldn't dominate a weak era, and get his props that way, he had to sit back, trying to get past the velvet ropes, with some of the biggest stars you could have. It was terrible opportunity. Sometimes boxing makes for the polar opposite of a meritocracy. McCallum was a terrible example of that.

Now: If anyone beat him from Taylor's time through to Martinez's/now, I'd consider it a genuine upset. VS Hopkins...wow. That would've been like a magic show, without all that shitty magic getting in the way.
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An outstanding post mate, many thanks.

That was a pleasure to read. A fantastic breakdown there.

A Hopkins fight would have been great.

I've got a question for you if you don't mind?

Obviously Mike was past his absolute peak at 160, where he had those magical fights with Toney.

But what do you think would have happened if he'd have fought Benn and Eubank at 160?

Thanks mate.

Loudon · Nov 6, 2013

Thanks to everyone else who has posted, there's been some great replies.

I'd love to see the Toney version of Mike fight GGG today. That would be great.

Mr Pibb · Nov 6, 2013

Loudon said: ↑

Thanks to everyone else who has posted, there's been some great replies.

I'd love to see the Toney version of Mike fight GGG today. That would be great.
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Toney would do GG worse than he did Jirov..

Loudon · Nov 6, 2013

Mr Pibb said: ↑

Toney would do GG worse than he did Jirov..
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I worded that wrong.

I meant I'd love to have seen McCallum Vs GGG. (The version that fought Toney)

But now you've mentioned it, I'd love to see the 160 version of Toney fight GGG.

Toney was special at 160.

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