Mike McCallum's rating and legacy

Links? Not doubting you just honestly curious what that was like.

 

Really busy lately. I will try to find later. I just remember it being really shocking that people felt that way.

 

Mc Callum did some adjustments and was not getten hit as often flush with the right hand. He fought a very technical fight, was busier and landed more punches than Toney.

However, Toney still landed the more effective hurtful blows in my view.Mc Callum landed mostly arm punches. That is why I scored the fight for Toney by one point. (without the unnjustified point deducted from Mc Callum, it would have been a draw in my opinion.

 

Exactly. This is one of those boxing myths that sprung up years later, probably because McCallum went on to prove himself a great fighter. McCallum himself has helped put this about, and can be seen on a YouTube video ranting about being ducked by Hagler.

But at the point Hagler retired, no one thought McCallum was great, he wasn't particularly well known, didn't have many signature wins, and had actually blown his first big chance to make a name for himself when he fought Sean Mannion on HBO and put in a pretty tepid performance. He wasn't being touted by anyone as a prospective opponent for Hagler. He wasn't even in the same division.

 

Fighting at 154 for so long was probably McCallum's biggest mistake in retrospect.

it's not as if he wasn't a natural middle and if he'd stopped campaigning there circa 83-84 he could have forced a fight against Hagler at 160 as long as he got a break or two with matchmaking, which being based in America with an American undisputed champ at the time i think he would have.

Unlike some of his old foes who moved up from 154 around that time like Kalambay and Graham, who had a much harder time securing fights with the more visible, higher ranked contenders.McCallum would have a better chance at getting a fight against someone like hamsho for instance.

 

Excellent posts so far. Love talking McCallum and hearing people's opinions of the Bodysnatcher. I would like to add that his fight with Julian Jackson should go down as quite an impressive victory. Jackson might have been green but taking away his undefeated mark counts highly on my list in terms of accomplishments. Taking anyone's 0, especially a future great who was a serial killer in the ring, scores major points in my book. Reminds me a bit of RJJ's win over a young BHop, not too spectacular but very good nonetheless.

Mike fought some good names, even becoming a road warrior and blazing a trail where he left some bodies laying around. Those science project wars with Toney get better and better with each viewing. Wars that were fought smack dab in the middle of that glorious 160 lbs division. A win over someone like Nunn could've given his name a little more gleam to it.