The Best of the Rest: 160lbs Tier II Tournie - THE FINAL:Lloyd Marshall SD15 Mike McCallum

Please understand that I am not knocking Marshall for being KO 11 times. I also understand that some of those were late in his career or in situations were he probably took fights on short notice, etc. McCallum could only fight the best available to him which in most cases he beat clearly. Only later in his career at light heavy did he get beaten decisively by Roy Jones and Tiozzo. I firmly believe that he would have performed well in the same era as Marshal against the likes of Charles, Lamotta etc. He was just simply that good.

I have no problem with someone picking Marshall. I know those names on his resume carry a lot of weight as they should. It was a golden era of the sport but I will go to my grave thinking McCallum could compete with anyone at MW.

 

I didn't think you were knocking Marshall tbh, I could tell that you were trying to put forth a balanced argument. Fair enough about McCallum, he was a brilliant fighter and indeed very durable and consistent. I was just trying to put some of Marshall 's losses in context, the same with McCallums consistency.

 

McCallum's power gets well overrated for me. A lot seem to think him a bit of a banger (particularly at 154) but he just wasn't. You never see any opponents lauding his power and some even mention his lack thereof. He mostly ground 'em down. They all do however mention his excellent skills.

His durability is excellent but we've seen him in decent trouble. I think if he rolled the dice across Marshall's era i would not be surprised if he lost by stoppage a couple of times. Brutal conditions and brutal opponents of which there was any amount of depth.

 

Couldn't agree more John.

 

Thanks for doing these threads! They clearly take a lot of effort and time.