Was Mike McCallum avoided?

Let's just say none of the fab four was really lining up to fight a guy like him. They simply could make more money fighting less dangerous opponents. McCallum was never really a big draw and didn't necessarily have a fan base outside of other boxers our hard-core fans. He wasn't a cross over pretty boy like Leonard or a Latin star like Duran or have the American inner city like Hearns. He was an outsider from a small country that didn't have much of a boxing identity. I do think Hagler would have fought him since he came up a similar way but their primes and weigjtclasses didn't align. By the time McCallum was moving to Middleweight Hagler was looking to retire.

 

He was avoided because he was dangerous, but moreso in my opinion because he wasn't marketable. He did himself no favours either by stating that he hated promoters.
I think if the price was right, the likes of Hearns would have fought him with no problem. But Mike wasn't a drawcard at all.

 

He was a high risk low reward fight for the fab 4.

 

No one avoided him that's a long running myth that is simply untrue.

The only possible match up that could've happened was Duran vs McCallum. But Duran fought Hearns instead that's hardly a duck is it ? And then Hearns moved up to fight Hagler again that's hardly a duck is it ?

McCallum also didn't fight at Middleweight until 1988 when Hagler was retired, and McCallum lost his first Middleweight fight getting schooled by Kalambay.

I like McCallum alot as a fighter but the myth of the Fab 4 avoiding him is just that a "myth".

 

,,,,and here is the definitive answer to this thread

 

Yeah, when Duran chose to fight Hearns it put McCallum up for the vacant WBA super middleweight title vs. Sean Mannion. Bob Arum won the purse bid and put it on the undercard of Hagler-Hamsho. McCallum was so in demand that the winning purse bid was, iirc, $70K.

He came into more prominence a few years later when he beat Julian Jackson and Donald Curry, but by that point the Fab Four were transitioning into the ‘Senior Tour’ phases of their careers. Hagler was on his way out and the others were rehashing their old rivalries with each other or looking for name opponents against whom they could make big money … sadly, McCallum was never one of those.

And soon after putting himself on the map with the wins over Jackson and Curry, Mike stumbled vs. Kalumbay, who while a splendid fighter was basically an unknown to the U.S. audience where the money was, so that did him no favors.

I don’t see how it’s a duck or avoidance for a fighter to say ‘I’ll fight this guy for $1 rather than that guy for a nickel.’

 

Exactly correct. I don't blame the fab four for not fighting him. It is called prize fighting for a reason and all of those guys knew McCallum was a high risk low reward opponent.

 

But really though when could they have ever fought McCallum ? Hearns moved up to Middleweight after destroying Duran. And there was never really a timeline where any of them could've fought him after that.

McCallum was at Jr Middleweight until 88, and then he lost his first Middleweight fight in one sided fashion to Kalambay.

If anything during late 80s Kalambay was probably more worthy of a shot at one of the FAB 4 than McCallum was.

I don't think any of them avoided him they just took on bigger risks, Duran fought Hearns which was a much bigger risk. And Hearns moved up to fight Hagler which was a much bigger risk also.

Leonard and Hagler were never really in a position to fight McCallum in all honesty.

As I said earlier I think the whole FAB 4 avoiding McCallum because he was too much of a risk is nonsense honestly. When really they took on bigger risks if anything.

Realistically the only fight that was ever really on the table was Duran-McCallum. A fight Duran had a good chance of winning honestly, rather than fighting Hearns which was a much bigger risk and stylistically a more problematic fight for him.

 

High risk. low reward.

 

Hearns and McCallum could have fought multiple times everywhere from 154 to 190. McCallum last fought CW as did Hearns. They were always within a weight division of each other. Again, I don't blame Hearns for not fighting him. It is what it is.

 

Yeah, Hagler aside, the fab 4 all moved weights to fight each other, so them being in different weight divisions to McCullum isn't an excuse for not fighting him.

What is a legitimate excuse, is his relative lack of profile. I completely agree with everyone else, in that none of the fab 4 were scared of Mike or avoided him because they thought they'd lose. Broadly speaking they took 2 types of fights:

1) For much less money than they got against each other, typically against opponents not as good as McCallum.
2) Against fighters as good or better than McCallum (i.e. each other), for much more money than they'd have gotten fighting him.

Essentially, Mcvey summed it up much more succinctly than I when he posted "high risk. Low reward". At least in relative terms.

 

Agreed. In no way am I implying the fab four was afraid of McCallum. It's simple economics. With that said, I think McCallum does really well against those guys. He's a nightmare opponent for anyone.

 

Agreed.
I think he'd be a nightmare at 154lbs for Duran.
I rank Hearns lowest of the fab 4 p4p and obviously lower than Hagler H2H at MW, but stylistically there's an argument he'd do the best against Mike.

 

Every fighter that doesn't get the fights he wants thinks he was ducked.

What we DO know is that McCallum whines like a set of worn down brake pads.