Mike McCallum
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Mike McCallum | |
| Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Real name | Mike McCallum |
| Nickname | Bodysnatcher |
| Weight | Light Middleweight |
| Nationality | Jamaican |
| Birth date | December 7, 1956 |
| Birth place | Kingston, Jamaica |
| Style | Orthodox |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 55 |
| Wins | 49 |
| Wins by KO | 36 |
| Losses | 5 |
| Draws | 1 |
| No contests | 1 |
Mike McCallum (born December 7, 1956 in Kingston, Jamaica) is a retired boxer from Jamaica, who represented his native country as an amateur at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Canada, where he was eliminated in the quarterfinals. In 1979 he won a silver medal at the Pan American Games.
As a professional he fought almost exclusively in the USA. He first became a world champion in 1984 by defeating Sean Mannion to win the WBA junior middleweight title. McCallum would defend that title six times, winning all six fights by knock out.
His first prominent opponent was current Hall of Fame boxer and then undefeated challenger Julian Jackson, who McCallum fought in his third title defense. McCallum survived some punishment in the first round and came back to stop the undefeated Jackson in the second round [1].
McCallum really came to prominence in later defenses by knocking out two contenders that had been highly regarded welterweights, former WBC welterweight champion Milton McCrory and former undisputed welterweight champion Donald Curry. Curry was ahead on all three scorecards going into the fifth round when McCallum knocked him out with what some have called a "perfect" left hook [2].
In 1988, he moved up to middleweight, suffering his first defeat in an attempt to win the WBA middleweight title from Sumbu Kalambay. In 1989, He defeated Herol Graham to win the vacant WBA middleweight title. He defended the title several times, defeating Steve Collins, Michael Watson and Sumbu Kalambay.
McCallum next fought IBF middleweight champion James Toney. McCallum was stripped of his WBA title before the bout. Of his two fights with Toney in 1991 and 1992, the first fight, which was a draw, was named "Fight of the Year" by Ring Magazine. McCallum lost the second fight by majority decision. Some felt that McCallum should have won the two fights [3].
McCallum next moved up in weight and won the vacant WBC light heavyweight title by outpointing former champion Jeff Harding. Being in his late thirties he did not hold this crown long, losing the title to Fabrice Tiozzo. He attempted to regain the title from Roy Jones Jr, but lost by decision. In his last fight, McCallum lost his rubber match to James Toney in an attempt to win the WBU cruiserweight title.
McCallum was known as "bodysnatcher" because he specialized in body punching, but unlike most other body punchers did not take head punches in return. His greatest professional problem was that the great welterweights and middleweights Sugar Ray Leonard, Marvin Hagler, Thomas "Tommy" Hearns and Roberto Duran knew of his achievements and declined to face him without pecuniary rewards that his own promoters were unwilling to meet. Hence he only achieved stardom at the tail-end of his career, retiring with a record of 49-5-1 (36 knockouts). He was never knocked out himself. McCallum was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2003 [4].
| Preceded by Don Quarrie |
Jamaica Sportsman of the Year 1978 |
Succeeded by David Weller |
| Preceded by Bertland Cameron |
Jamaica Sportsman of the Year 1984–1987 |
Succeeded by Jeff Dujon |
| Preceded by Jeff Dujon |
Jamaica Sportsman of the Year 1989–1990 |
Succeeded by Patrick Patterson |
[edit] Amateur achievements [5]
Claimed an amateur record of 240-10
- 1974: Competed as a Welterweight in the 1974 World Championships in Havana, lost by 3rd round TKO to Clint Jackson of the United States.
- 1976: Represented Jamaica as a Welterweight at 1976 Montreal Olympic Games. Results were:
- Defeated Damdinjav Bandi (Mongolia) points
- Defeated Robert Dauer (Austria) points
- Lost to Reinhard Skricek (West Germany) points
- 1977: National AAU (USA) Welterweight champion. McCallum defeated Roger Leonard of the Air Force in the final.
- 1978: Welterweight Gold medalist at Commonwealth Games in Edmonton, Canada.
- 1979: National Golden (USA) Gloves Welterweight champion, beating Doug DeWitt and Robbie Sims.
- 1979: 2nd place as a Welterweight at Pan-American Games in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Results were:
- Defeated Claudio Pereira (Brazil)
- Defeated Edward Green (United States) TKO 2
- Defeated Javier Colin (Mexico) TKO
- Lost to Andres Aldama (Cuba) KO by 2
| Preceded by Roberto Duran Stripped |
WBA Light Middleweight Champion 19 Oct 1984–1988 Vacates |
Succeeded by Julian Jackson |
| Preceded by Sumbu Kalambay Stripped |
WBA Middleweight Champion 10 May 1989–1991 Vacated |
Succeeded by Reggie Johnson |
| Preceded by Jeff Harding |
WBC Light Heavyweight Champion 23 Jul 1994–16 Jun 1995 |
Succeeded by Fabrice Tiozzo |
