Mike McCallum

Mike McCallum
Statistics
Real name Michael McCallum
Nickname(s) The Bodysnatcher
Rated at Light middleweight
Middleweight
Light heavyweight
Cruiserweight
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Reach 74 in (188 cm)
Nationality Jamaican
Born (1956-12-07) 7 December 1956
Kingston, Jamaica
Stance 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) is a Jamaican former professional boxer. He held the WBA light middleweight and middleweight titles, as well as the WBC light heavyweight title. A slick, hard hitting, iron-chinned technician in the ring, McCallum is regarded by many fans and critics alike to be one of the most underrated fighters in history, and also one of the best of all time. He earned his nickname of "The Bodysnatcher" due to his ability to land vicious body punches in fights. His final fight was against old nemesis and three-weight world champion James Toney, against whom he lost by unanimous decision after twelve rounds. McCallum retired in February 1997 after a professional career spanning sixteen years, three world titles and four weight divisions. He defeated seven champions in Ayub Kalule, Julian Jackson, Milton McCrory, Donald Curry, Steve Collins, Sumbu Kalambay and Jeff Harding.

McCallum currently resides in New York City. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2003.

Amateur career

Claimed an amateur record of 240–10

Professional career

Light-middleweight

Mike McCallum turned professional in 1981. 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 vacant WBA light-middleweight title. McCallum would defend that title six times, winning all six fights by knock out.

His first prominent opponent was future two-weight world champion 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 when he knocked out former WBC welterweight title-holder Milton McCrory and former Undisputed welterweight champion Donald Curry in 1987. 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]

Middleweight

In 1988, he moved up to middleweight, suffering his first defeat, a clear unanimous decision, in an attempt to win the WBA middleweight championship from Sumbu Kalambay. In 1989, McCallum defeated Herol Graham by a split decision [3]to win the now-vacant WBA middleweight title (which had been stripped from Kalambay for signing to face IBF champion Michael Nunn). He defended the title three times, defeating Steve Collins, Michael Watson, and Kalambay in a rematch.

McCallum fought IBF middleweight champion James Toney in 1991. McCallum was stripped of the WBA title before the bout. The fight ended in a draw, and McCallum lost the second fight by a controversial majority decision the following year. Some felt that McCallum won both fights.[4]

Light-heavyweight

McCallum then moved up two weight divisions and won the Interim WBC light-heavyweight title against Randall Yonker, then won the full WBC title by outpointing Jeff Harding in 1994. Being in his late thirties, he did not hold the crown long, losing the title to Fabrice Tiozzo. At 40 years of age, he attempted to regain the vacant Interim WBC title against Roy Jones Jr in December 1996, but lost by a wide decision.

In his last fight, McCallum lost a rubber match to James Toney via a unanimous decision in a cruiserweight bout.

McCallum had a professional record of 49-5-1 (36 knockouts). He was never knocked out as a professional. After McCallum retired, he moved to Las Vegas and became a trainer. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2003.[5]

Professional boxing record

49 Wins (36 KOs), 5 Losses, 1 Draw
Res. Record Opponent Type Round Date Location Notes
Loss 49-5-1 United States James Toney UD 12 22/02/1997 United States Uncasville, Connecticut, United States
Loss 49-4-1 United States Roy Jones, Jr. UD 12 22/11/1996 United States Tampa, Florida, United States For vacant Interim WBC light-heavyweight title.
Win 49-3-1 Germany Ali Saidi UD 10 22/06/1996 United States Dortmund, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany
Loss 48-3-1 France Fabrice Tiozzo UD 12 16/06/1995 France Lyon, Rhone, France Lost WBC light-heavyweight title.
Win 48-2-1 United States Carl Jones TKO 7 25/02/1995 United Kingdom Millwall, London, England Retained WBC light-heavyweight title.
Win 47-2-1 Australia Jeff Harding UD 12 23/07/1994 United States Bismarck, North Dakota, United States Won WBC light-heavyweight title.
Win 46-2-1 United States Randall Yonker TKO 5 04/03/1994 United States Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Won Interim WBC light-heavyweight title.
Win 45-2-1 United States Glenn Thomas UD 10 14/08/1993 United Kingdom Hammersmith, London, England
Win 44-2-1 Jordan Ramzi Hassan UD 10 25/03/1993 France Amiens, Somme, France
Loss 43-2-1 United States James Toney MD 12 29/08/1992 United States Reno, Nevada, United States For Lineal/IBF middleweight titles.
Win 43-1-1 Venezuela Fermin Chirino UD 10 21/05/1992 United States Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Draw42-1-1 United States James Toney PTS 12 13/12/1991 United States Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States For Lineal/IBF middleweight titles.
Win 42-1 United States Nicky Walker RTD 5 10/10/1991 United States Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win 41-1 Chile Carlos Cruzat UD 10 29/08/1991 United States Reno, Nevada, United States
Win 40-1 Italy Sumbu Kalambay SD 12 01/04/1991 Monaco Monte Carlo, Monaco Retained WBA middleweight title.
Win 39-1 United States Frank Minton TKO 4 19/02/1991 United States Kansas City, Missouri, United States
Win 38-1 United Kingdom Michael Watson KO 11 14/04/1990 United Kingdom Kensington, London, United Kingdom Retained WBA middleweight title.
Win 37-1 Republic of Ireland Steve Collins UD 12 03/02/1990 United States Boston, Massachusetts, United States Retained WBA middleweight title.
Win 36-1 United Kingdom Herol Graham SD 12 10/05/1989 United Kingdom Kensington, London, United Kingdom Won vacant WBA middleweight title.
Win 35-1 United States Ralph Moncrief TKO 5 09/01/1989 France Nogent-le-Phaye, Eure-et-Loir, France
Win 34-1 United States Randy "Manster" Smith UD 10 22/12/1988 France Vincennes, Val-de-Marne, France
Win 33-1 United States David McCluskey TKO 2 27/06/1988 United States New York City, United States
Loss 32-1 Italy Sumbu Kalambay UD 12 05/03/1988 Italy Pesaro, Marche, Italy For WBA middleweight title.
Win 32-0 United States Donald Curry KO 5 18/07/1987 United States Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Retained WBA light-middleweight title.
Win 31-0 United States Milton McCrory TKO 10 19/04/1987 United States Phoenix, Arizona, United States Retained WBA light-middleweight title.
Win 30-0 United Kingdom Leroy Hester KO 1 21/03/1987 Jamaica Kingston, Jamaica
Win 29-0 France Said Skouma TKO 9 25/10/1986 France Paris, France Retained WBA light-middleweight title.
Win 28-0 United States Irving Hines TKO 4 15/09/1986 France Paris, France
Win 27–0 United States Virgin Islands Julian Jackson TKO 2 23/08/1986 United States Miami Beach, Florida, United States Retained WBA light-middleweight title.
Win 26-0 United States Jimmy Shavers TKO 6 02/05/1986 United States Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
Win 25-0 United States David Braxton TKO 8 28/07/1985 United States Miami, Florida, United States Retained WBA light-middleweight title.
Win 24-0 "Ferdinand" Marcos Martinez TKO 2 15/06/1985 United States Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win 23-0 Italy Luigi Minchillo TKO 13 01/12/1984 Italy Milan, Lombardia, Italy Retained WBA light-middleweight title.
Win 22-0 Republic of Ireland Sean Mannion UD 15 19/10/1984 United States New York City, United States Won vacant WBA light-middleweight title.
Win 21-0 United States Hasim Razzaq KO 1 10/03/1984 United States Detroit, Michigan, United States
Win 20-0 Puerto Rico Manuel Jiminez UD 10 25/10/1983 United States Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
Win 19-0 Dominican Republic Jose Vallejo TKO 6 31/08/1983 United States Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
Win 18-0 United States Tony Suero TKO 3 26/04/1983 United States Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
Win 17-0 Uganda Ayub Kalule RTD 7 13/11/1982 United States Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States Kalule retired at 3:00 of the seventh round.
Win 16-0 Puerto Rico Carlos "Cano" Betancourt TKO 3 22/10/1982 United States New York City, United States
Win 15-0 United States Kevin Perry UD 10 11/06/1982 United States New York City, United States
Win 14-0 Guyana Reggie Ford TKO 4 30/04/1982 United States New York City, United States
Win 13-0 Dominican Republic Gilberto Almonte KO 1 26/03/1982 Jamaica Kingston, Jamaica
Win 12-0 United States Greg Young TKO 5 22/01/1982 United States New York City, United States Referee stopped the bout at 0:29 of the fifth round.
Win 11-0 United States Jimmy Heair TKO 2 08/10/1981 United States Tampa, Florida, United States
Win 10-0 United States Ed "Hurricane" Harris KO 1 08/09/1981 United States Tampa, Florida, United States
Win 9–0 Cuba Tirso Roque KO 3 27/08/1981 United States Tampa, Florida, United States
Win 8-0 United States Bruce "Mouse" Strauss TKO 3 19/07/1981 United States Warren, Ohio, United States
Win 7-0 United States Freddie Creech KO 3 10/06/1981 United States Tampa, Florida, United States
Win 6-0 United States "Prince" Charles Smith KO 3 30/04/1981 United States Tampa, Florida, United States
Win 5-0 United States Danny "Thunderhand" Chapman TKO 4 24/04/1981 United States New York City, United States Referee stopped the bout at 2:09 of the fourth round.
Win 4-0 United States Shelby Wilkerson KO 5 02/04/1981 United States Tampa, Florida, United States
Win 3-0 United States Ricky Sheppard KO 5 19/03/1981 United States Tampa, Florida, United States
Win 2-0 United States Rocky Fabrizio KO 1 03/03/1981 United States Tampa, Florida, United States
Win 1-0 United States Rigoberto Lopez KO 4 14/01/1981 United States Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Professional debut.

See also

References

External links

Awards
Preceded by
Don Quarrie
Jamaica Sportsman of the Year
1978
Succeeded by
David Weller
Preceded by
Bertland Cameron
Jamaica Sportsman of the Year
19841987
Succeeded by
Jeff Dujon
Preceded by
Jeff Dujon
Jamaica Sportsman of the Year
19891990
Succeeded by
Patrick Patterson
Achievements
Preceded by
Roberto Durán
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
Stripped
Succeeded by
Reggie Johnson
Preceded by
N/A
Inaugaral title
WBC Light Heavyweight Interim Champion
4 March 1994 – 23 July 1994
Unified
Vacant
Title next held by
Roy Jones, Jr.
Preceded by
Jeff Harding
WBC Light Heavyweight Champion
23 July 1994 – 16 June 1995
Succeeded by
Fabrice Tiozzo
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