Mike McCallum (born 7 December 1956) is a Jamaican former professional boxer who competed from 1981 to 1997. He held world championships in three weight classes, including the WBA super welterweight title from 1984 to 1988, the WBA

middleweight Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to . Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have be ...

title from 1989 to 1991, and the

WBC WBC may stand for: Business *Westinghouse Broadcasting Company, a former large India broadcaster now folded into CBS *Westpac (New Delhi Exchange code: WBC), a multinational Financial services company *Wholesale Broadband Connect, BT Wholesale's ...

light heavyweight Light heavyweight, also referred to as junior cruiserweight or light cruiserweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the division is above and up to , falling between super middleweight and cruise ...

title from 1994 to 1995. A slick, hard-hitting technician in the ring, McCallum was known for his exceptionally durable

chin The chin is the forward pointed part of the anterior mandible (List_of_human_anatomical_regions#Regions, mental region) below the lower lip. A fully developed human skull has a chin of between 0.7 cm and 1.1 cm. Evolution The presence of a we ...

and toughness, and was never stopped in any of his five losses. He earned his nickname of "The Bodysnatcher" due to his ability to land vicious body punches in fights. McCallum was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2003. In 2011, '' The Ring'' magazine ranked him as eighth on their list of the "10 best middleweight title holders of the last 50 years."

Amateur career

Claimed an amateur record of 240–10 *1974 - Competed as a welterweight in the World Championships in Havana, losing by a 3rd-round TKO to

Clint Jackson Clinton Jackson (born May 20, 1954) is an American former professional boxer. As an amateur, he competed in the 1976 Summer Olympics. He also won a silver medal at the 1974 World Championships and a gold at the 1975 Pan American Games. Biograph ...

of the United States. *1974 - Won welterweight silver medal at the 1974 Central American and Caribbean Games. *1975 - Represented Jamaica at the 1975 Pan American Games in Mexico City. *1976 - Represented Jamaica as a welterweight at Montreal Olympic Games. Results were: **Defeated

Damdinjavyn Bandi Damdinjavyn Bandi (Дамдинжавын Банди, 25 February 1942 – 10 January 2018) was a Mongolian boxer. He competed at the 1972 Summer Olympics and the 1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International C ...

(Mongolia) points **Defeated Robert Dauer (Australia) points **Lost to Reinhard Skricek (West Germany) points *1977 - National AAU Welterweight Champion, defeating Marlon Starling in semifinals and

Roger Leonard Roger Leonard (born July 21, 1953) is a retired professional boxer from Palmer Park, Maryland. He is the older brother of boxing legend Sugar Ray Leonard, who he introduced to boxing. Amateur career Nicknamed "The Dodger," Leonard had over 100 ama ...

of the Air Force in the final. *1977 - National Golden Gloves Welterweight Champion *1978 - Won welterweight gold medal at the 1978 Central American and Caribbean Games. *1978 - Welterweight Gold Medalist at Commonwealth Games in Edmonton, Canada. *1978 - Won welterweight gold medal at the 1978 Central American and Caribbean Games. *1979 - National Golden Gloves Welterweight Champion, defeating

Doug DeWitt Doug DeWitt (born August 13, 1961) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1980 to 1992, holding the inaugural WBO middleweight title from 1989 to 1990. Career Known as "Cobra," DeWitt was raised in Yonkers, New York, and sta ...

and

Robbie Sims Robbie Sims (born November 5, 1959) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1980 to 1996. He is the half-brother of former world middleweight champion Marvelous Marvin Hagler. Professional career He KOd an inexperienced Ira ...

. *1979 - Welterweight Silver Medalist 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

Andrés Aldama Andrés Aldama Cabrera (born April 9, 1956) is a retired amateur Cuban boxer, who won the light welterweight silver medal at the 1976 Summer Olympics and the Welterweight gold medal at the 1980 Summer Olympics. Aldama defeated John Mugabi of ...

(Cuba) KO by 2 *1979 - National Golden Gloves Welterweight Champion. *1980 - Lost to

Alex Ramos Alex Ramos (born January 17, 1961) is a former middleweight boxer from the 1980s. A native of Manhattan, New York, whose parents were from Puerto Rico, Ramos won four Golden Gloves titles in New York City in the late 1970s (1977–1980) and was ...

in New York Golden Gloves.

Professional career

Light middleweight

Mike McCallum turned professional in 1981. As a

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skil ...

, he fought almost exclusively in the USA. He first became a

world champion A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

in 1984 by defeating Sean Mannion to win the vacant WBA super welterweight 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 and future fellow International Boxing Hall of Fame member Julian Jackson, whom 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. McCallum really came to prominence when he knocked out former

welterweight title-holder Milton McCrory and former undisputed world welterweight champion, another future International Boxing Hall of Fame member,

Donald Curry Donald Curry (born September 7, 1961), is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1980 to 1991, and in 1997. He held the WBA world welterweight title from 1983 to 1986, the undisputed world welterweight title from 1985 to 1986 a ...

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.

Middleweight

In 1988, he moved up to

, suffering his first defeat, a clear unanimous decision, in an attempt to win the WBA middleweight championship from

Sumbu Kalambay Patrizio Sumbu Kalambay (born 10 April 1956) is a Congolese-born Italian former professional boxer. A world champion and two-time title challenger, he held the WBA world middleweight title from 1987 until 1988. Personal life Kalambay was born ...

. In 1989, McCallum defeated

Herol Graham Herol Graham (born 13 September 1959) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1978 to 1998. A three-time world title challenger, he is generally acknowledged as one of the best British boxers of the post-war era to have never w ...

by a split decision to win the then-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 Michael Watson (born 15 March 1965) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1984 to 1991. He held the Commonwealth middleweight title from 1989 to 1991, and challenged three times for a world title between 1990 and 1991. Wats ...

, and Kalambay in a rematch. McCallum fought

IBF The International Boxing Federation (IBF) is one of four major organizations recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) which sanctions professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing Counci ...

middleweight champion James Toney in 1991. McCallum was stripped of the WBA title before the

bout Bout can mean: People *Viktor Bout, suspected arms dealer *Jan Everts Bout, early settler to New Netherland *Marcel Bout Musical instruments * The outward-facing round parts of the body shape of violins, guitars, and other stringed instrumen ...

. 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.

Light heavyweight

McCallum then moved up two weight divisions and won the WBC

interim An interim is a period of temporary pause or change in a sequence of events, or a temporary state, and is often applied to transitional political entities. Interim may also refer to: Temporary organizational arrangements (general concept) *Provis ...

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 Fabrice Tiozzo (born May 8, 1969) is a French former professional boxer who competed from 1988 to 2006. He is a world champion in two weight classes, having held the WBC light-heavyweight title from 1995 to 1997, the WBA cruiserweight title f ...

. At 40 years of age, he attempted to regain the vacant

Interim An interim is a period of temporary pause or change in a sequence of events, or a temporary state, and is often applied to transitional political entities. Interim may also refer to: Temporary organizational arrangements (general concept) *Provis ...

WBC title against

Roy Jones Jr. Roy Levesta Jones Jr. (born January 16, 1969) is an American former professional boxer who holds dual American and Russian citizenship. He competed in boxing from 1989 to 2018, and held multiple world championships in four weight classes, inc ...

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 Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

and became a trainer. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2003.

Professional boxing record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McCallum, Mike International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees World boxing champions Olympic boxers of Jamaica Boxers at the 1975 Pan American Games Boxers at the 1976 Summer Olympics Boxers at the 1978 Commonwealth Games Boxers at the 1979 Pan American Games Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Jamaica Pan American Games silver medalists for Jamaica Competitors at the 1974 Central American and Caribbean Games Competitors at the 1978 Central American and Caribbean Games Central American and Caribbean Games gold medalists for Jamaica Central American and Caribbean Games silver medalists for Jamaica Sportspeople from Kingston, Jamaica 1956 births Living people Jamaican male boxers Commonwealth Games medallists in boxing World Boxing Association champions World Boxing Council champions Welterweight boxers Cruiserweight boxers World light-middleweight boxing champions World middleweight boxing champions World light-heavyweight boxing champions Pan American Games medalists in boxing Central American and Caribbean Games medalists in boxing Medalists at the 1979 Pan American Games