Mike McCallum (born 7 December 1956) is a Jamaican former

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...

who competed from 1981 to 1997. He held world championships in three weight classes, including the WBA

super welterweight Light middleweight, also known as junior middleweight or super welterweight,PeBoxRec/ref> is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing The light middleweight division (also known as junior middleweight in the IBF or super welterweight in the WBA an ...

title from 1984 to 1988, the WBA middleweight title from 1989 to 1991, and the WBC light heavyweight title from 1994 to 1995. A slick, hard-hitting technician in the ring, McCallum was known for his exceptionally durable chin 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 The modern International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF), located in Canastota, New York, honors boxers, trainers and other contributors to the sport worldwide. Inductees are selected by members of the Boxing Writers Association of America. The I ...

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 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 (Mongolia) points **Defeated

Robert Dauer Robert Dauer (2 February 1953 – 24 August 2021) was an Australian boxer. He competed in the men's welterweight event at the 1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social ...

(Australia) points **Lost to Reinhard Skricek (West Germany) points *1977 - National AAU Welterweight Champion, defeating

Marlon Starling Marlon Starling (born August 29, 1959) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1979 to 1990. He held the WBA welterweight title from 1987 to 1988 and the WBC welterweight title from 1989 to 1990. Professional boxing career ...

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 a ...

of the Air Force in the final. *1977 -

National Golden Gloves The Golden Gloves is the name given to annual competitions for amateur boxing in the United States, where they are awarded a belt and a ring. And the title of nations champion is awarded. The Golden Gloves is a term used to refer to the Nationa ...

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 and Robbie Sims. *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 Mugab ...

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

, 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

title. McCallum would defend that title six times, winning all six fights by

knock out A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, a ...

. 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 WBC welterweight title-holder

Milton McCrory Milton McCrory (born February 7, 1962 in Detroit, MI) is a former professional boxer who was a world champion in the welterweight (147 lb) division. Amateur Milton had a reported amateur record of 105-15. He lost in the 1979 National AAU fin ...

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 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 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 Stephen Collins (born 21 July 1964) is an Irish former professional boxer who competed from 1986 to 1997. Known as the Celtic Warrior, Collins is the most successful male Irish boxer in recent professional boxing history, having held the WBO mi ...

, Michael Watson, and Kalambay in a rematch. McCallum fought IBF middleweight champion

James Toney James Nathaniel Toney (born August 24, 1968) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1988 to 2017. He held multiple world championships in three weight classes, including the IBF and lineal middleweight titles from 1991 to 1 ...

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.

Light heavyweight

McCallum then moved up two weight divisions and won the WBC interim 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 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

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