Mike McCallum passed away at 68

[Hagler]

RIP

« Jamaican boxing great Mike McCallum, a Hall of Fame fighter who held world titles in three weight classes, has died.

McCallum died suddenly on Saturday in Las Vegas in the United States. He was 68.


According to preliminary reports, McCallum fell ill while travelling to the gym and was forced to pull off the road. He was reportedly found to be unresponsive, and was later pronounced dead. »

Full article from Jamaica Observer

 

[Seano]

Damn, thats too bad. RIP.

I've spent hours watching his fights with Toney.

 

[treelo]

such a shame, a fantastic fighter who gave everyone he fought fits, very clever technician and a match for anyone in his prime

 

[tank666]

Amazing fighter that probably didn't get as much recognition he should. Will never forget him sparking Don Curry. RIP

 

[Tatra]

One of the greats. RIP.

 

[Blastbeat]

rest well, champ
one of the meanest body punchers in the entire history of boxing

 

[treelo]

Amazing fighter that probably didn't get as much recognition he should. Will never forget him sparking Don Curry. RIP

his personality meant he was never going to be a superstar, but i dont think i have ever heard a bad word said about him in boxing circles, one the true throwback fighters

 

[Sinister]

Gutted. I messaged his Son earlier but Im not expecting a quick reply. Spent over 4 years with the man. I am glad he got to see the very beginning of my Son starting to box before he left Tocco's, and glad he got to be part of some high-profile camps like Haney's, as he aged.

RIP Uncle Mike

 

[Sinister]

I'll come in here later and share some stories he shared with me, and I'll post the videos to accompany them. Theres a few where you can actually see what he was talking about.

 

[Sinister]

his personality meant he was never going to be a superstar, but i dont think i have ever heard a bad word said about him in boxing circles, one the true throwback fighters

Earlier in his career Mike was actually pretty affable, theres a few really good interviews of him where he is presenting an upstanding ambassador of the Sport. His career was just fraught with both misfortune, and the problem of not being in his home Country and thus, never being the most important guy in whatever stable he was part of. From the Duva faction, to Kronk, to Futch. No one had a negative thing to say about him in retrospect, but each of those guys always had someone who was far more important than Mike despite Mike turning in great performances during his tenures with them.

He did get bitter and jaded as things went on. When I met him he had choice words for a lot of people.

 

[burningspear]

RIP Great fighter

 

[mozfonky]

Earlier in his career Mike was actually pretty affable, theres a few really good interviews of him where he is presenting an upstanding ambassador of the Sport. His career was just fraught with both misfortune, and the problem of not being in his home Country and thus, never being the most important guy in whatever stable he was part of. From the Duva faction, to Kronk, to Futch. No one had a negative thing to say about him in retrospect, but each of those guys always had someone who was far more important than Mike despite Mike turning in great performances during his tenures with them.

He did get bitter and jaded as things went on. When I met him he had choice words for a lot of people.

i'm sure he did. Honestly, boxing leaves even a ton of champions bitter. Mike was great, anyone who knows the sport at the time was aware of him and even early on he drew comparisons to Sugar Ray Robinson. He was a quiet man outside of the ring and yes, he was avoided by some. I never thought the Hagler thing was valid, Marvelous was getting old by the time they would have fought and McCallum wasn't really even campaigning at MW. Sugar Ray Leonard was semi retired and tommy Hearns/Steward knew a bad matchup when they saw it.

 

[Kovalev's "Man Bag"]

Damn. He was certainly one of the most respected fighters in the sport's rich & storied history. The definition of a throwback. RIP Mike.

 

[mozfonky]

his personality meant he was never going to be a superstar, but i dont think i have ever heard a bad word said about him in boxing circles, one the true throwback fighters

pretty much the case, Hagler wasn't a winning personality either but he was able to get the other names to fight him. McCallum never tipped the risk to reward ratio in his favor. Even beating Curry only made people say, "Curry is shot".

 

[Intermission]

pretty much the case, Hagler wasn't a winning personality either but he was able to get the other names to fight him. McCallum never tipped the risk to reward ratio in his favor. Even beating Curry only made people say, "Curry is shot".

How about when he shut down Julian?

 

[mozfonky]

How about when he shut down Julian?

he beat Julian as he should have, Julian was very green and inexperienced.

Again, it's not the serious boxing fans that some guys like he worry about, it's the mainstream fans. All of us knew how serious a fighter McCallum was. We know the story about how he was supposed to fight Duran and his own manager wrangled that fight out from under him. We also question if an Alex Wallau says, McCallum is "not as good" as the rest of the four kings. He would have been at least a tough fight for all of them and possibly could have beaten half of them.

 

[Sinister]

i'm sure he did. Honestly, boxing leaves even a ton of champions bitter. Mike was great, anyone who knows the sport at the time was aware of him and even early on he drew comparisons to Sugar Ray Robinson. He was a quiet man outside of the ring and yes, he was avoided by some. I never thought the Hagler thing was valid, Marvelous was getting old by the time they would have fought and McCallum wasn't really even campaigning at MW. Sugar Ray Leonard was semi retired and tommy Hearns/Steward knew a bad matchup when they saw it.

Mike was looking for a reason to move up in 87. He moved up for Kalambay but really wanted to move up for Hagler. Kalambay didnt bring nearly the money Hagler would have. He and Marvin had words about it at the HOF induction ceremony as they were sat next to each other.

 

[Sinister]

he beat Julian as he should have, Julian was very green and inexperienced.

Again, it's not the serious boxing fans that some guys like he worry about, it's the mainstream fans. All of us knew how serious a fighter McCallum was. We know the story about how he was supposed to fight Duran and his own manager wrangled that fight out from under him. We also question if an Alex Wallau says, McCallum is "not as good" as the rest of the four kings. He would have been at least a tough fight for all of them and possibly could have beaten half of them.

Dude he had more pro fights than Mike when they fought. Lol

But yes Mike was big risk, low reward. That was the problem. Not that he wasnt beatable.

 

[mozfonky]

Mike was looking for a reason to move up in 87. He moved up for Kalambay but really wanted to move up for Hagler. Kalambay didnt bring nearly the money Hagler would have. He and Marvin had words about it at the HOF induction ceremony as they were sat next to each other.

yes, i saw that, i didn't think it was fair to Marvelous to be honest. Marvin was really slowing his pace in terms of his fight schedule, he really didn't even want to fight Ray and was pretty much ready to retire. So, he fights ray because it's a shitty situation for him to say no and hear that he avoided him the rest of his life so he fights him and he's not what he was five years before and ends up bitter for the rest of his life. Life, and boxing, aren't fair.

 

[mozfonky]

Dude he had more pro fights than Mike when they fought. Lol

But yes Mike was big risk, low reward. That was the problem. Not that he wasnt beatable.

Julian may have had more fights, it's not how many it's the other stuff and you can see he's too eager in there, hurts Mike and gets too excited. The consensus was that he just wasn't ready and he wasn't. Mike was fighting champions for years before that fight, it makes a difference.