The Bodysnatcher: Mike McCallum

Born December 7, 1956 in Kingston, Jamaica, and it was fighting for Jamaica as an amateur that McCallum learned his trade. He enjoyed a distinguished 240-10 career that was festooned with trophies. He won a Silver at the 1975 North American Continental Championships, was the 1976 Central American and Caribbean Games, and then went to the 1976 Montreal Olympics - the same Olympics as Ray Leonard - and lost in the Quarter Finals. Undeterred, the 20 year old McCallum went back to work and won the US Amateur Welterweight Championship the next year, beating Marlon Starling on the way, and then crowned that triumph by winning the National Golden Gloves later that year. He then won a Gold Meda at the 1978 Commonwealth Games. Returning to defend his US Amateur Championship, he won the AAU tournament again in 1979, and went on to place 2nd at the Pan-American Games before winning the National Golden Gloves for a second time. Finally, at the rather late age of 24, Mike McCallum turned pro with a knockout win in Las Vegas.

Standing 5'11" with a 78" reach, McCallum would turn out to be one of the most ducked fighters of his day. Great names like Roberto Duran, Ray Leonard, and Tommy Hearns would spend much of their time fighting each other for big money, and ducking the menacing McCallum. As his moniker suggests, he was a devastating bodypuncher, but also a slick technician.

First World Title

In the space of less than two years, McCallum amassed a 12-0 with 12 KOs record at Super Welterweight (154 lbs), leading him to meet 40-2 Ayub Kalule in November 1982. Kalule was a former world champion, having lost his title to Ray Leonard a little more than a year before. McCallum made his first big statement to the world by stopping Kalule in 7. McCallum was soon the #1 WBA contender, but champion Roberto Duran chose to vacate the title for a lucrative waterloo with Tommy Hearns rather than defend it against the Bodysnatcher. When McCallum did fight for the WBA Super Welterweight title in October 1984, he outpointed tough Sean Mannion over 12 Rounds to become the first Jamaican to ever win a world boxing title.

His first title defense saw him travel to Milan, Italy to fight against 45-3 veteran Luigi Mincillo, who had fought with both Hearns and Duran. McCallum thoroughly dominated him, and knocked him out in the 13th, doing what neither of the two 1980s legends could. He then stopped 35-1 David Braxton on cuts in 1985, before going on to meet the 29-0 devastating puncher Julian Jackson, and after taking some hard shots he knocked out the knockout artist in the 2nd. In 1986 and 1987 McCallum went on and knocked out 21-2 Said Skouma and 31-1-1 former welterweight titlest Milton McCrory.

To close 1987, McCallum met the great-but-fading Donald "The Lone Star Cobra" Curry, a former Undisputed World Welterweight Champion. Curry was still good enough to outbox McCallum, and was leading on all 3 scorecards after 4 Rounds. In the 5th, McCallum slipped Curry's right, and came back with a picture-perfect counter left hook that utterly crushed Curry.

Second World Title

After 6 title defenses at 154 lbs, McCallum moved up to 160 lbs and challenged WBA middleweight champion Sumbu Kalambay in March 1988. Kalambay, a Congolese man living in Italy, was a heavy underdog against the undefeated McCallum. However, before his adoring Italian fans, Kalambay showed what he was made of, and handed McCallum his first loss on points.

His first stab at a middleweight title had left McCallum without his "0," but he soon went back to work, put together some wins, and in 1989 found himself challenging the British craftsman Herol Graham. Graham and McCallum both had only one loss, and both to the same man: Kalambay. McCallum boxed his way to a well-earned Split Decision victory, winning his second world title at the age of 33.

Opening the new decade with his first title defense, in February McCallum met tough 16-0 Steve Collins of Ireland. Collins would later go on to become a champ at 160 and 168lbs, but McCallum outclassed and thoroughly outpointed him. His second defense would be against Michael Watson, a solid British middleweight who would later meet with tragedy in the ring against Chris Eubank. McCallum outfought and stopped Watson in the 11th.

In 1991, "the Bodysnatcher" made his 3rd middleweight title defense in a rematch with Kalambay. This time McCallum evened the score, getting revenge and keeping his title on a Split Decision win.

With 3 title defenses over 3 major opponents, in late 1991 McCallum met IBF champion James "Lights Out" Toney. For McCallum, the bout was about fighting the best man for the best money he could get: so confident as McCallum that he gave up his WBA strap rather than pay over $100,000 in sanctioning fees. 23 years old and 28-0-1 at the time, Toney would go on to win titles at 168 and 190lbs, and had already beaten Merqui Sosa, Michael Nunn, and Reggie Johnson. Toney came on hard, but McCallum used his skills and movement to frustrate the younger man, all the while using the jab to set up short combos to the head. However, as the fight wore on, Toney kept coming, and at 35 McCallum did not have the stamina to sustain stay on the balls of his feet. Increasingly, he had to stop before punching, and that meant mixing it up with Toney.

Many thought McCallum had clinched enough of the early rounds to earn a win, but the judges called it an unsatisfactory draw. Eight months later, Toney and McCallum fought a rematch, and for once, it was McCallum who was outclassed. The youthful Toney improved on his first performance, fought beautifully and won a Majority Decision with lopsided scores on the two cards that had him winning.

Third World Title

After the loss to Toney, McCallum had little prospect of a new title shot at 160 lbs, and at first bided some time and angled for a fight with Ray Leonard at 168lbs. When that bout never materialized, he skipped Super Middleweight entirely and jumped directly to Light Heavyweight (175 lbs) in 1993. In little more than a year, he had earned a shot at the vacant WBC Light Heavyweight Title, and won it by out-foxing and out-pointing the rough and tumble Australian, 23-1 Jeff Harding. It would prove to be "the Bodysnatcher's" last hurrah.

McCallum defended the title once to a journeyman, and then against 31-1 French contender Fabrice Tiozzo. By now, McCallum was aging and clearly past his best, not to mention fighting full 20 pounds above his best weight. Tiozzo knocked McCallum down in the 2nd and cleanly outpointed him, resulting in McCallum's third defeat. Tiozzo, however, soon vacated that title to move up to Cruiserweight (190 lbs), leaving a 40 year old McCallum to fight 33-0 Roy Jones, Jr., in what was Jonses' first entry into the 175 pounder ranks. In a respectful but completely lopsided bout in 1996, Jones pitched a complete shut out, won every round, and handed McCallum a major defeat.

McCallum made one last go at boxing glory. In a February 1997 rubber match with James Toney, the two men fought at Cruiserweight for a fringe belt. Toney thoroughly outmatched his old rival, soundly defeating McCallum in a big points win. With a record of 49-5-1 with 36 KOs, Mike McCallum retired. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2003.

Sources: http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1140176/index.htm; boxrec.com; live fight footage; http://www.ibhof.com/pages/about/inductees/modern/mccallum.html; Four Kings; Dark Trade