Mike McCallum vs. the big four

[zojo]

Leonard

Hagler

Hearns

Duran

???

[Grimm]

I think he would beat Leonard but the scorecards would say otherwise.

I see him stopping Hearns.

Against Duran he'll get a decision.

Hagler would beat him though.

[gambler49]

SRL wins UD
Hearns stops him between rounds 5 and 10
Hagler wins UD
Duran is a tricky one... I think Duran gets off to a good start. But then McCallum will land more body shots on Duran as the fight goes on and slow him down in the later rounds and makes the fight close.. I'd go Duran SD... But it could go either way.

[Seamus]

McCallum loses a close but clear decision to Leonard

Stops Hearns very late after getting punished early

Is too strong for Duran and beats him by a close but clear decision

Loses a fairly wide decision to Hagler

[dr_devious]

McCallum loses a close but clear decision to Leonard

Stops Hearns very late after getting punished early

Is too strong for Duran and beats him by a close but clear decision

Loses a fairly wide decision to Hagler

Agree

[elmersalsa]

He beats Duran and Leonard at 154lbs.
Him and Hearns is a toss up. I leaned towards Hearns at 154lbs. At 160lbs, McCallum wins.
He definately lose to Hagler on this one, but it would be a hell of a battle. Hagler by decision.

[SaadOffTheDeck]

I don't see him beating any of them. Best chance would be Duran coming in out of shape.

[hhaehre]

I don't see him beating any of them. Best chance would be Duran coming in out of shape.

Agree, he could beat Duran at 160 but that's the most I'll give him. The Duran of the Hagler fight beats him imo. McCallum was a solid fighter but a bit one-paced and certainly not in the same league as the big four. He might have been underrated at the time he fought but these days he seems to be slightly overrated. People ask why he never got the chance to fight any of the big four and the reason is probably because it was no big outcry for it at the time. He was not considered to be on par with these guys and a fight against any of them would just have been another title defense, albeit a difficult one.

[Goodnight, Irene]

I think he does a number on Duran at 154, myself. Great scrap against Hearns, I favour McCallum to drop a close decision there, but you never know. I think Leonard gets the better of him in a competitive stoush, but the unwinnable fight would be Hagler.

[Ezzard]

I think Mike beats Hearns. Definitely if it's 15 rounds. Mike has the chin, stamina nd body punching. He'd be behind on points but he'd chop Tommy down late.

Duran is tricky. Mike should win but if Duran can counter punch like he did against Hagler then he takes Mike to the wire.

Leonard at 154-160 is almost impossible to define. I think he's perhaps over done in these divisions. I can imagine Ray winning a close but clear decision. I can also see Leonard getting dropped and not having an easy night of it.

McCallum can't beat Hagler

[meade95]

McCallum....as much as I like him...

L UD Vs SRL

L TKO'd 5th-8th Vs Hearns

L UD Vs Hagler

W UD Vs Duran (at JMW/MW)

[Tuff Customer]

Leonard outsmarts him and comes out with a controversial but earned UD.

Hagler out toughs him and barely comes out with a UD....could go either way

Hearns He KO's Tommy with a body shot.

Duran slips by with a SD matching him for toughness and outspeeding him.

This is all prime vs prime

[SaadOffTheDeck]

I don't see him beating any of them. Best chance would be Duran coming in out of shape.

Agree, he could beat Duran at 160 but that's the most I'll give him. The Duran of the Hagler fight beats him imo. McCallum was a solid fighter but a bit one-paced and certainly not in the same league as the big four. He might have been underrated at the time he fought but these days he seems to be slightly overrated. People ask why he never got the chance to fight any of the big four and the reason is probably because it was no big outcry for it at the time. He was not considered to be on par with these guys and a fight against any of them would just have been another title defense, albeit a difficult one.

We are on the same page here. The claims of ducking are hilarious. Mccallum had beaten one fighter of note when Duran was stripped for not facing him to take on Hearns. That's like ducking a cold to catch cancer.

Also curious that Mike is so adamant about hagler not fighting him when he moved up to Middleweight promptly after Marvin retired.

[Goodnight, Irene]

Leonard outsmarts him and comes out with a controversial but earned UD.

Hagler out toughs him and barely comes out with a UD....could go either way

Hearns He KO's Tommy with a body shot.

Duran slips by with a SD matching him for toughness and outspeeding him.

This is all prime vs prime

It can't be prime-for-prime, because Duran wasn't anywhere near his peak at 154lbs. I think McCallum gets him pretty good at that weight, myself.

[Tuff Customer]

True, size and age might make the difference but Roberto did well against both Barkley and Hagler. I like his chances, but you've got a good point. There is a good size difference.

[MikeKn]

I worked with (sparred with) Mike McCallum back in November-December 1981.
Nobody was "outsmarting" McCallum. He could set you up for shots you didn't
know were coming, just by his movement in the ring. There's a reason why all
of those guys ducked him. He weighed about 156 and I was about 180 at the
time, and it was more "moving around" than actual punching, as I was heavier
and they didn't want me hitting him hard, as this was the week of his fight
(in Tampa), and I was a fairly big puncher. I worked with another guy as
an amateur, back in '78, that moved a lot like McCallum, his name was
Roger Leonard. Roger won the National AAU's that year, beating
Clint Jackson at 156 (or 147, can't remember right now,
but Leonard usually fought 156, he may have come down
to 147 for the nationals that year) in Biloxi.

[The End]

Leonard would only take the fight under stipulations that greatly suited him and he would win.

The Duran fight I believe McCallum would win no matter how determined Duran was. McCallum is no Iran Barkley.

Hearns if he chose to box and stay on the outside I believe he could win, but we all know Hearns wouldn't do that he was just too stubborn. I think he goes after McCallum and even hurts him a few times but eventually gets worn down and knocked out.

Hagler, well is Hagler and I wouldn't pick too many people against Hagler at middleweight.

[elmersalsa]

I could never see Leonard or Duran beating McCallum at 154lbs.

Hearns vs McCallum like I said, is a toss up because at 154lbs, Hearns was stronger and probably faster and in complete prime. Hearns at 147lbs compared to the one at 154lbs was a HUGE DIFFERENCE.

Hagler beats Mike by decision, I don't see it no other way. Mike is too clever to be KO'd.

[SaadOffTheDeck]

What's this huge difference you're screaming about? Many would argue that 154 was Tommy's best weight.

[Goodnight, Irene]

I think it was, too, but even if you don't agree, to imply Hearns when massively downhill from 147 to 154 is...

[elmersalsa]

What's this huge difference you're screaming about? Many would argue that 154 was Tommy's best weight.

All I am saying that at 154lbs, Tommy was better and stronger than at 147lbs. That's all.

[The Great John L]

The Body Snatcher wears Hearns down for a late stoppage, takes a very close decision from Duran, but loses to Leonard and Hagler.