Mike McCallum RIP

[Nile4000]

RIP Mike. Great fighter.

[Autobarn]

I had MCCallum by 1 point over Graham- a very good bout for purists.

tough fight. I had McCallum winning. Graham surprisingly traded with him, going kind of straight left crazy, but McCallum had more in the repertoire, with his right hands and left hooks.

McCallum had to fight those "who needs him club" types of unorthodox technicians, and I'm a big fan of his revenge win over Kalambay, a technical masterclass from both men with McCallum's use of the feint, to push his opponent into mistakes, being the difference.

I still keep changing my mind who won the first and second of the razor thin fights with Toney. these were like Golovkin v Canelo bouts, a quarter of a century earlier. The first should be regarded as an all time classic but the second is a truly outstanding contest as well.

but going back, what a run at 154, stopping Hall of Famers Curry and Jackson, after taking huge punches himself, and grinding down kronk standouts Braxton and mccrory in exhausting contests.

surprising, to lose McCallum as well as not far back hagler; I make the assumption that because they took shots so well they'd be healthier for longer.

[goose 5]

I had Toney 116-112 in the first MCCallum bout and I've seen it a few times. I watched the second bout on television but have never re-watched it. That's on the agenda. I remember thinking Toney earned the nod.

[THEBUTCH]

Have to give Sumbu Kalambay his due. He seized McCallum's unbeaten record with a very slick display.

[goose 5]

Historian Art Rust Jr. went on the air shortly after the first Kalambay bout and stated that MCCallum threw the bout. Rust was of partly Jamaican descent and had huge respect and admiration for MCCallum so his comment was shocking.

[THEBUTCH]

I don't give any credence to that claim personally.

In my view McCallum tried his utmost to win and had the look of a man becoming increasingly desperate the further the fight went. Gone was the normally confident, self-assured expression on his face.

Kalambay was on top form and for the first time in his career McCallum came up short. Mike was far from finished or perturbed and went on to cement his legacy.

[Coco]

Kalumby was proper underrated