Mike McCallum

IBHoF Bio

Name: Mike McCallum
Alias: Bodysnatcher
Birth Name: Michael McKenzie McCallum
Hometown: New York, New York, USA
Birthplace: Kingston, Jamaica
Died: 2025-05-31 (Age:68)
Stance: Orthodox
Height: 182cm
Reach: 189cm
Pro Boxer: Record
Amateur Boxer: Record

• Mike McCallum Gallery
• Trainers: George Benton and Lou Duva, Eddie Futch, Miguel Diaz
• Manager: Lou Duva
• Promoters: Dan Duva, Don King

Amateur Career

Claimed an amateur record of 240-10.

• 1974
  • Central American & Caribbean Games Silver medalist.
  • World Championships quarterfinalist in Havana, Cuba.
    • Defeated Roy Kaba (Ghana) points
    • Defeated Istvan Kovacs (Hungary) points
    • Lost to Clint Jackson (United States) points
• 1975
  • Welterweight Silver Medalist at the North American Continental Championships: lost on points to Clint Jackson of the United States.
• 1976
  • Jamaican welterweight representative at the Montreal Olympic Games, reaching the quarterfinals.
    • Defeated Damdinjav Bandi (Mongolia) 5-0
    • Defeated Robert Dauer (Austria) 5-0
    • Lost to Reinhard Skricek (West Germany) 2-3
• 1977
  • National AAU Welterweight Champion. Defeated Marlon Starling in the semifinals and Roger Leonard of the Air Force in the final.
  • National Golden Gloves Welterweight Champion.
• 1978
  • Central American & Caribbean Games Champion in Medellin, Colombia.
    • Defeated Jorrin Tortolo (Cuba) RSC-2
    • Defeated Wilfredo Guzman (Puerto Rico) 5-0
    • Defeated Manuel Saavedra (Colombia) 5-0 in finals
  • Welterweight Gold Medalist at the Commonwealth Games in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
    • Defeated Steve Cooney (Scotland) 5-0
    • Defeated Paul Kelly (England) 5-0
    • Defeated Derrick Hoyt (Canada) 5-0
    • Defeated Kenneth Beattie (Northern Ireland) 5-0 in finals
• 1979
  • National Golden Gloves Welterweight Champion. Defeated Doug DeWitt, Robbie Sims, and Donald Bowers.
  • Welterweight Silver Medalist at the Pan American Games in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
    • Defeated Claudio Pereira (Brazil) KO 1
    • Defeated Eddie Green (United States) RET 2
    • Defeated Javier Colin (Mexico) points
    • Lost to Andres Aldama (Cuba) RSCH 3
• 1980
  • New York Golden Gloves: lost to Alex Ramos in the semifinals.

Professional Career

McCallum after defeating Donald Curry on July 18, 1987

• Retired with a record of 13-3-1 (8 KOs) in world title fights.
• Retired with a record of 7-5-1 (4 KOs) against former or current world titlists.
  • Won against Ayub Kalule, Julian Jackson, Milton McCrory, Donald Curry, Steve Collins, Sumbu Kalambay, Jeff Harding.
  • Lost against Sumbu Kalambay, James Toney (twice), Fabrice Tiozzo, Roy Jones Jr.
  • Drew with James Toney.
• Won the vacant WBA Junior Middleweight Championship on October 19, 1984, with a fifteen-round unanimous decision against Sean Mannion.
• Defended the WBA Junior Middleweight Championship six times, stopping Luigi Minchillo, David Braxton, Julian Jackson, Said Skouma, Milton McCrory, and Donald Curry.
• Lost to WBA Middleweight Champion Sumbu Kalambay by a twelve-round unanimous decision on March 5, 1988. It was McCallum's first pro loss.
• Won the vacant WBA Middleweight Championship on May 10, 1989, with a twelve-round split decision against Herol Graham.
• Defeated Sumbu Kalambay by a twelve-round split decision on April 1, 1991, to retain the WBA Middleweight Championship.
• Fought a twelve-round draw with IBF Middleweight Champion James Toney on December 13, 1991. The fight was going to be a unification match, but the WBA stripped McCallum on December 3. The WBA demanded McCallum defend against Steve Collins, whom he decisively outpointed in a title defense the previous year. "The WBA wanted $30,000 from McCallum's purse, plus a $35,000 exception fee for letting him fight Toney," said Milton Chwasky, McCallum's attorney. "We were going to go along with that. Then they came back and demanded we give Barney Eastwood, Collins's manager, another $50,000 for stepping aside. That's when we said no." source
• Lost a rematch to IBF Middleweight Champion James Toney by a twelve-round majority decision on August 29, 1992.
• Defeated Jeff Harding by a twelve-round unanimous decision on July 23, 1994, to win the WBC Light Heavyweight Championship.
• Lost the WBC Light Heavyweight Championship to Fabrice Tiozzo by a twelve-round unanimous decision on June 16, 1995.
• The May 1994 issue of The Ring named McCallum the second greatest junior middleweight of all-time.
• Inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2003.

Life After Boxing

• McCallum was a trainer based in Las Vegas, Nevada. He died on the 31st May 2025 aged 68 in Las Vegas. It was reported he was driving to the gym and pulled over as he felt unwell where he was found unresponsive and later pronounced dead.

Preceded by: Roberto Duran Stripped	WBA Light Middleweight Champion 1984 Oct 19 – 1987 Vacated	Succeeded by: Julian Jackson
Preceded by: Sumbu Kalambay Stripped	WBA Middleweight Champion 1989 May 10 – 1991 Stripped	Succeeded by: Reggie Johnson
Preceded by: Jeff Harding	WBC Light Heavyweight Champion 1994 Jul 23 – 1995 Jun 16	Succeeded by: Fabrice Tiozzo

External Link

• "Mike McCallum: The Body Snatcher" by Austin Killeen: [1]