Mike McCallum, one of the standout boxers of the 1980s whose fierce body punching earned him the nickname, “The Body Snatcher,” died Saturday in Las Vegas. He was 68.
Elected to the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2003, McCallum won world titles at super welterweight, middleweight and light heavyweight. He was 49-5-1 with 36 KOs.
He held notable victories over Julian Jackson, Donald Curry, Milton McCrory, Steve Collins and Sumbu Kalambay. He went 0-2-1 in three bouts against James Toney and dropped a decision to Roy Jones in a 1997 light heavyweight title fight when Jones was widely regarded as the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world.
He fought most of the greats of his era, in a pro career that began in 1981 and ended in 1997 with a loss to Toney. However, he was never able to get a bout against one of the “Four Kings,” — Sugar Ray Leonard, Thomas Hearns, Roberto Duran and Marvelous Marvin Hagler.
McCallum desperately wanted a bout with one of those four during his career, but none of them gave him a shot.
Given the elite minds who worked his corner — George Benton, Lou Duva, Eddie Futch and Miguel Diaz — it is little surprise he went on to become a successful trainer himself.
Known for his high-level technique, McCallum punched in combination and attacked both the body and head with ruthless efficiency.
Outside of the ring, McCallum was rarely seen without a smile. He was known for his dedication to his boxers and his love of the sport.
Hall of Famer Lou DiBella made many of McCallum’s fights when DiBella was an executive at HBO. He called him the best fighter ever from Jamaica and said, “He was the most perfect technical fighter I’ve ever seen, and he wasn’t a pitty-pat guy. And I’ll tell you this: None of ‘The Four Kings,’ wanted anything to do with that guy and I know that for a fact because I tried to make some of those fights.”
McCallum was not a big draw, but was one of the toughest fighters in the business, so Leonard and Co. saw little point in giving him an opportunity.
Jones said of his former rival, “Man, we lost another beautiful boxing soul. May he rest in peace.”
Jones agreed with DiBella that ‘The Four Kings,’ wanted no part of McCallum. He raved about McCallum’s body work, and while he did not say that McCallum would have beaten any of Leonard, Hearns, Hagler, Duran or Wilfred Benitez, he said they all knew what a difficult test he would be.
As a result, they took more lucrative options.
“His prime came around at the end of the time of Marvin Hagler, Roberto Duran, Sugar Ray Leonard, Thomas Hearns and Wilfred Benitez,” Jones said. “In the junior middleweight division, everyone always went around Mike McCallum, and that says a lot about him. … Not even Marvin ever talked much about fighting Mike McCallum. You don’t have to listen to what they say [about him]. You watch what they do and everyone wanted to go around him for a reason.”
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Hall of Famer Mike McCallum, shown training as an amateur in this 1979 file photo, died Saturday at 68.