| Mike McCallum | |
| Nickname: | The Bodysnatcher |
| Weight: | |
| Birth Date: | 7 December 1956 |
| Birth Place: | Kingston, Jamaica |
| Height: | 5 ft 11+1/2 in[1] |
| Reach: | 78 in |
| Style: | Orthodox |
| Total: | 55 |
| Wins: | 49 |
| Losses: | 5 |
| Ko: | 36 |
| Draws: | 1 |
Mike McCallum (born 7 December 1956) is a Jamaican former professional boxer who competed from 1981 to 1997. He held world championships in three weight classes, including the WBA super welterweight title from 1984 to 1988, the WBA middleweight title from 1989 to 1991, and the WBC light heavyweight title from 1994 to 1995.
A slick, hard-hitting technician in the ring, McCallum was known for his exceptionally durable chin and toughness, and was never stopped in any of his five losses. He earned his nickname of "The Bodysnatcher" due to his ability to land vicious body punches in fights. McCallum was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2003. In 2011, The Ring magazine ranked him as eighth on their list of the "10 best middleweight title holders of the last 50 years."[2]
Claimed an amateur record of 240–10
Mike McCallum turned professional in 1981. As a professional, he fought almost exclusively in the USA. He first became a world champion in 1984 by defeating Sean Mannion to win the vacant WBA super welterweight title. McCallum would defend that title six times, winning all six fights by knock out.
His first prominent opponent was future two-weight world champion and future fellow International Boxing Hall of Fame member Julian Jackson, whom McCallum fought in his third title defense. McCallum survived some punishment in the first round and came back to stop the undefeated Jackson in the second round.[4]
McCallum really came to prominence when he knocked out former WBC welterweight title-holder Milton McCrory and former undisputed world welterweight champion, another future International Boxing Hall of Fame member, Donald Curry in 1987. Curry was ahead on all three scorecards going into the fifth round when McCallum knocked him out with what some have called a "perfect" left hook.[5]
In 1988, he moved up to middleweight, suffering his first defeat, a clear unanimous decision, in an attempt to win the WBA middleweight championship from Sumbu Kalambay. In 1989, McCallum defeated Herol Graham by a split decision[6] to win the then-vacant WBA middleweight title (which had been stripped from Kalambay for signing to face IBF champion Michael Nunn). He defended the title three times, defeating Steve Collins, Michael Watson, and Kalambay in a rematch.
McCallum fought IBF middleweight champion James Toney in 1991. McCallum was stripped of the WBA title before the bout. The fight ended in a draw, and McCallum lost the second fight by a controversial majority decision the following year. Some felt that McCallum won both fights.[7]
McCallum then moved up two weight divisions and won the WBC interim light heavyweight title against Randall Yonker, then won the full WBC title by outpointing Jeff Harding in 1994. Being in his late thirties, he did not hold the crown long, losing the title to Fabrice Tiozzo. At 40 years of age, he attempted to regain the vacant Interim WBC title against Roy Jones Jr. in December 1996, but lost by a wide decision.
In his last fight, McCallum lost a rubber match to James Toney via a unanimous decision in a cruiserweight bout.
McCallum had a professional record of 49-5-1 (36 knockouts). He was never knocked out as a professional. After McCallum retired, he moved to Las Vegas and became a trainer. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2003.[8]
| Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 55 | Loss | 49–5–1 | James Toney | UD | 12 | 22 Feb 1997 | |||
| 54 | Loss | 49–4–1 | Roy Jones Jr. | UD | 12 | 22 Nov 1996 | |||
| 53 | Win | 49–3–1 | Ali Saidi | UD | 10 | 22 Jun 1996 | |||
| 52 | Loss | 48–3–1 | Fabrice Tiozzo | UD | 12 | 16 Jun 1995 | |||
| 51 | Win | 48–2–1 | Carl Jones | TKO | 7 (12), | 25 Feb 1995 | |||
| 50 | Win | 47–2–1 | Jeff Harding | UD | 12 | 23 Jul 1994 | |||
| 49 | Win | 46–2–1 | Randall Yonker | TKO | 5 (12), | 4 Mar 1994 | |||
| 48 | Win | 45–2–1 | Glenn Thomas | 10 | 14 Aug 1993 | ||||
| 47 | Win | 44–2–1 | Ramzi Hassan | UD | 10 | 25 Mar 1993 | |||
| 46 | Loss | 43–2–1 | James Toney | 12 | 29 Aug 1992 | ||||
| 45 | Win | 43–1–1 | Fermin Chirino | UD | 10 | 21 May 1992 | |||
| 44 | Draw | 42–1–1 | James Toney | 12 | 13 Dec 1991 | ||||
| 43 | Win | 42–1 | Nicky Walker | RTD | 5 (10), | 10 Oct 1991 | |||
| 42 | Win | 41–1 | Carlos Cruzat | UD | 10 | 29 Aug 1991 | |||
| 41 | Win | 40–1 | Sumbu Kalambay | SD | 12 | 1 Apr 1991 | |||
| 40 | Win | 39–1 | Frank Minton | TKO | 4 (10), | 19 Feb 1991 | |||
| 39 | Win | 38–1 | Michael Watson | KO | 11 (12), | 14 Apr 1990 | |||
| 38 | Win | 37–1 | Steve Collins | UD | 12 | 3 Feb 1990 | |||
| 37 | Win | 36–1 | Herol Graham | 12 | 10 May 1989 | ||||
| 36 | Win | 35–1 | Ralph Moncrief | TKO | 5 | 9 Jan 1989 | |||
| 35 | Win | 34–1 | Randy Smith | UD | 10 | 22 Dec 1988 | |||
| 34 | Win | 33–1 | David McCluskey | TKO | 2 (10), | 27 Jun 1988 | |||
| 33 | Loss | 32–1 | Sumbu Kalambay | UD | 12 | 5 Mar 1988 | |||
| 32 | Win | 32–0 | Donald Curry | KO | 5 (15), | 18 Jul 1987 | |||
| 31 | Win | 31–0 | Milton McCrory | TKO | 10 (15), | 19 Apr 1987 | |||
| 30 | Win | 30–0 | Leroy Hester | KO | 1 (10), | 21 Mar 1987 | |||
| 29 | Win | 29–0 | Said Skouma | TKO | 9 (15), | 25 Oct 1986 | |||
| 28 | Win | 28–0 | Irving Hines | TKO | 4 (10) | 15 Sep 1986 | |||
| 27 | Win | 27–0 | Julian Jackson | TKO | 2 (15), | 23 Aug 1986 | |||
| 26 | Win | 26–0 | Jimmy Shavers | TKO | 6 | 2 May 1986 | |||
| 25 | Win | 25–0 | David Braxton | TKO | 8 (15), | 28 Jul 1985 | |||
| 24 | Win | 24–0 | Marcos Martinez | TKO | 2 (10) | 15 Jun 1985 | |||
| 23 | Win | 23–0 | Luigi Minchillo | TKO | 13 (15) | 1 Dec 1984 | |||
| 22 | Win | 22–0 | Sean Mannion | UD | 15 | 19 Oct 1984 | |||
| 21 | Win | 21–0 | Hasim Razzaq | KO | 1 (10), | 10 Mar 1984 | |||
| 20 | Win | 20–0 | Manuel Jiminez | UD | 10 | 25 Oct 1983 | |||
| 19 | Win | 19–0 | Jose Vallejo | TKO | 6 (10) | 31 Aug 1983 | |||
| 18 | Win | 18–0 | Tony Suero | TKO | 3 (10) | 26 Apr 1983 | |||
| 17 | Win | 17–0 | Ayub Kalule | 7 (10), | 13 Nov 1982 | ||||
| 16 | Win | 16–0 | Carlos Betancourt | TKO | 3 (10) | 22 Oct 1982 | |||
| 15 | Win | 15–0 | Kevin Perry | 10 | 11 Jun 1982 | ||||
| 14 | Win | 14–0 | Reggie Ford | TKO | 4 (10) | 30 Apr 1982 | |||
| 13 | Win | 13–0 | Gilberto Almonte | KO | 1 (10), | 26 Mar 1982 | |||
| 12 | Win | 12–0 | Greg Young | TKO | 5 (10), | 22 Jan 1982 | |||
| 11 | Win | 11–0 | Jimmy Heair | TKO | 2 (10) | 8 Oct 1981 | |||
| 10 | Win | 10–0 | Ed Harris | KO | 1 (8) | 8 Sep 1981 | |||
| 9 | Win | 9–0 | Tirso Roque | KO | 3 (8) | 27 Aug 1981 | |||
| 8 | Win | 8–0 | Bruce Strauss | TKO | 3 | 19 Jul 1981 | |||
| 7 | Win | 7–0 | Freddie Creech | KO | 3 | 10 Jun 1981 | |||
| 6 | Win | 6–0 | Charles Smith | KO | 3 | 30 Apr 1981 | |||
| 5 | Win | 5–0 | Danny Chapman | 4 (4), | 24 Apr 1981 | ||||
| 4 | Win | 4–0 | Shelby Wilkerson | KO | 5 | 2 Apr 1981 | |||
| 3 | Win | 3–0 | Ricky Sheppard | KO | 5 | 19 Mar 1981 | |||
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | Rocky Fabrizio | KO | 1 | 3 Mar 1981 | |||
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | Rigoberto Lopez | 4 (6) | 14 Jan 1981 |
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