If Mike McCallum were American would he get more respect?

I was watching some McCallum fights recently and the dude was BADASS. People act like he wasn't in the league of the Fab Four...nonsense. I think the Fab four are lucky they didn't have him involved in the mix actually. He'd have beaten Hearns and Duran and quite frankly I think he'd have beaten the late 80s version of Hagler too.

 

He would have beaten Duran, yes. Duran was too small for McCallum.

But I think Leonard, Hearns, and Hagler all would have won deserved decisions over Mike. But I'll concede that of the three, Mike had his best chance against Tommy.

For the record, McCallum beats Golovkin and the Ginger.

 

I don't think being American had much to do with it. Perhaps he may have gotten a little more hype but that's about it. Pretty much all of his big fights were on U.S. soil so he wasn't a protected Frank Warren type.

It's more about timing. When McCallum was considered an elite fighter the Fab 4 were either past the their prime, retired, in different weight classes etc. In the same time frame Mike Tyson was entering his zenith so not many guys below heavyweight were getting the same attention they used to enjoy.

 

To be quite honest though, no, McCallum was not in the league of the Fab 4.

Leonard, and Duran are consensus top 5-10 all timers.

Hagler is a consensus top 15 all timer.

Hearns, I'd have to give some thought about his all time ranking, but it's certainly higher than McCallum.

I don't mean to be harsh to the Body Snatcher. I was a fan, and he was a terrific fighter, but we're talking about 4 top 25 all timers.

McCallum is not even a top 30 atg.

 

Ring magazine did interviews with boxers where they asked them who hit them the hardest, who was the fastest, who was the most skilled, etc.

I clearly remember Roy Jones, James Toney, Michael Watson, Steve Collins, Julian Jackson and Herol Graham all naming McCallum as the best guy they ever faced, his stock amongst boxers is very high.

 

I'm somewhat surprised that Jackson would say that being he lost to McCallum.

 

So did Watson, Collins and Graham. I know what you mean though, usually boxers say the best guy is a person they've beaten as it makes them look better, which in its own way speaks to how good McCallum was.

 

I have no doubt that McCallum would have broken down Hearns for a stoppage around the 8th. Leonard would have likely won a decision against him though. McCallum gives any version of Hagler absolute hell. Not saying he wins necessarily but it's a very close fight. McCallum is the victim of not having faced those other fighters..and facing Jones and Toney when he was on the slide. Jones would have been too fast for him though...but then again same can be said for Jones against anyone in history.

 

I certainly do. McCallum breaking down Hearns is possible but "no doubt"?

It's easy to picture it I guess. Strong pressure fighter with good skills, against a lanky guy without the best punch resistance. Doing it is another story. McCallum would not take a Hagleresque approach. He was much more calculating.

 

He could have done himself a world of good by not losing to Kalambay and more comprehensively beating some of the guys he won against

 

Kalambay himself was massively underrated too though.

 

Mike McCallum got Yank citizenship whenever he won the US welterweight amateur championships

 

Sure, but Nunn got on the map in a big way by knocking him out in a round (though this was somewhat flukish)

Bottom line is that McCallum had some chances to force the powers that be to notice him and he really only managed to do it one time (the Curry fight)

 

Didn't he avenge his loss to kalambay?

 

cloggs hate the body snatcha

 

I think Hearns decisions McCallum but not without some difficulty. Tommy was at his best at 154. Styles favor Hearns I think.

McCallum also loses to Leonard but beats Duran.

All time the Fab 4 rank higher.

 

He picked Buddy McGirt by 7th round knockout over McCallum in the MM section not long ago.

 

Seriously?

 

Well...

Close enough.

 

Yes but not emphatically

 

You have a really bad sarcasm detector

 

Loved watching him fight but he gets mad overrated... I think he was under appreciated in his day causing people to overdo it over the years since he retired

 

One thing I do remember Cdogg was saying was Marlon Starling being on par with McCallum. Now THAT is false!

 

Be careful X, are you sure that you want to disagree with cdogg on anything? He’s your master and teacher, and you’re his sidekick....don’t bite the hand that feeds you.

 

Marlon Starling on his best days was a near-great fighter, same as McCallum

His dismantling of Honeyghan, schooling of Simon Brown are as impressive as any McCallum performance

McCallum was more consistent, which is why he is rated higher and deserves to be but the idea that Starling's best is laughably inferior to McCallum's strikes me as histrionic bullshit that is objectively false

 

But isn't mccallum the bigger man?

 

Um, yes ... he was generally a weight class or two larger ... what's that got to do with anything?

 

He's saying McCallum was the bigger man.

 

Wow! Penis so big! So big penis