I'm including Benitez to call it the Fab 5, not 4. How would have McCallum have fared against all 5? For me, it's really a question for how does he fare against Hearns, Duran, Benitez. I can't for the life of me see much of an argument for McCallum beating Leonard and Hagler. Leonard would be much too fast and dynamic, and Hagler was simply better than McCallum at just about everything. I don't wanna be rough on McCallum, but IMO he loses to 4/5. He gets outboxed by Hearns, and Benitez. He beats Duran in a fight where Duran acquits himself well, and wins his share of rounds, but ultimately McCallum wins a clear decision. Thoughts?
Duran is the only one I would confidently pick McCallum over, if they had fought in 83-84 when he was the mandatory. I think Duran would give a good account of himself. McCallum was not really a speedy guy or mover that Duran often had issues with at this stage, but he was still a great fighter, a very skilled guy, bigger and younger. Maybe somewhat like the Hagler fight in terms of competitiveness. Leonard from 79-82 occasionally fought above 147, and I would confidently pick him over McCallum at 154. Ray’s foot speed would be an edge, and you know, Ray having on the short list of the best peaks in the history of boxing. Hypothetically, if SRL had decided to fight McCallum when he came back in 84’, I don’t know. SRL would still had his foot speed which would trouble Mike, but he looked kind of sluggish that night. Still, it’s hard to pick against SRL, who had a tendency to rise to the occasion and made adjustments during the fight. I can see Hearns’s speed and ability to box from the outside being the difference against Mike, with some hard right hands and left hooks to the body to keep Mike honest. I wouldn’t be surprised though if McCallum got to him. Hearns could get caught up in the exchanges and get caught with some shots. Tommy’s chin issues weren’t as pronounced at 154 as they were at 160 and above, but they were probably still there. Also, there were some wicked body shots in round 7 by SRL that helped turned theater fight in Ray’s favor, and there’s not too many guys who went to the body better than McCallum. Hearns had some right hand issues at 154. It’s possible that in a way, it might actually help Tommy as he decides to use more movement and his ability to box at range. I would probably make Tommy a slight favorite at 154. Hagler was simply bigger and better. McCallum might beat the Hagler of 86-87 though. Hagler’s decline in defensive reflexes and legs were pretty noticeable. I’m not sure about El Radar.
Benitez is the wild card here, but I see no reason why the Benitez who schooled Duran couldn't do what Kalambay did. Ironically enough, Benitez-Duran and Kalambay-McCallun 1 were the two best pure boxing clinics of the 80s imo. Both flawless performances.
