Agreed.

True fact

Exactly Paul, when I was about late teens I started to get KO magazine monthly from the Newsagents in the late 80s and to say that they underrated McCallum wouldn't be even close. They never spoke about him or had him even higher than no 3 when he was a junior middleweight. I never understood that because at the time he had good wins against the frighteningly good hitter Julian Jackson and Donald Curry who had come back well and looked his old self after losing at welter to Honeyghan 18 months earlier. Reg Gutteridge called him "The great Mike McCallum" before one of his bouts. Only the likes of James Toney and Roy Jones could lick him on points. I think he had a draw against Sumbu kalambay and one against Toney I'd have to check but no doubt Mike McCallum was a great fighter. I remember him knocking out Michael Watson too who was a good solid compact middleweight with massive heart and solid defence. He boxed evenly with Herol Graham in a close bout too and Herol who was flawed in some regards wasn't easy to box against but Mike managed it. He was a patient solid Jr middle and middleweight. I think towards the end didn't he fight above middle too? May have fought Jones and Toney at super middle or Jones at middle and Toney at super middle? I'd have to double check was such a long time ago.

Dead right Paul Anthony, the toney fights were classics as well. The boxing ability from both sides was sublime. Great against Jeff harding too and even Roy Jones you could see the respect he had for McCallum. We know the American press seem to big up their own fighters and disregard others but that's no matter, good is good and anyone with the knowledge could see how good the man was . Good to converse with somebody who knows the game, thanks brother 👍👍

@@paulanthony5274 He lost to Sumbu in their first by UD or MD and won the rematch by SD. Sumbu is also criminally underrated and unfairly remembered only by the surprising first round ko loss to Michael Nunn.

Mars Red Agreed✊. His flicker jab is was the most beautiful thing in boxing. KRONK.

@@discowolf25 look at jab by Lennox Lewis

@@discowolf25 anyway Hearns is the big champ

Andriy Pavelko Lewis’ jab also one of the most beautiful things in boxing. He popped off it like it was nothing. Meant no disrespect champ✊.

Andriy Pavelko where you box outta?

Larry Holmes jab and Joe Louis right hand.

Two masters working their craft

Hagler would’ve been too much in his prime at Midfleweight.

+KING JAY But would Hearns been able to deal with the body pressure McCallum?

Stop WITH THE BULLSHIT!! FLOYD WOULD EAT THIS SHIT UP!!!!!

I think Mike showed against Jackson he could take the power punches and continue on and beat you, I think he beats Hearns in a great fight, at JWM, Floyd has not shot against either one, Leonard also beats him there, as does Terry norris, who also could box, was fast and had an awesome left hook.

+MrSlowPaper never saw anybody EAT what tommy served out lmao you must be around 14-15 years old

Agreed!

Yes, great sparring. Toney and McClellan sparring is in here too. Always great sparring with steward in charge

Now this is the classic respectful art of " Sparring " . Compared to the present day sparring sessions with the pros. Today the sparring sessions are so disrespectful to the Queensbuiry sparring rules, present day, they try to take your head off instead off working and fixing flaws to advance their craft of the sweet science of boxing.

@@hanks5379 Man I am so sick of old-heads always tryna to shit on our generation

Hearns inside three minutes against McCallum, really? I mean this man fought all the killers but was never knocked out. The likes of Julian Jackson, Jam😢Toney, Roy Jones, Steve Collins . He was never knocked down, the four kings didn't want to get in a ring with him for a reason.

Then again mccallum fought hard hitters and was never dazed. I see mccallum getting the better of hearns. He was avoided for a reason. Even in his late 30s the man was a killer. The moment someone closed hearns distances it was almost always over. Even Barkley got to him.

That's true. Unfortunately, some that came along later only got to see him fight when he was up in age and past his prime years, even then , he was still no pushover

Julian is not in the same convo as Hearns.Julian rushed his shots and didn’t set anything up

Jackson wasn't the fighter tommy was. Yeah ge had power. But he didn't have the ring IQ, precision, and speed as tommy. Plus i doubt he punched significantly harder than Tommy. His hooks were powerfy, but Tommy's straights were. Plus his hooks had pop too. Cang compare Jackson to the HITMAN

@@jabrielwhite17 I agree on all accounts

But Hearns is all over him and not even trying??

The problem with that comparison is that it doesn’t take into account the fact that Hearns is far better than Jackson in every other aspect apart from power (where he’s merely equal).

McCallum

Never heard of this Mike Mccullen fella that is A technical wiz. I do know about Mike McCallum , who was A master boxer.

I think that McCallum could have beaten Hearns (I don't know that he WOULD have beaten him, but he definitely COULD have). I don't think it would have been like the Jackson fight, though. Jackson's power was maybe, maybe, maybe comparable to Hearns's, but he was nowhere near as quick and skilled as Tommy. (Hearns and Jackson had--unfortunately--similar jaws, though.)

That's bullshit!

I think you are right. Mike would have been there the whole way and if Tommy couldn't get you out of there, he seem to run into problems.

you're right that Mike could probably outbox Tommy, but I'm not too sure Mike would have chosen to try to outbox him I'm a real bout. instead he would have timed the hell out of Tommy to the body, taken away his legs and ko'd him late. I'd go with Mike in a battle of attrition

Carlos Rosa It's a tough call. Most people judge Tommy onhis two biggest fights. First one with Leonard and with Hagler. Lot of people forget that he was indisposed in both fights. Overtrained for Leonard and broken right hand in fight with Hagler among other things. Biggest weaknes was his chin but that I think was a result of that hard knockout from Hagler. The closest they've been to fight each other was before Duran Hearns when they both had Mike as mandatory. Hearns was in his prime and if he came in fight with Mike in a same condition (which is something you couldn't rely on with Tommy) I think it would be very hard night for Bodysnatcher.

TzFrank Hagler had better reach than McCallum.

TzFrank Hagler could box and brawl. Hagler could fight on inside and outside. And he could go to the body very good too. Yeah he was slower but he was also harder puncher and his skills were very good too. Don't forget he's one of the best switch hitters ever. I see it 50:50.

+Marti Nek WOW! first time iv seen this,what year was it? Reply

maz hussain That jab was "Cobra" like.

Indeed.

Tommy's jab was his best asset but his inability to take a huge punch and Mccallum's body work and amazing stamina would have won him the fight in the later rounds imo. There is no doubt in my mind he would have knocked out Tommy.

Sugar ray Unless Hearns knocked him out first which is also possible. Even if McCallum would win he'd take a lot of punishment

i enjoyed this more than most pro fights nowadays. quality work from both men, deep skills on show. have you seen the toney - mcclellan sparring video? that's mesmerising too.

Carlos Castro most beautiful jab in the history of the sport. That flicker.

The most dodged fighter of his generation.

Only people who say that he's underrated are actually the ones who underrate him, he was always a great boxer and always have the respect of the boxing world,

McCallum will feel the effects of Hearns’ bodywork too, which is actually more damaging than McCallum’s

yea hearns was the man. that f'n jab is ridiculous

This is such a tough fight to call. One day I say Tommy, the next I say the Body Snatcher.

Tommy beat the crap out of Sugar Ray for thirteen rounds. You might want to rethink some of your ratings. The only thing ever questionable on Tommy was his chin and that was because of the height to weight ratio.

Hagler. Body snatcher was elite. The Marvelous one was a level above.

😐

Hearns had a much better jab. And in these weights - hearns moved much better as well. Add that he could fight of the back foot - mike couldnt. To me that makes tommy more diverse. Ill just add that i think mike wins h2h.

@@eranliber5993 you should go and watch Mike McCallum as you obviously don’t know anything at all lol. Never catch Mike getting tired down the stretch or getting Ko’d cold in his prime. Pure boxing pugilist. Furthermore, hearns named him the body snatcher, and also hearns and manny didn’t wanna fight him . Either did Ray he beat rays bro in the amateurs. And the way he broke down Julian Jackson countering with body shots. Mike came up the hard way! 🇯🇲

@@thefootballandboxingchanne2357 i did see a decent portion of his fights that i could find. And i love mccallum. EXTREMELY UNDERRATED. what i wrote is just my feeling in a h2h match. Tommy imo had the best jab in the lower divisions, especially back in his day. Tommy also moved very good (mike also) but hearns was quicker. as for conditioning? Absolutely right. Hearns could be gassed out when didnt fight the right fight and it was possible. Btw - i heard that tommy ducked mccallum - and i cant say or validate anything. But i guess many top guys did. Sure, mike was a prime boxer - but unlike hearns, hagler, duran and leonard - he didnt bring big numbers, money and exposure so it felt like a lose-lose situation to put your title in the line and gaining very little from it. Dont get me wrong - i absolutely think the best should fight the best, and tommy and mike @154 wouldve been epic, but i guess when your title in the line and big money comes into play - words speak louder than actions. Anyway - BIG respect for mike. His 1st fight against toney remains one of my absolute favorites.

@@eranliber5993 hearns outboxes mc callum. The spots mc callum was most dangerous hearns wouldn’t give him. Unless the gas tank like said.And I like mc callum more than hearns .more complete .

I'm pretty sure they wearing each others shirts.. the tall guy is g man..

Wtf? Do you seriously believe that was McCallum full on? I suggest you go look at Mike's fights, before he was almost 40 and Jones finally found the guts to fight him.

Andy McBride I don't need to go back and look at anything. I've seen McCallum at his best. Ringside. What I am saying is that a guy who got rocked By Curry and McCrory and Jackson who were all right hand bombers would have certainly had a problem with one of the biggest right hand bombers of all time. Of course I know McCallum is not full on but it hurt Hearns more not being full on because he was a classic one two puncher so it hurt him more.

Yeah and what did Mike do to those guys? There was good reason Steward wouldn't let his cash cow fight McCallum, because he knew Tommy couldn't stop him. One shot like Mike hit Jackson or Curry with, and its goodnight Mr Hearns.

revprince2 I take aboard all your points, some very valid points there. I agree that Hearns was formidable at 154 but so was McCallum. I believe that McCallum would have worn down Duran and either stopped him in 12-13 rounds or won a close decision. Obviously Steward knew this and maneuvered Hearns into the fight instead, making big money for the both of them. Styles make fights, of course. Hearns made light work of Duran, while McCallum would likely have worked hard to break Duran. However, McCallum was very tough and clever, as you know since you claim to have seen him up close. I don't want to say that McCallum would have won but if anyone (besides Hagler) was capable of eating that big Hearns right hand, it was McCallum. You note that Hearns did not pull the trigger in this session...well, neither did McCallum. It's too bad they didn't have a unification fight before Hearns moved up for good

+Andy McBride mc callum fought 2 good fighters toney and calambay and lost 4 times,dont put him in the same league as hearns,let alone hagler or leonard!!come on now!!he is big mouthing now after 30 years that hagler was afraid to fight him,hagler would beat him up in all 4 corners of the ring

100% correct, After re-watching the curry fight, there is no question that Hearns would’ve ended this fantasy match up within three rounds.

@@stevef3453 Mike won that fight though. If Don Curry, Julian Jackson and James Toney couldn’t finish Mike, no one could

@@CommKommando Facts

Tommy clearly got the better of this session.

@@mowglie628 Cannot agree. Nott what my eyes saw

@@raeferwilson2599 I’m glad you’re not a judge then.

@@mowglie628 Glad YOU'RE not

@@raeferwilson2599 Nice comeback.

Stop obsessing over boxing stances

@@cactu5jack Detroit vs EVERYONE.

Good fight - I give it to Toney slightly..