Born Michael McKenzie McCallum on December 7, 1956 in Kingston, Jamaica. Nicknamed "The Body Snatcher" for his fierce body punching, McCallum was an impressive amateur, amassing a 240-10 record. Among his many amateur achievements include a berth on the 1976 Olympic team and National Golden Gloves and AAU championships.
A stylish boxer / puncher, he turned pro in 1981 and won the vacant WBA junior middleweight title from Sean Mannion in 1984. He defended it successfully six times, including wins over Julian Jackson, Milton McCrory and a dramatic kayo over Donald Curry, before abandoning the crown to compete as a middleweight. In 1988 McCallum lost a 12-round decision to Sumbu Kalambay for the WBA middleweight championship. Undeterred, "The Body Snatcher" defeated Herol Graham in 1989 to add the vacant WBA middleweight title to his collection. He defended the belt three times with wins over Steve Collins, Michael Watson and Kalambay before the WBA stripped him of the title. McCallum next challenged the IBF middleweight king James (Lights Out) Toney for middleweight supremacy on December 13, 1991. The highly competitive bout ended in a draw and in a rematch he dropped a 12-round decision to Toney. McCallum's championship days were not over as he went up in weight and won the WBC light heavyweight title from Jeff Harding in 1994 to become a three-division champion.
After losing the title to Frenchman Fabrice Tiozzo, McCallum met Roy Jones, Jr. for the vacant WBC light heavyweight belt, losing a 12-round decision. Following a rubber match with James Toney (L12), McCallum retired from the ring with a 49-5-1 (36KOs) record. Regarded as a superb ring technician, McCallum is now a boxing trainer based in Las Vegas.
Born: Dec. 7, 1956
Bouts: 55
Won: 49
Lost: 5
Draw: 1
KOs: 36
Induction: 2003
Mike McCallum
