Goodbye to Mike McCallum at the age of 68.
Arguably the most underrated boxer of the last fifty years and certainly the most avoided of his time, Mike McCallum was so good that all-time great fighters avoided him (Ray Leonard, Thomas Hearns, and Roberto Duran), Hall of Famers fought him only when they had to (Donald Curry, Julian Jackson, and James Toney), and champions fell at his feet like matchsticks (Milton McCrory, Steve Collins, Ayub Kalule, Sumbu Kalumbay to name a few).
McCallum, a 1976 Olympian representing Jamaica, threw combinations as smooth as a rolling conveyor belt and was the rare fighter who could fight equally off the front foot as the back.
"The Body Snatcher" fought eleven men who held world titles during his career, defeating eight of them and drawing with a ninth (James Toney), winning world championships in three divisions (junior middleweight, middleweight, and light heavyweight).
McCallum was avoided by Roberto Duran, who vacated his WBA junior middleweight title rather than meet McCallum. Thomas Hearns, who was a Kronk stablemate with McCallum but saw McCallum leave Kronk to try to land a Hearns fight that would never occur, and for Sugar Ray Leonard, McCallum was too dangerous when he could make more money against bigger names.
Still, McCallum notched many notable victories, such as his second-round knockout of Julian Jackson (who hurt McCallum in round one), his tenth-round stoppage of former WBC welterweight champion Milton McCrory and his biggest career win, his one-punch knockout of former undisputed welterweight boss Donald Curry in the fifth round of their Las Vegas match.
The left hook essentially ended Curry's career as an elite fighter and is replayed to this day as the epitome of the perfect punch.
McCallum would win the WBA middleweight title before drawing and losing a majority decision to James Toney for Toney's IBF version. I scored McCallum the winner in their first fight and scored the second a draw.
McCallum then rose to 175 pounds to upend Jeff Harding to win the WBC belt in the weight class and defended it once before losing it to Fabrice Tiozzo.
McCallum lost three of his final four career fights, accounting for three of his four career losses, and retired after decision losses to Hall of Famers Roy Jones and James Toney.
McCallum retired with a record of 49-5-1 (36 by KO) and was never stopped in his career.
Mike McCallum was enshrined in the Boxing Hall of Fame in 2003, but it's fair to wonder what could have been if McCallum had been given the chance to fight the best in the sport.
Goodbye to David Greenwood at the age of 68.
Greenwood was a college standout at UCLA before his selection by the Chicago Bulls second overall in the 1979 NBA Draft behind the Lakers' choice of Magic Johnson.
Greenwood played twelve seasons in the NBA, with his best years his first six with the Bulls.
Greenwood spent most of the second half of his career with the San Antonio Spurs but won a championship as a reserve with the Detroit Pistons in 1990.
Greenwood finished his career with an average of ten points and eight rebounds.
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