Mcallum was highly underrated and never got the credit he deserved. Even the commentators here are pulling for Curry. Side note, if you look at 17 seconds into this video, you see my Dad, the late great Kenny Weldon holding handpads for Mike. Mcallum trained at our gym for several years while he was promoted by Lou Duva. He was trained by my Dad and the great George Benton. Indeed, Mike's list of trainers was a murderers row. He spent several years with Emanuel Steward, then several years with Weldon and Benton, and finished his career under the great Eddie Futch.
I was like 4 but I remember my dad following him when he was a contender. The day he lost to Honeyghan I remember my dad shaking his head, and saying "There's the test, and he failed. He doesn't have it". I asked him why Curry lost and he said Honeyghan wanted it badly, and Don didn't. Had no clue what that meant until I grew up and watched it.
Wow, how awesome. Your father trained this great fighter and I presume you got to meet McCallum. McCallum was a truly great fighter. Watching him survive the first round against a free swinging Julian Jackson and then destroying Jackson in the second showed me all I needed to know about how special a fighter McCallum was. Then winning titles at 154, 160 and then 175 was another amazing feat considering the age he won the WBC light heavyweight title by outpointing Jeff Hardin.
Mike McCallum a magnificent fighter unbelievable skills that only the purists could appreciate, always respectful of opponents hardly ever a trash talker thats probably the reason nobody remembers him was never a media darling, just an all round great fighter 💯👏👏👏👏
What a left hook! Mike McCallum proved his worth that he indeed was one of the very best fighters of the 1980s superstar studded era. He's talent was on the same level of the Fab 4 of boxing of Duran, Hagler, Leonard and Hearns.
@@jeffallinson8089 Why would they want to fight a guy who wasn’t a big name, wasn’t highly regarded by the mainstream, and wasn’t a big draw? They were busy fighting each other for millions of dollars.
@@jeffallinson8089 So they fought each other, knowing they could lose any of those fights, instead? Are you saying they were scared of McCallum (who got completely schooled by Sumbu Kalambay) but not each other? Or, did they fight each other because there was a lot more money in it than fighting McCallum? Think about it like an adult before you reply.
@@mowglie628 Kalambay didn't school Mike, it was a dodgy decision, and yes they definitely avoided him, no question as he provided too much risk for not enough money.
Curry was never the same after Honeyghan beat the crap out of him; I remember at the time thinking that this was only going to end in tears for Curry as Mike McCallum was on a different level altogether to Curry and has to go down as one of the most under rated (and avoided) fighters in the history of the sport.
Curry developed bad habits prior to the Honeyghan. He fought too flat footed with his head forward and relied too much on his power. All Honeyghan and McCallum did was expose him.
McCallum was avoided at the time as he brought no money to the table and presented a risk. Still, Curry had him lined up to fight in 1986 en route to Hagler, before Leonard and Trainer talked him into staying at 147. He did fight him the following year, so how avoided was he? Lots of people wanted to fight Leonard, Hagler, Duran and Hearns. I don't think anyone underrates McCallum. Curry was betting favourite going into this fight, so most expected him to win. Before the shocking performance against Honeyghan he was considered the best p4p fighter in boxing, alongside Hagler, which is why he was the favourite here. McCallum never reached that conversation. Until the finishing shot came out of nowhere, Curry was outboxing McCallum and had rocked him a few times. I expected him to win this fight at the time and it was going as I'd anticipated.
Mike and Donald was underrated...Two of the best of there day...When they was at the top of there game they couldn't get the big fights with Leonard,Hearns, Duran,Hagler or my his soul rest peace Aaron Pryor... It would been good to see those fights..
Although Curry was a highly skilled fighter Curry wasn't ready for the likes of SRL, Hearns, Duran, and Hagler. ...McCallum on the other hand was avoided by Duran ( McCallum was the #1 contender for Duran's belt), Hearns knew all he needed to know about McCallum as they were stablemates at The Kronk, watch McCallum dismantle Kronk fighter and former champion Milton Iceman McCrory, he exacted revenge against Manny Steward and Kronk for making the Duran vs Hearns fight instead of securing the Duran fight for McCallum 🥊🥊🥊🤙🤙🤙
McCallum stayed too long at junior middleweight. If he wanted Hagler, he should have moved up to middleweight earlier. They probably would have made him the No 1 contender because of his accomplishments at junior middle - he would have had no problem securing that fight...
@@kufujitsu Was a big light-middle. He could make weight, so I don't blame him for staying in the division as long as he could, but you can't do that then complain about being avoided by guys not in your division.
What a beautiful left hook by the champion Mike McCallum. Ray Leonard and Marvin Hagler didn’t fight MM. Not because each avoided him but because of April 6, 1987. Leonard and Hagler needed each other. Each didn’t need McCallum however brilliant a fighter he is in boxing.
Because NO ONE wanted to fight him. He knocked out Curry AND he put Julian The Hawk Jackson out after taking his best shots. Not Duran, Leonard, Hagler or Hearns wanted any part of that man.
One of the most under appreciated fighters of the modern era,just look at his record,K.Od undisputed champ Don Curry,who was destroying everyone he fought,went toe to toe with the most feared fighter in the ring at that time Julian Jackson and stopped him,then 3 fights in his mid 30's with a young James Toney,and what fights they were! Mike had a left hook that could stop heavyweights,and didn't turn pro till he was 24,a colossus of a fighter from the amazing Island of Jamaica,god bless Mike Mcallum!
Had McCallum fought during any other era of boxing other than the Golden Age of Boxing from 1964 - 1995.....he would have become a legend instead of a fighter that is soon being forgotten....and that is why we've posted 2400 videos on our site at www.imasportsphile.com ....for our boxing section is in process of having over 1000 vintage bouts including 620 title fights are currently being posted.....so, boxing fans who saw them perform.....can have fond memories.....while others who didn't....can see how great these fighters were.
Curry was winning before the stoppage. Cleaner punches. Unfortunately his prime was short, he had too much wear and tear. McCallum was a very good fighter.
Agreed. Had a LOT of amateur fights, so I'm guessing was fighting regularly when still a kid. Nobody knows the effects taking punches at that age can have on someone. Think he also lost interest in the game after beating McCrory tbh. Was either fighting in an unrealistic weight division for too long (rumours of trouble making 147 before he won the title), or was not training diligently. Looked great here before the KO, but fast forward a year or so and he looked faded at only 27. Was done as a top-class fighter before he hit 30.
Yeah I've watched the sparring. Pretty clear Hearns is working on stuff in a relaxed fashion, whereas McCallum is treating it like a fight. McCallum would have been a tough opponent for anyone at 154, but Hearns was close to being unbeatable at the weight. They fight around 1984-86 and Hearns outboxes him. Fantastic combination of size, speed, power and boxing ability. McCallum would have given him a good fight, but too one-paced to win.
Don't agree. Curry also landing to the body. McCallum looked concerned coming out for round 3. Was being outboxed and outhit, you can see him reacting to Curry's feints. Think Curry was in control almost from the opening bell.
In Italy the punch that knocked out Don Curry is called "Sunday blow". Don Curry dominated until the 4th round, coming close to KO several times. The only mistake he made, when the guard was discovered, paid for it dearly.
That's why Michael Watson could have gone on to be a World Champion. He fought McCallum and put up a brave performance, when many more distinguished fighters wouldn't fight him. If only.......
Even in the period of 4 titles per division Watson wasn't quite good enough to win one. Plenty of name fighters fought McCallum, just not the ones he wanted, who'd bring big money to the table. Can't blame him for being frustrated, but all of those guys except Hearns had one foot out of the game by the time McCallum started gaining attention.
Great call by SRL, saying what McCallum should do and as soon as he did it - boom. One of my favorite fights of the 80's. I really miss the HBO telecast from the 80's.
Saddest thing I ever saw tbh. We've all seen promising champions be exposed as overrated but imo - and I've watched a lot of boxing going all the way back to the late 1970s, when I was just a kid, Curry was the real deal. One of the game's biggest mysteries, how he fell from the pinnacle so fast, so hard. A lot of speculation about him, but only he will really know what happened.
At the end of this fight where Barry Tompkins talking about the heavyweight unification series and the rematch between Holmes and Spinks, that Spinks won the second fight more convincingly than the first. Well I thought Spinks won the first fight clearly, but the second fight I thought Holmes pulled it out with a determined effort.
Me too. Thought Holmes took the 2nd fight. Larry wasn't loved much by the public at the time. I felt like they were probably like "we don't need larry regaining the title" because he was.......well, he was Holmes.
@@exspiravit6920 Holmes wasn't loved, but he was the first real professional boxer who I idealized. I got into boxing after watching Rocky IV. When Spinks won the rematch, I argued my case that Holmes won but nobody was going to listen to a 13 year old. Then even months later I got to watch a 20 year old Mike Tyson win the WBC heavyweight title with a devastating performance against Trevor Berbick. At that point, I said this kid is going to kick Spinks' butt. Because I didn't care for Spinks because he beat my hero. I enjoyed the 91 seconds of Tyson vs Spinks so thoroughly, but soon after came to appreciate Spinks as a great light heavyweight and a pretty good heavyweight. He just went against a fighter in Tyson, who at the time was a every fighter's nightmare, Tyson was faster and hit harder.
I don't understand! 31-0 (28kos) depending champion (depended his belt 5 times all by KOs) a 2 to 1 underdog to a 27-1 (20kos) challenger? Oh I get it! The champion is not American and the challenger is!
tbh most people (not gamblers!) expected Curry to win. He was considered tied with Hagler as no.1 P4P only 10 months earlier and was considered a super-fighter. There were a lot of excuses (some valid, some not) for his stunning defeat by Honeyghan the previous year. Honeyghan had not looked anything special as champion, so most of the US media was prepared to write off the loss as a fluke. McCallum, whilst unbeaten was already 30 years old. He'd left Kronk as he felt he was playing second fiddle to Hearns and his career was stalling. He'd won the vacant WBA title against a journeyman (Mannion) and the only real name in his defences was McCrory, who basically was finished as an elite fighter post his dramatic KO loss to Curry. Yes, Julian Jackson went on to have an excellent career but he was completely untested and raw when he challenged McCallum. The only think Mike had in his favour was the slight natural weight advantage. So, him being the underdog in July 1987 was pretty much on the money.
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Stephen King, thanks for your comment.....for it speaks to the real purpose of our site at www.imasportsphile.com ....which is to pay respect to the awesome athletes, sportscasters, entertainers, artists and musicians of the Baby Boomer generation ....while providing a history of this generation as seen through their sports, comedy and music....a history that is already too soon being forgotten....so, we recommend you bookmark our site and do not rely on utube for our content...cuz we use 100 different utube channels under different names as "video weigh stations" for the 2300 hrs. of content we will load over the next 5 - 6 years....as you are sure to miss some "nuggets of gold" from our treasure chest of content if you don’t bookmark our site. PS....www.imasportsphile.com has 200+/- world championship title fights from the golden age of boxing (1964 - 1995) currently posted in our boxing section....with 420 more left still to post....so, bookmark and stay tuned cuz we post new old videos almost every day.
Fighters back then behaved and talked more like business men and loved the sport. Better quality boxers as well. Today is a lot of noise and big hullabaloo about very little among mediocre fighters...at best. Only a handful of today fighters would have made it back then.
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Mike McCallum is the GREATEST Jr. Middlewight(154lbs) of ALL TIME. And also one of THE most avoided fighters of all time. Not Duran, Leonard, Hagler or Hearns wanted any part of him. If you want to see a pure boxing masterclass then go watch his fights against James Toney - who said he learned more from those three fights than any others in his career. I'd put Mike up against ANY 154lb fighter of any era. The Body Snatcher could do it all. He's also Devin Haney's trainer now and lives quite comfortably in Las Vegas, having taken good care of the fortune he made in boxing.
How did they avoid him? Stop pushing this lie. McCallum was not this super star fighter for 5-6 years. He was not established as a top fighter in the middle weight classes until this fight in July 1987. By then it was too late. He wasn't going to fight Leonard, he had nothing Leonard wanted. Leonard fought one time in 5 years(Kevin Howard) and just fought Hagler before this fight and there was talk of a possible rematch.. Duran lost a lot in the 80s. Benitez-Laing-Hagler-Hearns-Sims. When was there ever a big cry for that fight? Hagler could have fought Mike in 86 but selected Mugabi instead who was probably a bigger pay day. Then you had losses which made it harder. McCallum himself losing to Kalambay after this fight. Hearns getting stopped by Barkley.
The fabulous 4 wanted no part of this dangerous fighter hall of greatness slick defences devastating offensive ammos every punch in the book in textbook fashion
@@joeblow2069 Pretty much agree with this. He was no.1 contender for Duran's WBA light-middle title in 1984, but was a total unknown, with just one win over a name opponent (Kalule) from his 20-0 record. Everyone wanted to see Duran fight rival champ Hearns, not fulfill a mandatory obligation against a guy nobody had heard of. I remember this well and no one was clamoring to see Duran - McCallum in 1984. Mugabi fought Hagler in 1986 and at that time he was actually ranked at both 154 and 160. Mugabi was an unbeaten big puncher who had made the cover of Ring Magazine, so was a more attractive opponent than McCallum, who'd made 3 defences of his WBA title, though against average opposition. He was more high-profile a year later but by then Hagler had retired and Leonard was about to go into semi-retirement. Duran disappeared for 19 months after getting blown out by Hearns. He wasn't relevant again until beating Barkley in 1989, then lost immediately in a boring fight with Leonard. I can't recall anyone really wanting to see him fight McCallum. That leaves Hearns. After losing to Hagler in 1985 he was pursuing a rematch until Marvin retired in 1987. The only real chance for a Hearns - McCallum fight was probably early 1988, when Tommy was WBC Middle champ and McCallum was moving up to 160. For whatever reason, McCallum challenged WBA champ Kalambay and lost a decision. 3 months later Hearns got knocked out by Barkley. That was Hearns' last fight at the weight. By the time McCallum moved up to 175 in the mid-90s, he was old and semi-washed up and Hearns was a washed-up fighter up at Cruiserweight.
@@johnniea4684 You summed it up well. If there ever was a choice for Hagler to fight Mugabi or McCallum in 86 I'm sure there was more money and more buzz for a Mugabi fight. Hagler probably saw Mugabi as a guy who might have been competitive for a couple of rounds but once he solved him he would be gone by rd 5. McCallum on the other hand looked like a longer more difficult fight. Hagler at that point in his career was fighting once a year and of course would only fight one more time vs Leonard. Not many opportunities there. The big fight people were wanting to see at 154 in the early 80s was Duran vs Ayala until Ayala ruined himself with the rape. There was also Billy Collins Jr who was a real up and coming fighter until the Resto fight in 83. McCallum was not on anybody's radar in 82 and 83.
McCallum lost every round of this fight and Curry simply got careless. McCallum had a 4 inch reach advantage and Curry simply misjudged the distance of that leaping hook McCallum threw. McCallum was also fighting dirty throwing low blows out of frustration. McCallum's fights with James Toney are the stuff of boxing dreams though. He probably is the best 154lber ever but Curry was breaking left hooks over his head. In his prime, I'd put Curry as #1 welterweight of all time. That includes against Ray Robinson. Again I'm speaking of 147.
The Americans will never admit that Lloyd Honeygan was the better fighter on the night . He was hungry and he didn't give a F for anyone . There were head clashes but I'd dispute it was intentional on either fighters part . Mike McCullam was the grand master end of . .
The headbutts were unintentional. Curry stood right in front of Honeyghan and held his head high. Lloyd was highly unorthodox so head-clashes were inevitable. The American media were not interested in Honeyghan (or McCallum, actually) and were quick to exaggerate the role the cuts had in the stoppage. Curry was a beaten man before the cut. However, I will say that Curry was without a doubt a far superior fighter. He was clearly weight-drained for the Honeyghan fight and looked sluggish and weak from the opening bell. I was shocked how bad he looked, nothing like the joint P4P fighter (with Hagler) he was. Against a lesser opponent he could maybe have got away with it, but Honeyghan was a live challenger and super-motivated. That fight was his high point though, he never got close again.
Mike MC is an underrated great fighter, and like all great fighters had a great jab. He was unlucky as he did not have a good management to force the big names to fight him. Unlike RL who was a media hype job, no doubt was shaking in his boots after this.
Curry dropped both his hands to admire his left hook which just landed,than Boom!. Usually a long,reaching left hook don't carry that kind of power.curry didn't have the best chin either.
What the commentators neglected to mention was Curry's team, following the weigh-in, were bragging, "knockout weight" when DC stepped off the scale. And, the fact Curry quit on his stool.
I flew from Ct.to Vegas just to go to bet lots of money on McCallum. I knew he'd beat Curry and I wasn't going to miss this easy money opportunity. And I laughed all the way to the Cage at Caesar's palace.
Donald Curry looked so in control of this fight (to me) right up until that left hook. He had McCallum perplexed with his movement. Made one mistake of dropping that right hand. Shame really; I would like to have seen this go further.
Ya' know ... the HBO announcers are very good, so don't get me wrong here, but harping on the fact that one fighter or another " drops his left hand " is a bit misleading. In the process of any boxing match, its probably NOT very easy to keep your left mit stapled to your jaw. And in fact, a guy can STILL get NAILED with a right hand even when his left paw IS up ...
lets get one thing straight about "butts" vs honeyghan. Nearly every usa commentator tried (and failed) to blame his defeat on "being butted", bullsh*t, he got his ass kicked by a better fighter on the night - period! - just like this fight lol !
@@courylanders4142 lol! Dont hate him at all. Just the biased commentary blaming the cut eye as the only reason he lost. He just got beat up fair and square & no one saw it coming
I remember back in the day i had alot of boxing books and one of them was KO...and on the front cover was Donald Curry..He said " Haglar and Hearns are done and i'm better than both of them "...He wouldn't have had a chance with either...Don't get me wrong Donald was a beast but he was always exposed by a fighter just as hungry and determined as him....
I remember that cover. After THIS fight there was a photo of Curry on the canvas out for the count. McCallum, who always struggled for recognition, complained "I won the fight and they put a picture of Curry on the cover!" Very underrated and underappreciated champion.
Even when mike going to fight curry sugar Ray never think him could beat curry him say mike is not hunigon them was saying mike can badder curry and them talk down the man every boxer he s upagaist them say him of to win this to gain recognition
Americans made excuses for his loss to Honeyghan. Honeyghan had his number in that fight and won every round. It was a stoppage waiting to happen cut or no cut.
He deserved to win, but there's not one chance that Honeyghan would have beaten Curry under normal circumstances. I'd watched all his significant fights before the Curry win and he looked a good European level fighter, but nothing special, whereas Curry really had it all. Honeyghan never looked anything like as effective again, which tells you all you need to know regarding how good the pair both were at their relative best.
When mike was in is prime hagler sugar nor herns could not beat him them even when mike fight Jackson none of them never want to fight him because how Jackson was fighting them could not fight him the way mike fight him all di herns him 1 like him get from Jackson him turn over
He was betting favourite for a reason. Was considered a potential great who'd lost in a fluke to Honeyghan (it kind of was - Llloyd deserved to win but it was obvious Curry was dead at the weight). McCallum was respected but nobody considered him a real top fighter at the time. I watched this live on TV and expected Curry to win. It was going as I'd figured it would until the KO.
The commentator says “Butting was a deciding factor in the Honeygan fight”? What a bunch of horseshit! He got his ass kicked by a better fighter, full stop. These commentators talk a lot of crap.
The butts were unintentional imo and weren't a real factor. Curry was done after 6 rounds, but he was dead at the weight. Could see it in his drawn face and the fact he was sluggish from the opening bell. the Curry of the McCrory fight stops Honeyghan within 8, far better overall fighter.
@@johnniea4684 imo if he was dead at the weight it’s his own fault taking the fight, but I don’t think he was as he didn’t fare much better at light middle. Ok he beat Gianfranco Rossi but he didn’t beat any top US fighters again. Honeygans team (including Mickey Duff) knew the boxing game and they saw weaknesses in Curry they could exploit, Curry was a very accurate counter puncher who liked to bide his time and pick his shots, he didn’t react well to Honeygans ruff and tumble raggamuffin style, he didn’t let Curry settle, not the kind of fight Curry wanted or was used to. Former world Champion Jim Watt sparred with Honeygan and testified as to just how hard it was to catch Curry with a clean shot. If Curry was done after 6 rounds it was out of frustration.
@@frankierandle8779 Curry's problems making 147 were well-established. In 1982, 4 years before Honeyghan, he'd struggled to make weight for the first Starling fight. I remember seeing pics of him training in a plastic suit before he fought Jones, in early 1985. He'd fought twice at 154 the year before taking on Lloyd. For Honeyghan, he lost an insane amount of weight the week before the fight. He wanted to pull out, but was pressured into fighting. Was that Honeyghan's fault? Nope. Did he benefit from Curry's poor decision? You bet he did. He looked as good against McCallum as ever. Was winning the fight comfortably until Mike, a great fighter, pulled out a big shot from nowhere. I watched all Honeyghan's fights before Curry and he was a good fighter, European champion type, that's it though. I gave him no chance against Curry, who was brilliant and rated as one of the very best in the game. Nobody did. He did have an unusual off-rhythm style, but Curry had 400+ amateur fights, so I doubt it would have been an issue. It took him half a round to figure McCallum out. Reason Curry had so much trouble with Lloyd's bouncy, reflex-based style was he was a shadow, weak as a kitten. Compare him in that to here, or against Starling, Jones, LaRocca (who was a fast, mobile reflexes fighter), you'll see he doesn't look the same man. Starling countered Honeyghan silly, so it's not like counter-punchers had major problems with him. More limited fighters (like Watt) would have had nightmares with Honeyghan. The class fighters were able to hit him though. Even the version of Curry he faced nailed him and wobbled him around the 3rd or 4th round. Personally I think Curry knew he had nothing, which is why he quit after 6 rounds. Did not want to be there in the first place and as soon as he realized just how little he had, he bailed.
While I think McCallum was a warrior, he won a lot of fights getting away with low blows. He hit everyone he fought low(everyone) and often. When he went for the body he almost never went for a punch above the belt line. I've seen fights where he hit the other fighter in the legs multiple times he's swinging so low. Different era I guess. I remember fights where the ref would start to be assertive about the low blows and his corner would come out between rounds to berate the ref saying the other fighters trunks were too high or he was allowed to hit on the belt line etc. Usually this resulted in inhibiting the ref and McCallum would get away with some more low blows and win the fight.
Low blows are gonna happen in boxing when a fighter attacks the body, especially as often as Mike does. Just as rabbit punches happen. Mike committed more low blows due to having a more committed body attack than his peers. By no chance was he intentionally aiming low, nor did low blows win him fights.
@@hyphy9103 I agree that they will happen occasionally, I disagree that they won't win him fights. In Mike's day he had a reputation for hitting low among the other fighters. Right or wrong it dissuaded many of the top fighters from giving him a shot at the biggest dollar fights. It was a rep that got stuck to him. I still liked the guy as a fighter a lot. Gritty and tenacious. Tons of heart. Had he not got that rep during his day he would have been a much bigger name in my opinion. And probably even more success.
Jesus HBO stop 🛑 making excuses for Curry losing to Honeyghan. Granted Curry had those outside the ring problems but that wasent Honeyghans fault. And at the end of the day Donald Curry did a full fight camp for the Honeyghan fight so what the hell was going on with him being that much over weight one week before that fight 🤔. End of the day Honeyghan kicked Currys arse plan and simple. It’s gone done in the history books now as possibly the best British 🇬🇧 win inside an American 🇺🇸 Ring . Give Honeyghan full credit for his historical win over the Cobra Curry. Donald clearly should have moved up after the Milton McCrory fight in Dec of 1985. Because I do believe his career would have gone better than it did because Curry was 1 special fighter 🥊💪🏼🇺🇸
I remember watching this fight live. I had Curry I was crushed when he got Knocked out. But Mike McCallum was a brilliant boxer and he was ducked by Hagler,Duran, Hearn and Leonard.
Good fighter but always 2nd division at middle weight,lightmiddle,shame that he is mouthing nonsense that Hagler,Leonard,Hearns ,Duran avoided him but before 87 he was never middleweight and how come that Hagler avoided him when Marvin retired in 87?maybe himself wouldn't move up when Leonard,Hagler and Hearns were at their top!
Marvelous Marvin Hagler is the ONLY one of those 4 that I’d bet against Mike McCallum. But it would be competitive to the end. A fight between McCallum & Sugar Ray could go either way; it will come down to technique and will. The fundamentals of McCallum puts him in the same ranking as any of those guys; hype means nothing.
Mcallum was highly underrated and never got the credit he deserved. Even the commentators here are pulling for Curry. Side note, if you look at 17 seconds into this video, you see my Dad, the late great Kenny Weldon holding handpads for Mike. Mcallum trained at our gym for several years while he was promoted by Lou Duva. He was trained by my Dad and the great George Benton. Indeed, Mike's list of trainers was a murderers row. He spent several years with Emanuel Steward, then several years with Weldon and Benton, and finished his career under the great Eddie Futch.
I don't think Leonard was rooting for Curry lol
That's cool as hell, bro 👍🏽😎
Wow cool story you must be proud of that !
I was like 4 but I remember my dad following him when he was a contender. The day he lost to Honeyghan I remember my dad shaking his head, and saying "There's the test, and he failed. He doesn't have it". I asked him why Curry lost and he said Honeyghan wanted it badly, and Don didn't. Had no clue what that meant until I grew up and watched it.
Wow, how awesome. Your father trained this great fighter and I presume you got to meet McCallum. McCallum was a truly great fighter. Watching him survive the first round against a free swinging Julian Jackson and then destroying Jackson in the second showed me all I needed to know about how special a fighter McCallum was. Then winning titles at 154, 160 and then 175 was another amazing feat considering the age he won the WBC light heavyweight title by outpointing Jeff Hardin.
Mike McCallum was my favourite fighter, he could do it all
Mike McCallum a magnificent fighter unbelievable skills that only the purists could appreciate, always respectful of opponents hardly ever a trash talker thats probably the reason nobody remembers him was never a media darling, just an all round great fighter 💯👏👏👏👏
Mike's fight with Toney is one of the most perfect Boxing matches.
Skill power, everything. An all-time classic Middleweight title fight.
Mike "hold my beer 🍺 "McCallum....🍻 cheers 🥊
What a left hook! Mike McCallum proved his worth that he indeed was one of the very best fighters of the 1980s superstar studded era. He's talent was on the same level of the Fab 4 of boxing of Duran, Hagler, Leonard and Hearns.
Yes he was, they didn't want a part of him either.
@@jeffallinson8089 Why would they want to fight a guy who wasn’t a big name, wasn’t highly regarded by the mainstream, and wasn’t a big draw? They were busy fighting each other for millions of dollars.
@@mowglie628 The really avoided him because he was way too dangerous and a genuine threat to anybody.
@@jeffallinson8089 So they fought each other, knowing they could lose any of those fights, instead? Are you saying they were scared of McCallum (who got completely schooled by Sumbu Kalambay) but not each other?
Or, did they fight each other because there was a lot more money in it than fighting McCallum? Think about it like an adult before you reply.
@@mowglie628 Kalambay didn't school Mike, it was a dodgy decision, and yes they definitely avoided him, no question as he provided too much risk for not enough money.
Curry was never the same after Honeyghan beat the crap out of him; I remember at the time thinking that this was only going to end in tears for Curry as Mike McCallum was on a different level altogether to Curry and has to go down as one of the most under rated (and avoided) fighters in the history of the sport.
Curry did well in this fight until he got caught.
@@haitianmaniac74 Curry was boxing well.
Beautiful lefthook changed it.
That's boxing.
Great fight between two top fighters
Curry developed bad habits prior to the Honeyghan. He fought too flat footed with his head forward and relied too much on his power. All Honeyghan and McCallum did was expose him.
McCallum was avoided at the time as he brought no money to the table and presented a risk. Still, Curry had him lined up to fight in 1986 en route to Hagler, before Leonard and Trainer talked him into staying at 147. He did fight him the following year, so how avoided was he? Lots of people wanted to fight Leonard, Hagler, Duran and Hearns. I don't think anyone underrates McCallum.
Curry was betting favourite going into this fight, so most expected him to win. Before the shocking performance against Honeyghan he was considered the best p4p fighter in boxing, alongside Hagler, which is why he was the favourite here. McCallum never reached that conversation. Until the finishing shot came out of nowhere, Curry was outboxing McCallum and had rocked him a few times. I expected him to win this fight at the time and it was going as I'd anticipated.
Classic match!! When boxing was boxing.
Mike and Donald was underrated...Two of the best of there day...When they was at the top of there game they couldn't get the big fights with Leonard,Hearns, Duran,Hagler or my his soul rest peace Aaron Pryor...
It would been good to see those fights..
Although Curry was a highly skilled fighter Curry wasn't ready for the likes of SRL, Hearns, Duran, and Hagler. ...McCallum on the other hand was avoided by Duran ( McCallum was the #1 contender for Duran's belt), Hearns knew all he needed to know about McCallum as they were stablemates at The Kronk, watch McCallum dismantle Kronk fighter and former champion Milton Iceman McCrory, he exacted revenge against Manny Steward and Kronk for making the Duran vs Hearns fight instead of securing the Duran fight for McCallum
🥊🥊🥊🤙🤙🤙
How was Curry underrated?
McCallum got a lot of fights with top fighters.
McCallum stayed too long at junior middleweight. If he wanted Hagler, he should have moved up to middleweight earlier. They probably would have made him the No 1 contender because of his accomplishments at junior middle - he would have had no problem securing that fight...
@@kufujitsu Was a big light-middle. He could make weight, so I don't blame him for staying in the division as long as he could, but you can't do that then complain about being avoided by guys not in your division.
When Timing Beats Speed
What a beautiful left hook by the champion Mike McCallum. Ray Leonard and Marvin Hagler didn’t fight MM. Not because each avoided him but because of April 6, 1987. Leonard and Hagler needed each other. Each didn’t need McCallum however brilliant a fighter he is in boxing.
Both of these guys are underrated and in the era when the best fought the best in those lightweight to middleweight divisions
Mike rarely looked spectacular, but he was excellent all round fighter, who would have been a hard fight for anyone
Because NO ONE wanted to fight him. He knocked out Curry AND he put Julian The Hawk Jackson out after taking his best shots. Not Duran, Leonard, Hagler or Hearns wanted any part of that man.
Agreed. He was a consistent fighter but hes an extremely tought fight for anyone. He was ducked a lot. Not a big dras but extremely risky
McCallum possibly the most underrated fighter of the 80s
Both exceptional fighters.
One of the most under appreciated fighters of the modern era,just look at his record,K.Od undisputed champ Don Curry,who was destroying everyone he fought,went toe to toe with the most feared fighter in the ring at that time Julian Jackson and stopped him,then 3 fights in his mid 30's with a young James Toney,and what fights they were! Mike had a left hook that could stop heavyweights,and didn't turn pro till he was 24,a colossus of a fighter from the amazing Island of Jamaica,god bless Mike Mcallum!
mcCallum got one of best chins in boxing history
Had McCallum fought during any other era of boxing other than the Golden Age of Boxing from 1964 - 1995.....he would have become a legend instead of a fighter that is soon being forgotten....and that is why we've posted 2400 videos on our site at www.imasportsphile.com ....for our boxing section is in process of having over 1000 vintage bouts including 620 title fights are currently being posted.....so, boxing fans who saw them perform.....can have fond memories.....while others who didn't....can see how great these fighters were.
Curry was winning before the stoppage. Cleaner punches. Unfortunately his prime was short, he had too much wear and tear. McCallum was a very good fighter.
Agreed. Had a LOT of amateur fights, so I'm guessing was fighting regularly when still a kid. Nobody knows the effects taking punches at that age can have on someone. Think he also lost interest in the game after beating McCrory tbh. Was either fighting in an unrealistic weight division for too long (rumours of trouble making 147 before he won the title), or was not training diligently. Looked great here before the KO, but fast forward a year or so and he looked faded at only 27. Was done as a top-class fighter before he hit 30.
Tommy Hearns, my favorite fighter of all time, wanted nothing to do with Mike McCallum based on their sparring sessions at Kronk.
In a 15 round fight, Hearns would have led on points until Mike caught up with him in the 12th or 13th & would have brutally knocked out the Hitman.
Yeah I've watched the sparring. Pretty clear Hearns is working on stuff in a relaxed fashion, whereas McCallum is treating it like a fight. McCallum would have been a tough opponent for anyone at 154, but Hearns was close to being unbeatable at the weight. They fight around 1984-86 and Hearns outboxes him. Fantastic combination of size, speed, power and boxing ability. McCallum would have given him a good fight, but too one-paced to win.
Curry really was a great offensive fighter
52.54 Curry is truly broken here - like a man who knows his big future has gone up in smoke - i really feel for him
did it to himself, don't feel bad for him. Not the first fighter, not the last.
The best pound-for-pound fighter ever elite at the moment I swear watch
The commentators weren't giving McCullum credit for his bodywork. Curry wasn't in as much control as they thought imo.
Don't agree. Curry also landing to the body. McCallum looked concerned coming out for round 3. Was being outboxed and outhit, you can see him reacting to Curry's feints. Think Curry was in control almost from the opening bell.
@@johnniea4684 I gave a thumbs up to your comment just the same cause that's how I roll. Been awhile since I've seen it. I'm going to watch it again.
@@samuelrobertson1567 Cheers. One of those fights I watch every now and again. Was a huge shock the way it ended. Enjoy! 🥊
In Italy the punch that knocked out Don Curry is called "Sunday blow". Don Curry dominated until the 4th round, coming close to KO several times. The only mistake he made, when the guard was discovered, paid for it dearly.
This was a great fight. I wish the audio was better.
Only real boxing fans would even watch this fight.
Had to come back to this fight. Good back and forth, but that punch separated Donald from his senses. Great win for Mike.
That's why Michael Watson could have gone on to be a World Champion. He fought McCallum and put up a brave performance, when many more distinguished fighters wouldn't fight him. If only.......
Even in the period of 4 titles per division Watson wasn't quite good enough to win one. Plenty of name fighters fought McCallum, just not the ones he wanted, who'd bring big money to the table. Can't blame him for being frustrated, but all of those guys except Hearns had one foot out of the game by the time McCallum started gaining attention.
'There is no zap in Mike McCallum's punches' - Sugar Ray Leonard.
Ray Lenard was the worst play by play guys ever.hate that guy in so many ways for so many reasons.
@@richardjackson1858 I do too 😂
How does Ray know he never fought him in fact ducked him for good reason
I'm eager to see all of you guys pick up the mic and see how you do 👀
No it was dynamite,and that's why Ray never fought him!
Nothing more 80's HBO boxing then the heavyweight unification series.
Two awesome fighters! What a fight!
Great call by SRL, saying what McCallum should do and as soon as he did it - boom. One of my favorite fights of the 80's. I really miss the HBO telecast from the 80's.
SRL is an handsome and intelligent man; allways been a fan of his..
U would not expect a fighter of Curry's quality to have his hands down like that!
Over-confident? Other than the swelling left eyelid he was having things all his own way.
Throughout the fight.
Thanks for the video!
Curry was a prodigy coming up the ranks and when he should have started his prime he started fizzing out. McCallum was the ultimate pro.
Saddest thing I ever saw tbh. We've all seen promising champions be exposed as overrated but imo - and I've watched a lot of boxing going all the way back to the late 1970s, when I was just a kid, Curry was the real deal. One of the game's biggest mysteries, how he fell from the pinnacle so fast, so hard. A lot of speculation about him, but only he will really know what happened.
At the end of this fight where Barry Tompkins talking about the heavyweight unification series and the rematch between Holmes and Spinks, that Spinks won the second fight more convincingly than the first. Well I thought Spinks won the first fight clearly, but the second fight I thought Holmes pulled it out with a determined effort.
Me too. Thought Holmes took the 2nd fight. Larry wasn't loved much by the public at the time. I felt like they were probably like "we don't need larry regaining the title" because he was.......well, he was Holmes.
@@exspiravit6920 Holmes wasn't loved, but he was the first real professional boxer who I idealized. I got into boxing after watching Rocky IV. When Spinks won the rematch, I argued my case that Holmes won but nobody was going to listen to a 13 year old. Then even months later I got to watch a 20 year old Mike Tyson win the WBC heavyweight title with a devastating performance against Trevor Berbick. At that point, I said this kid is going to kick Spinks' butt. Because I didn't care for Spinks because he beat my hero. I enjoyed the 91 seconds of Tyson vs Spinks so thoroughly, but soon after came to appreciate Spinks as a great light heavyweight and a pretty good heavyweight. He just went against a fighter in Tyson, who at the time was a every fighter's nightmare, Tyson was faster and hit harder.
After losing to Spinks first time round, I too thought that Larry won their rematch.
I remember him from his Kronk days with Manny Steward. One of the greatest fighters who ever lived@154lbs......
I don't understand! 31-0 (28kos) depending champion (depended his belt 5 times all by KOs) a 2 to 1 underdog to a 27-1 (20kos) challenger? Oh I get it! The champion is not American and the challenger is!
That’s it in a nutshell.
tbh most people (not gamblers!) expected Curry to win. He was considered tied with Hagler as no.1 P4P only 10 months earlier and was considered a super-fighter. There were a lot of excuses (some valid, some not) for his stunning defeat by Honeyghan the previous year. Honeyghan had not looked anything special as champion, so most of the US media was prepared to write off the loss as a fluke. McCallum, whilst unbeaten was already 30 years old. He'd left Kronk as he felt he was playing second fiddle to Hearns and his career was stalling. He'd won the vacant WBA title against a journeyman (Mannion) and the only real name in his defences was McCrory, who basically was finished as an elite fighter post his dramatic KO loss to Curry. Yes, Julian Jackson went on to have an excellent career but he was completely untested and raw when he challenged McCallum. The only think Mike had in his favour was the slight natural weight advantage. So, him being the underdog in July 1987 was pretty much on the money.
@@johnniea4684 Very well said
Awesome fight. McCallum is so underrated.
thanks for the video!!
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Awesome Fight... great performance from both champs .
#KO
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Fighters back then behaved and talked more like business men and loved the sport. Better quality boxers as well. Today is a lot of noise and big hullabaloo about very little among mediocre fighters...at best. Only a handful of today fighters would have made it back then.
great match up,,,one of best KOS of the 80s..just behind hearns vs duran
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**This is THE LEGENDARY BOXER/NOW TRAINER who ERROL SPENCE JR. should contact to train him!!!!**
Mike McCallum is the GREATEST Jr. Middlewight(154lbs) of ALL TIME. And also one of THE most avoided fighters of all time. Not Duran, Leonard, Hagler or Hearns wanted any part of him. If you want to see a pure boxing masterclass then go watch his fights against James Toney - who said he learned more from those three fights than any others in his career. I'd put Mike up against ANY 154lb fighter of any era. The Body Snatcher could do it all. He's also Devin Haney's trainer now and lives quite comfortably in Las Vegas, having taken good care of the fortune he made in boxing.
How did they avoid him?
Stop pushing this lie. McCallum was not this super star fighter for 5-6 years. He was not established as a top fighter in the middle weight classes until this fight in July 1987. By then it was too late.
He wasn't going to fight Leonard, he had nothing Leonard wanted. Leonard fought one time in 5 years(Kevin Howard) and just fought Hagler before this fight and there was talk of a possible rematch..
Duran lost a lot in the 80s. Benitez-Laing-Hagler-Hearns-Sims. When was there ever a big cry for that fight?
Hagler could have fought Mike in 86 but selected Mugabi instead who was probably a bigger pay day.
Then you had losses which made it harder. McCallum himself losing to Kalambay after this fight. Hearns getting stopped by Barkley.
The fabulous 4 wanted no part of this dangerous fighter hall of greatness slick defences devastating offensive ammos every punch in the book in textbook fashion
The African man was bad luck for Curry his new Manager
@@joeblow2069 Pretty much agree with this. He was no.1 contender for Duran's WBA light-middle title in 1984, but was a total unknown, with just one win over a name opponent (Kalule) from his 20-0 record. Everyone wanted to see Duran fight rival champ Hearns, not fulfill a mandatory obligation against a guy nobody had heard of. I remember this well and no one was clamoring to see Duran - McCallum in 1984.
Mugabi fought Hagler in 1986 and at that time he was actually ranked at both 154 and 160. Mugabi was an unbeaten big puncher who had made the cover of Ring Magazine, so was a more attractive opponent than McCallum, who'd made 3 defences of his WBA title, though against average opposition. He was more high-profile a year later but by then Hagler had retired and Leonard was about to go into semi-retirement.
Duran disappeared for 19 months after getting blown out by Hearns. He wasn't relevant again until beating Barkley in 1989, then lost immediately in a boring fight with Leonard. I can't recall anyone really wanting to see him fight McCallum.
That leaves Hearns. After losing to Hagler in 1985 he was pursuing a rematch until Marvin retired in 1987. The only real chance for a Hearns - McCallum fight was probably early 1988, when Tommy was WBC Middle champ and McCallum was moving up to 160. For whatever reason, McCallum challenged WBA champ Kalambay and lost a decision. 3 months later Hearns got knocked out by Barkley. That was Hearns' last fight at the weight. By the time McCallum moved up to 175 in the mid-90s, he was old and semi-washed up and Hearns was a washed-up fighter up at Cruiserweight.
@@johnniea4684 You summed it up well. If there ever was a choice for Hagler to fight Mugabi or McCallum in 86 I'm sure there was more money and more buzz for a Mugabi fight.
Hagler probably saw Mugabi as a guy who might have been competitive for a couple of rounds but once he solved him he would be gone by rd 5. McCallum on the other hand looked like a longer more difficult fight.
Hagler at that point in his career was fighting once a year and of course would only fight one more time vs Leonard. Not many opportunities there.
The big fight people were wanting to see at 154 in the early 80s was Duran vs Ayala until Ayala ruined himself with the rape. There was also Billy Collins Jr who was a real up and coming fighter until the Resto fight in 83. McCallum was not on anybody's radar in 82 and 83.
Never stop to admire your work…
so true. in anything.
McCallum lost every round of this fight and Curry simply got careless. McCallum had a 4 inch reach advantage and Curry simply misjudged the distance of that leaping hook McCallum threw. McCallum was also fighting dirty throwing low blows out of frustration. McCallum's fights with James Toney are the stuff of boxing dreams though. He probably is the best 154lber ever but Curry was breaking left hooks over his head. In his prime, I'd put Curry as #1 welterweight of all time. That includes against Ray Robinson. Again I'm speaking of 147.
Sugar Ray...McCallum cant box..ooo..I'll not fight him,where's Lalonde
The Americans will never admit that Lloyd Honeygan was the better fighter on the night . He was hungry and he didn't give a F for anyone . There were head clashes but I'd dispute it was intentional on either fighters part .
Mike McCullam was the grand master end of . .
The headbutts were unintentional. Curry stood right in front of Honeyghan and held his head high. Lloyd was highly unorthodox so head-clashes were inevitable. The American media were not interested in Honeyghan (or McCallum, actually) and were quick to exaggerate the role the cuts had in the stoppage. Curry was a beaten man before the cut. However, I will say that Curry was without a doubt a far superior fighter. He was clearly weight-drained for the Honeyghan fight and looked sluggish and weak from the opening bell. I was shocked how bad he looked, nothing like the joint P4P fighter (with Hagler) he was. Against a lesser opponent he could maybe have got away with it, but Honeyghan was a live challenger and super-motivated. That fight was his high point though, he never got close again.
Marvelous Marvin Hagler would've destroyed Donald Curry. Hagler by KO.
Mike MC is an underrated great fighter, and like all great fighters had a great jab. He was unlucky as he did not have a good management to force the big names to fight him. Unlike RL who was a media hype job, no doubt was shaking in his boots after this.
I miss these old HBO boxing telecasts
Curry dropped both his hands to admire his left hook which just landed,than Boom!. Usually a long,reaching left hook don't carry that kind of power.curry didn't have the best chin either.
What the commentators neglected to mention was Curry's team, following the weigh-in, were bragging, "knockout weight" when DC stepped off the scale. And, the fact Curry quit on his stool.
I find it funny that American commentators don’t know whether to look at the host or the camera.
they're told to look at the camera every once in a while as if also talking to the viewer
I flew from Ct.to Vegas just to go to bet lots of money on McCallum. I knew he'd beat Curry and I wasn't going to miss this easy money opportunity. And I laughed all the way to the Cage at Caesar's palace.
I wish Ray Leonard was wearing his sailer uniform.
Donald Curry looked so in control of this fight (to me) right up until that left hook. He had McCallum perplexed with his movement. Made one mistake of dropping that right hand. Shame really; I would like to have seen this go further.
43:55 Knockout for the ages!!!
What year was this
july 1987
Ya' know ... the HBO announcers are very good, so don't get me wrong here, but harping on the fact that one fighter or another " drops his left hand " is a bit misleading. In the process of any boxing match, its probably NOT very easy to keep your left mit stapled to your jaw. And in fact,
a guy can STILL get NAILED with a right hand even when his left paw IS up ...
Yeah, having your gloves glued to your face would kind of limit your offense!
Toe 2 Toe In Fightin'
Curry was favourite lol left hook boom
Weeee I always liked Mike
Took far too much punishment to even be mentioned in haglars class...
lets get one thing straight about "butts" vs honeyghan. Nearly every usa commentator tried (and failed) to blame his defeat on "being butted", bullsh*t, he got his ass kicked by a better fighter on the night - period! - just like this fight lol !
Jayty2 you remind me of my friend who hated Curry.
@@courylanders4142 lol! Dont hate him at all. Just the biased commentary blaming the cut eye as the only reason he lost. He just got beat up fair and square & no one saw it coming
🇯🇲
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I remember back in the day i had alot of boxing books and one of them was KO...and on the front cover was Donald Curry..He said " Haglar and Hearns are done and i'm better than both of them "...He wouldn't have had a chance with either...Don't get me wrong Donald was a beast but he was always exposed by a fighter just as hungry and determined as him....
I remember that cover. After THIS fight there was a photo of Curry on the canvas out for the count. McCallum, who always struggled for recognition, complained "I won the fight and they put a picture of Curry on the cover!" Very underrated and underappreciated champion.
Even when mike going to fight curry sugar Ray never think him could beat curry him say mike is not hunigon them was saying mike can badder curry and them talk down the man every boxer he s upagaist them say him of to win this to gain recognition
Wouldn’t fight McCallum but fight Terry Norris. smh
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KO’d the same way (almost) he KO’d Milton McCrory a few years earlier.
Not quite. Curry slaughtered McCrory in 2 rounds. McCallum was losing this until he pulled out the big shot.
@@johnniea4684 Quite. I wasn’t describing the fight. I was describing the KO. Again…QUITE.
Americans made excuses for his loss to Honeyghan. Honeyghan had his number in that fight and won every round. It was a stoppage waiting to happen cut or no cut.
He deserved to win, but there's not one chance that Honeyghan would have beaten Curry under normal circumstances. I'd watched all his significant fights before the Curry win and he looked a good European level fighter, but nothing special, whereas Curry really had it all. Honeyghan never looked anything like as effective again, which tells you all you need to know regarding how good the pair both were at their relative best.
Curry is the master of the periscope style😂
When mike was in is prime hagler sugar nor herns could not beat him them even when mike fight Jackson none of them never want to fight him because how Jackson was fighting them could not fight him the way mike fight him all di herns him 1 like him get from Jackson him turn over
So they made curry lose so he couldnt fight sugar ray. So sugar ray told his opponents to head butt donald curry
You are insane. It’s called a left hook.
did anyone think that curry could win?
Yes. He was favourite for the fight and this was seen as his step back into the big time. They all underestimated McCallum big time.
He was betting favourite for a reason. Was considered a potential great who'd lost in a fluke to Honeyghan (it kind of was - Llloyd deserved to win but it was obvious Curry was dead at the weight). McCallum was respected but nobody considered him a real top fighter at the time. I watched this live on TV and expected Curry to win. It was going as I'd figured it would until the KO.
The commentator says “Butting was a deciding factor in the Honeygan fight”? What a bunch of horseshit! He got his ass kicked by a better fighter, full stop. These commentators talk a lot of crap.
The butts were unintentional imo and weren't a real factor. Curry was done after 6 rounds, but he was dead at the weight. Could see it in his drawn face and the fact he was sluggish from the opening bell. the Curry of the McCrory fight stops Honeyghan within 8, far better overall fighter.
@@johnniea4684 imo if he was dead at the weight it’s his own fault taking the fight, but I don’t think he was as he didn’t fare much better at light middle. Ok he beat Gianfranco Rossi but he didn’t beat any top US fighters again. Honeygans team (including Mickey Duff) knew the boxing game and they saw weaknesses in Curry they could exploit, Curry was a very accurate counter puncher who liked to bide his time and pick his shots, he didn’t react well to Honeygans ruff and tumble raggamuffin style, he didn’t let Curry settle, not the kind of fight Curry wanted or was used to. Former world Champion Jim Watt sparred with Honeygan and testified as to just how hard it was to catch Curry with a clean shot. If Curry was done after 6 rounds it was out of frustration.
@@frankierandle8779 Curry's problems making 147 were well-established. In 1982, 4 years before Honeyghan, he'd struggled to make weight for the first Starling fight. I remember seeing pics of him training in a plastic suit before he fought Jones, in early 1985. He'd fought twice at 154 the year before taking on Lloyd.
For Honeyghan, he lost an insane amount of weight the week before the fight. He wanted to pull out, but was pressured into fighting. Was that Honeyghan's fault? Nope. Did he benefit from Curry's poor decision? You bet he did. He looked as good against McCallum as ever. Was winning the fight comfortably until Mike, a great fighter, pulled out a big shot from nowhere.
I watched all Honeyghan's fights before Curry and he was a good fighter, European champion type, that's it though. I gave him no chance against Curry, who was brilliant and rated as one of the very best in the game. Nobody did. He did have an unusual off-rhythm style, but Curry had 400+ amateur fights, so I doubt it would have been an issue. It took him half a round to figure McCallum out.
Reason Curry had so much trouble with Lloyd's bouncy, reflex-based style was he was a shadow, weak as a kitten. Compare him in that to here, or against Starling, Jones, LaRocca (who was a fast, mobile reflexes fighter), you'll see he doesn't look the same man.
Starling countered Honeyghan silly, so it's not like counter-punchers had major problems with him. More limited fighters (like Watt) would have had nightmares with Honeyghan. The class fighters were able to hit him though. Even the version of Curry he faced nailed him and wobbled him around the 3rd or 4th round.
Personally I think Curry knew he had nothing, which is why he quit after 6 rounds. Did not want to be there in the first place and as soon as he realized just how little he had, he bailed.
While I think McCallum was a warrior, he won a lot of fights getting away with low blows. He hit everyone he fought low(everyone) and often. When he went for the body he almost never went for a punch above the belt line. I've seen fights where he hit the other fighter in the legs multiple times he's swinging so low. Different era I guess. I remember fights where the ref would start to be assertive about the low blows and his corner would come out between rounds to berate the ref saying the other fighters trunks were too high or he was allowed to hit on the belt line etc. Usually this resulted in inhibiting the ref and McCallum would get away with some more low blows and win the fight.
Low blows are gonna happen in boxing when a fighter attacks the body, especially as often as Mike does. Just as rabbit punches happen. Mike committed more low blows due to having a more committed body attack than his peers. By no chance was he intentionally aiming low, nor did low blows win him fights.
@@hyphy9103 I agree that they will happen occasionally, I disagree that they won't win him fights. In Mike's day he had a reputation for hitting low among the other fighters. Right or wrong it dissuaded many of the top fighters from giving him a shot at the biggest dollar fights. It was a rep that got stuck to him.
I still liked the guy as a fighter a lot. Gritty and tenacious. Tons of heart.
Had he not got that rep during his day he would have been a much bigger name in my opinion. And probably even more success.
Jesus HBO stop 🛑 making excuses for Curry losing to Honeyghan. Granted Curry had those outside the ring problems but that wasent Honeyghans fault.
And at the end of the day Donald Curry did a full fight camp for the Honeyghan fight so what the hell was going on with him being that much over weight one week before that fight 🤔.
End of the day Honeyghan kicked Currys arse plan and simple. It’s gone done in the history books now as possibly the best British 🇬🇧 win inside an American 🇺🇸 Ring .
Give Honeyghan full credit for his historical win over the Cobra Curry. Donald clearly should have moved up after the Milton McCrory fight in Dec of 1985. Because I do believe his career would have gone better than it did because Curry was 1 special fighter 🥊💪🏼🇺🇸
Well said you hnow this sport. Curry should've moved up after the Mc Rory fight.
Hagler would have ate Curry alive in under eight round or less.
middle vs welter.
51:31 Lol! McCallum looks older than his mum.
He would have beat all of them
Hagler hearns leanoard duran ran from mccallum n ring but sparrin mccallum was on hearns head
I remember watching this fight live. I had Curry I was crushed when he got Knocked out. But Mike McCallum was a brilliant boxer and he was ducked by Hagler,Duran, Hearn and Leonard.
Good fighter but always 2nd division at middle weight,lightmiddle,shame that he is mouthing nonsense that Hagler,Leonard,Hearns ,Duran avoided him but before 87 he was never middleweight and how come that Hagler avoided him when Marvin retired in 87?maybe himself wouldn't move up when Leonard,Hagler and Hearns were at their top!
Marvelous Marvin Hagler is the ONLY one of those 4 that I’d bet against Mike McCallum. But it would be competitive to the end.
A fight between McCallum & Sugar Ray could go either way; it will come down to technique and will.
The fundamentals of McCallum puts him in the same ranking as any of those guys; hype means nothing.