Hall of Fame boxer, 3-division champion Mike McCallum dies

Jamaican boxing legend Mike McCallum has died at age 68.

McCallum died Saturday in Las Vegas, according to the Clark County Coroner’s Office. The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said nothing suspicious was found at the scene, and a cause of death has not been verified.

Known as “The Bodysnatcher,” McCallum was one of boxing’s most feared punchers during his career that ran from 1981 to 1997. He retired in 1997 with a 49-5-1 record and then became a successful trainer in Las Vegas.

Born in Kingston, Jamaica, on December 7, 1956, McCallum represented Jamaica at the 1976 Summer Olympic Games. He turned pro in 1981 and won his first 32 fights, with 29 coming by knockout. McCallum became boxing’s first Jamaican-born world champion in 1984, won world titles at junior middleweight, middleweight and lightweight, and was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2003.

“It is with utter and complete sadness that I learned of the death of Jamaica’s three-time world boxing champion Michael McKenzie McCallum,” Jamaica’s sports minister Olivia Grange said. “I express my personal condolences to his mother, siblings and his children. On behalf of the Ministry of Sports, I take this opportunity to extend our sympathies to the family and friends of this legendary Jamaican.”

McCallum was revered for his brutal body punching but was also recognized as a highly skilled boxer with an incredible chin, as evidenced by never being knocked out in his 55-fight career. While McCallum holds wins over the likes of Julian Jackson, Donald Curry and Milton McCrory, he was never able to score a fight with a high-profile opponent during his heyday, as the likes of Roberto Duran, Sugar Ray Leonard, Marvin Hagler and Thomas Hearns opted not to face him.

After winning the WBA super welterweight title by defeating Sean Mannion in 1984, McCallum made six successful defenses of the title, all coming by knockout. He suffered the first loss of his career when he challenged WBA middleweight champion Sumbu Kalambay in 1988. But McCallum would eventually capture the vacant middleweight title the following year by defeating Herol Graham by split decision. He would later avenge the loss to Kalambay before battling fellow Hall of Famer James Toney to a split draw in 1991 and losing a decision in their 1992 rematch.

McCallum won a world title in a third weight class at age 37 when he beat Jeff Harding in 1994. He would make one title defense before losing three of his final four fights, with two of those losses coming to Toney and Roy Jones Jr. Following his retirement, McCallum was a fixture in Las Vegas, training fighters alongside fellow former champion Eddie Mustafa Muhammad up until his passing.