Best Light Middleweight of All Time?

[oldgringo]

Mike McCallum on accomplishment. Thomas Hearns on performance. Hearns looked unbeatable at that weight. More steady on his feet while retaining the lethal power.

Trinidad would have been an excellent Light Middleweight as well had he stayed for awhile.

[The Gambler1981]

Hearns at 154 was awesome, but if you went by accomplishments at 154 it would be someone else.

[Steak]

My choice is Mike McCallum, one of the most underrated fighters in my lifetime.

absolutely, its amazing how underrated McCallum is. no one seems to even know anything about him, despite the fact that he would have beaten a good majority of the past and present title holders at Light Middleweight and Middleweight.

harry greb...

the Light Middleweight division didnt even exist back in those times as far as I know, and whats more no one even has footage of him even near that weight, unless you count those garbage video clips of him 'shadow boxing'/'fooling around'. So Im not sure how you would judge him from that.

[TheGreatA]

Mike McCallum.
He defeated such men as Kalule, Jackson, Curry and McCrory among others and left the division with a record of 32 wins, 29 knockouts and 0 losses.

Unfortunately the big names did not want anything to do with him.


McCallum vs Toney


McCallum KO's Curry


McCallum stops Jackson (bad quality)


McCallum stops Watson

[Brockton Lip]

It depends how its viewed. I voted for Hearns but Mike McCallum can definitely be chosen as well.

[The Surgeon]

I WANT to say Felix but have to go wit The Body Snatcher

[Thread Stealer]

154 is a relatively new division. Since its inception, Hearns and McCallum tend to stand out. Norris is up there, not only for talent but because of his accomplishments at the weight and how long he stayed there. Although Jackso n beat him head-to-head, it's hard to rank Jackson higher all-time @ 154 because Norris stayed there for so long and beat a lot of fighters there.

If we're just talking about guys who weighed around the range of jr. middle, throughout history, then you've got guys like Robinson, Burley, etc...who fought around there for some time.

I actually don't think McCallum is underrated for the most part nowadays. He usually seems to get credit as a terrific fighter. What I don't really like though is how he often just gets remembered for having the bad timing of coming up at 154 when Hearns and Duran would rather fight each other or Hagler @ 160 than fight McCallum, and Leonard was mostly retired. His resume of guys he did fight and beat is pretty impressive in itself: Kalule, Curry, McCory, Kalambay, Watson. His first 2 fights with Toney were very close, and McCallum may have actually been born in 1953 instead of 1956, making him 38 for those fights, in addition to them being @ 160, when Mike was better @ 154.

[Scott9945]

154 is a relatively new division. Since its inception, Hearns and McCallum tend to stand out. Norris is up there, not only for talent but because of his accomplishments at the weight and how long he stayed there. Although Jackso n beat him head-to-head, it's hard to rank Jackson higher all-time @ 154 because Norris stayed there for so long and beat a lot of fighters there.

If we're just talking about guys who weighed around the range of jr. middle, throughout history, then you've got guys like Robinson, Burley, etc...who fought around there for some time.

I actually don't think McCallum is underrated for the most part nowadays. He usually seems to get credit as a terrific fighter. What I don't really like though is how he often just gets remembered for having the bad timing of coming up at 154 when Hearns and Duran would rather fight each other or Hagler @ 160 than fight McCallum, and Leonard was mostly retired. His resume of guys he did fight and beat is pretty impressive in itself: Kalule, Curry, McCory, Kalambay, Watson. His first 2 fights with Toney were very close, and McCallum may have actually been born in 1953 instead of 1956, making him 38 for those fights, in addition to them being @ 160, when Mike was better @ 154.

The last time I saw McCallum a few years ago, I couldn't believe how old he looked. You would think he fought 10 years before Hagler, Leonard, and Hearns.

[BattlingNelson]

Although Light Middleweight has often been a stepping stone for fighters to go up to from Welterweight or guys on their way to Middleweight, it has had a ton of talent pass through it. Many former Light Middleweight champion are very underrated in my opinion.

Who do you think is the best there? You can base it off of whatever you want, their record there or simply how good they were at that weight.

My first reaction was the bodysnatcher Mike McCallum (one of the greatest nicknames ever), but I decided to check boxrec just to get a feel for the names. The all-time rankings there kinda stunned me with a no. 1 I cannot remember. First familiar face comes in at no. 5. The top-20 is here:

1 Sandro Mazzinghi 64 (42) - 3 (1) - 0
1961-1978 orthodox
2 Ralph Dupas 106 (19) - 23 (7) - 6
1950-1966
3 Freddie Little 51 (32) - 6 (1) - 0
1957-1972
4 Bruno Visintin 78 (23) - 9 (1) - 2
1952-1966
5 Wilfred Benitez 53 (31) - 8 (4) - 1
1973-1990 orthodox
6 Terry Norris 47 (31) - 9 (4) - 0
1986-1998 orthodox
7 Maurice Hope 30 (24) - 4 (2) - 1
1973-1982 southpaw
8 Denny Moyer 97 (25) - 38 (7) - 4
1957-1975 orthodox
9 Ayub Kalule 46 (24) - 4 (4) - 0
1976-1986 southpaw
10 Ki Soo Kim 33 (17) - 2 (0) - 2
1961-1969 southpaw
11 Stan Harrington 64 (26) - 18 (4) - 3
1953-1967 orthodox
12 Rocky Mattioli 64 (51) - 7 (4) - 2
1970-1982
13 Ike Quartey 37 (31) - 4 (0) - 1
1988-2006 orthodox
14 Carmelo Bossi 40 (10) - 8 (3) - 3
1961-1971 orthodox
15 Laurent Boudouani 38 (32) - 3 (2) - 1
1989-1999
16 Stanley Hayward 32 (18) - 12 (4) - 4
1959-1977
17 Manning Galloway 62 (14) - 19 (6) - 1
1978-2006 southpaw
18 Jose Manuel Duran 63 (23) - 8 (3) - 9
1967-1978 orthodox
19 Louis Acaries 39 (21) - 6 (1) - 0
1975-1985 orthodox
20 Bo Hogberg 36 (25) - 6 (3) - 1
1962-1973

McCallum isn't rated among the light middles, but comes in at 25 at 160 lbs, which is quite good considering the long history MW has.

[SmarterChild]

Mayweather hands down