3 days ago
Boxing legend 'The Bodysnatcher' dies at 68 after pulling car off road
Mike McCallum was a Hall of Fame fighter who was the first Jamaican to win a world title, and secured titles at three different weight classes in his career
Boxing great Mike 'The Bodysnatcher' McCallum has sadly died at the age of 68.
The Jamaican, a Hall of Fame fighter who won three world titles in three different weight classes, passed away after falling ill on the way to the gym in Las Vegas on Saturday.
Reports claim McCallum, who was 68, pulled his car off the road. According to The Jamaica Observer he was later found unresponsive and pronounced dead at the scene.
McCallum earned his fearsome nickname due to his heavy hitting style, and the groundbreaking fighter was the first Jamaican to become a world champion, doing so in 1984 when he beat Irish fighter Sean Mannlon at Madison Square Garden in New York to win the WBA Junior Middleweight title.
He would later claim the WBA Middleweight and WBC Light heavyweight titles, and he was inducted into Boxing's Hall of Fame in 2003. In addition he was a welterweight gold medal winner at the 1978 Commonwealth Games and the Central American and Carribbean Games in the same year.
Jamaica sports minister Olivia Grange confirmed the sad news in a statement, saying: "It is with utter and complete sadness that I learned of the death of Jamaica's three-time world boxing champion Michael McKenzie McCallum.
"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."
The Ring Magazine said on X: "The Ring is saddened to learn of the passing of boxing legend Mike McCallum.
"The 'Body Snatcher' was a three-weight world champion, having won titles at super-welterweight, middleweight, and light-heavyweight.
"Our deepest sympathies are with his friends and family at this time."
