McCallum
NEW YORK, CMC:
JAMAICA'S FORMER three-time world boxing champion Mike McCallum has landed another Hall of Fame induction.
The 47-year-old McCallum, who entered the World Boxing Hall of Fame last October, was named Thursday among 16 inductees to the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) for his superb 15-year career, highlighted by world titles in the junior middleweight, middleweight and light heavyweight categories.
The seven-time Jamaica sportsman of the year will be inducted alongside big names like former heavyweight champion George Foreman, Louis "Kid" Kaplan, Tom Sharkey, Jess Willard and promoter Dan Duva.
"I feel great, I worked hard over the years and words can't explain or define the way I feel," McCallum told CMC Sport in a telephone interview on Friday from his Las Vegas home.
"Coming from the Caribbean, it's like you have to work twice as much to achieve all these accolades and awards, I worked very diligently over the years and it has finally paid off and I am very proud of that, I am very happy," McCallum added.
In October 1984, McCallum became the first ever Jamaican world boxing champion when he defeated Sean Mannion for the World Boxing Association (WBA) junior middleweight title at the famous Madison Square Garden in New York.
He won the WBA middleweight crown in May 1989 when he defeated Britain s Herol Graham and completed his haul of three titles when he dominated Australian Jeff Harding for the World Boxing Council (WBC) light heavyweight crown in July 1994.
"The Bodysnatcher", as he was labelled because of his brilliant body-punching ability, ended his career in 1997 with a record of 49 wins with 36 knockouts, against five defeats.
"I fought a long time and God blessed me, I was able to continue my career into my early 40s, many other fighters didn't go on that long, it's been a long road, a long time.
"I feel great and I just have to sit back now and just enjoy everything that I have worked for, really," McCallum said.
The annual Hall of Fame Weekend is scheduled for June 5-8 in Canastota, New York and will include several high profile events, including a golf tournament, banquet, professional boxing show, parade and autograph card show.
Foreman, a two-time heavyweight champion who won Olympic gold in 1968, was elected - like McCallum -- in his first year of eligibility following five years away from the ring.
Other inductees for the June 8 banquet, selected by an international panel of boxing writers and historians, are welterweight king Curtis Cokes, junior welterweight champion Nicolino Locche, journalist Jack Fiske and author/screenwriter Budd Schulberg.
The Hall of Fame also released names of posthumous honourees -- Fred Apostoli in the Modern Category; Battling Battalino, Kaplan, Sharkey, and Willard in the Old-Timer Category; promoter Dan Duva, booking agent Dewey Fragetta and manager/matchmaker Al Weill in the Non-Participant Category; and Caleb Baldwin and Joe Goss in the Pioneer Category.
