KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – Hall of Fame fighter and Jamaican boxing great Mike ‘The Bodysnatcher’ McCallum died suddenly on Saturday in Las Vegas at the age of 68.
According to reports, McCallum fell ill while traveling to the gym and was forced to pull off the road. He was reportedly found unresponsive and was later pronounced dead.
Nicknamed ‘The Bodysnatcher’ due to his hard-hitting body punches, McCallum was the first Jamaican boxer to win a world title, doing so in 1984 when he defeated Irishman Sean Mannion at Madison Square Garden in New York to lift the WBA Junior Middleweight crown.
He was a first-ballot inductee into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2003. He had been a top amateur, winning gold at welterweight at the Commonwealth Games in 1978, competing at the 1976 Olympics, and also winning the Golden Gloves in 1977.
McCallum also won the WBA middleweight and the WBC light heavyweight titles.
He was also a seven-time Jamaica Sportsman of the Year recipient.
Jamaica’s Minister of Sport, Olivia Grange, expressed shock and sadness at McCallum’s passing.
“It is with utter and complete sadness that I learned of the death of Jamaica’s three-time World Boxing champion Michael McKenzie McCallum,” Grange said in a statement.
“I express my 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,” she added.
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