Sumbu Kalambay - A great middleweight ??...He has a case.....

First man to beat Herol Graham.. One of the best middleweights never to be a World champion !!.....

Beat Graham twice !!....

First man to beat the great Mike McCallum....

Beat Iran Barkley who would soon go on to become a three weight champion...

Beat Doug Dewitt who went on to become WBO World middleweight champion......

One of only three men to have beaten Steve Collins who also went on to become a World champion......

World..... and Two time European champion.........For what it is worth..

The more you look at Kalambay the more you realise how under appreciated he is....

A great...Not sure ??... But the case certainly wouldn't be chucked out of court !!!!!..!

I’m a big admirer of Kalambay and have argued in the past that he’s quite badly underrated, Truss. I think there are a few factors in it, some fair, others less so.

The nature of the Nunn loss, first of all. I’ve always been a bit perplexed about it. Not that Nunn won, but how he won. Nunn wasn’t a genuine knockout artist by any stretch, and Kalambay was usually so hard to hit with a big, clean shot on the chops like that. He also had a pretty solid chin. Nothing to suggest a one-round blowout with a single shot precipitating it, but that’s what we got. I’m inclined to believe it was a bit of a freak – the manner of the result anyway, not the Nunn win per se. But whatever the reason for it, it’s a bad, bad blotch on the record of anyone who wants to be deemed a great Middleweight.

Next, the generation he was a part of. That late eighties to mid-nineties era of the Middlweights – so basically, between the end of Hagler’s reign and Hopkins’ first alphabet strap – is the deepest period in history for 160 lb in my opinion, despite its lack of a unified or really long-serving champion; the Brits and Irish had Graham, Eubank, Benn, Watson and Collins. Then there was Reggie Johnson, B-Hop, John David Jackson, Toney, Castro, Julian Jackson, Roy Jones, Nunn, McCallum, Barkley, McClellan and Kalambay. All of those guys held or contested Middleweight titles between 1991 and 1994 with some of them doing good work in the division before that point.

To stand out amongst that lot you’ve got to be pretty extraordinary. Unfortunately, due to not being a native English speaker and having more of a purist's style Kalambay was just about the least accessible of them all from a fan's point of view.

But he was super-skilled, quick and fit as a fiddle. I still think his complete masterclass against McCallum in their first fight is one of the best wins and performances by any fighter in the last thirty years. It was outstanding. I'd put McCallum in the 'great' class without any hesitation, but he couldn't do a thing against Kalambay in that one. Beautiful defence and precision countering. Could easily have been given the rematch with a different set of judges, too, albeit there was only a slither in that one either way.

Similar to his fights against Graham; pretty clear first time out, tight as a camel's backside in a sandstorm in the return, only this time Kalambay got both verdicts.

I'm not sure if Kalambay is a bonafide Middleweight great in the preoper sense. Just too resoundingly beaten, freak happening or not, against the very best 160 pounder he faced for that, I guess. But he was one of the best and most consistent performers in a phenomenal era for the Middles, so definitely deserves more recognition than he gets and it's nice to see him get a mention here.

Here's one for you - with his style and superb footwork / movement, I've always thought he'd have given Toney, my favourite of all of the above, absolute nightmares and very possibly have beaten him.

Would a great middleweight lose to kalule? Or is Kalule a better win for Leonard than often considered?

He wasn't a great fighter. Chris has nailed it - underrated, super slick but short of great.

milkyboy wrote:Would a great middleweight lose to kalule? Or is Kalule a better win for Leonard than often considered?

It was regarded as very controversial Milky.......I saw it a few years ago and I scored it to Kalambay comfortably...

Interested to know how Chris had it..

As for Nunn...............Duran gets a free pass for Hearns....So I don't see why can't let Kalambay off with one shambolic display.....

Certainly was amateur night though......He seemed to give Nunn a lifetime to hit him with the left

True it was controversial, but kalule was long in the tooth and above his best weight.

Don't get me wrong kalambay was a very good fighter, just a bit inconsistent... But any guy who could nullify two top quality and very different fighters like graham and McCallum definitely warrants respect.

The nunn fight was weird. He just looked like he froze... Rabbit in the headlights stuff.

A long in the tooth Kalule was still better than Vito and I had Kalambay winning by at least the same score as Marv.....Good fighter was Kalule......

If you want to give Marv a pass for the draw and it's a plausible thing to do...I think it is not to too unfair to be nice to Sumbu.......

Though one might ask fighting a cute southpaw like Kalule..Why wasn't he more competent against Nunn ??..

Did you know Alan Minter scored the Hagler - Vito fight for Antuofermo ???.....Hagler must punch harder than we think..

Good night..

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:A long in the tooth Kalule was still better than Vito and I had Kalambay winning by at least the same score as Marv.....Good fighter was Kalule......

If you want to give Marv a pass for the draw and it's a plausible thing to do...I think it is not to too unfair to be nice to Sumbu.......

Though one might ask fighting a cute southpaw like Kalule..Why wasn't he more competent against Nunn ??..

Did you know Alan Minter scored the Hagler - Vito fight for Antuofermo ???.....Hagler must punch harder than we think..

Good night..

Kalule was a better middleweight than Antuofermo?