Sumbu Kalambay

[TommyV]

A pretty well known fighter but he's rarely talked about. Former WBA middleweight champion.

First guy to beat Mike McCallum.

Other wins over the likes of Iran Barkley, Herol Graham x2, Steve Collins and Robbie Sims.

Under-rated?

Discuss. :)

[Russell]

Unbelievably underrated, and it doesn't seem to be getting any better with time.

[Sweet Pea]

Very underrated. One of the best pure boxing technicians ever at MW. Really gave McCallum a boxing lesson in their first fight.

[TommyV]

Very underrated. One of the best pure boxing technicians ever at MW. Really gave McCallum a boxing lesson in their first fight.

I must admit to having never seen his first fight with McCallum. Seeing as the scorecards were pretty close and it was in Italy, I've always wondered whether McCallum may of been unfortunate.

Did he really outbox McCallum that well?

[Sweet Pea]

I must admit to having never seen his first fight with McCallum. Seeing as the scorecards were pretty close and it was in Italy, I've always wondered whether McCallum may of been unfortunate.

Did he really outbox McCallum that well?It wasn't particularly competitive IMO. Kalambay really made Mike look bad. He was unable to get anything going the entire fight. Never hurt or close to it, but badly outboxed.

[tylerrcurtis]

since i have never heard of him and he beat those names that you listed and was a world champ id guess he is VERY underrated

[natonic]

Terrific fighter. He schooled Barkley and badly outclassed Doug Dewitt also. His first fight with McCallum was a tremendous effort. I recall his decsion loss to Kalule being dubious and I view his KO by Michael Nunn as a bit of an aberration. Really good resume.

[Mantequilla]

There was a similar thread on kalambay a few months back, that went a few pages.

It would be worth checking out for most peoples opinions.

After Whitaker, and alongside Hilario zapata and a few others, he was one of the most talented pure boxers of his generation.Unfortunately his big fight to establish the successor to Hagler is among the most disastrous in history.His reputation or profile has never really recovered.By the time he got back in the mix he was past his prime.

His fight with McCallum is on youtube btw.

[TommyV]

There was a similar thread on kalambay a few months back, that went a few pages.

It would be worth checking out for most peoples opinions.

After Whitaker, and alongside Hilario zapata and a few others, he was one of the most talented pure boxers of his generation.Unfortunately his big fight to establish the successor to Hagler is among the most disastrous in history.His reputation or profile has never really recovered.By the time he got back in the mix he was past his prime.

His fight with McCallum is on youtube btw.

Ah sweet. Found the link for anyone who wants it.

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

I'll check out the McCallum fight now cheers. :good

[Raging B(_)LL]

There was a similar thread on kalambay a few months back, that went a few pages.

It would be worth checking out for most peoples opinions.

After Whitaker, and alongside Hilario zapata and a few others, he was one of the most talented pure boxers of his generation.Unfortunately his big fight to establish the successor to Hagler is among the most disastrous in history.His reputation or profile has never really recovered.By the time he got back in the mix he was past his prime.

His fight with McCallum is on youtube btw.

Couldn`t have said it any better myself, honestly. I`ll only add that I think Sumbu`s performance in the first McCallum fight ranks among the best and most one-sided I have ever seen between two elite fighters... Kalambay utterly dominated Mike that night and I had him winning every round with ease but the 12th. He was also blatantly robbed in the Kalule fight which took place in his home country no less, terrible decision that was. Kalambay at his best was an outstanding fighter and he would have given many an all-time great all they could handle and would have likely beaten several of them too... criminally underrated fighter this man is.

[robert ungurean]

Very underrated. One of the best pure boxing technicians ever at MW. Really gave McCallum a boxing lesson in their first fight.
Yes he did. Did McCallum even win a round in that fight?

[Sweet Pea]

Yes he did. Did McCallum even win a round in that fight?I'd have had a hard time giving him any clearly. He was just consistently outslicked and outboxed.

[Xplosive]

I must admit to having never seen his first fight with McCallum. Seeing as the scorecards were pretty close and it was in Italy, I've always wondered whether McCallum may of been unfortunate.

Did he really outbox McCallum that well?

Yes. Kalambay dominated Mike in that fight.

[Rebel-INS]

What does everyone think the reason for Kalambay's 1st round ko against Nunn? Was he just caught cold do you think?

[Xplosive]

What does everyone think the reason for Kalambay's 1st round ko against Nunn? Was he just caught cold do you think?

No. I just think he was caught by a perfect left hand from a top form Nunn who had very underrated power.

None wants to see to give Nunn credit for that win. Nunn for a brief time was a truly special talent.

[Russell]

Nunn had great power when he chose to sit down on his punches and really dedicate.

He knocked Roldan down with an arm punch... Going backwards.

Flashes of Sugar Ray Robinson.

[Sweet Pea]

I think it was more or less a fluke to be honest. Wouldn't have happened like that if they were to fight 10 more times IMO.

[My dinner with Conteh]

It wasn't particularly competitive IMO. Kalambay really made Mike look bad. He was unable to get anything going the entire fight. Never hurt or close to it, but badly outboxed.


Yes. McCallum was massively outboxed by Kalambay. Another example of a master technician struggling with superior speed. The second fight was the close one by all accounts- Mike recovered well after such an embarrassment first time out- he barely won a round. The scorecards were shocking.

[CANNONBALL]

slick,tricky fighter...also had 2 wins over herol graham,the first time was quite an upset ,if my memory serves...remember watchin it on the BBC,1987 i think

[Sweet Pea]

Yes. McCallum was massively outboxed by Kalambay. Another example of a master technician struggling with superior speed. The second fight was the close one by all accounts- Mike recovered well after such an embarrassment first time out- he barely won a round. The scorecards were shocking.According to someone I've spoken with who in turn has spoken with McCallum, the main difference between his strategy in the two fights was that in the first he was mostly looking to land the right hand for the KO, whereas in the second he switched his gameplan up and relied on feinting a lot with the right to open up opportunities for other punches. The results were much better, though Kalambay was never the same after the Nunn loss anyway.

[Mantequilla]

The second fight followed more or less the same rough pattern as the first, with several different factors like both men generally being a few years past their best, McCallum not getting frustrated and losing his form as the fight went on; Kalambay not having the same workrate or sharpness with his counters and especially jab etc.

It's a great fight though.Very close and more comparable to the first McCallum Toney bout in terms of action.I've never heard an American call of it, but worth mentioning the British eurosport commentary is totally biased in favour of Mike, as all of the British calls seemed to be...even when he was fighting British fighters like Graham.His first Toney fight is the best though..you wouldn't think Toney had won a single round.

[My dinner with Conteh]

His first Toney fight is the best though..you wouldn't think Toney had won a single round.

I had two different copies of that fight, one from Sky the other from Screensport (or something). Both were disgraceful in their Mccallum bias, especially Darke and Minter. I had letters in Boxing Monthly and Boxing Outlook that month complaining about them.

[Mantequilla]

It's the minter and Darke one i have.

Alan was a terrible commentator.