Veteran boxing administrator Leroy Brown has called for the erection of a monument honouring Mike McCallum, saying it is important that Jamaicans are aware of the boxer’s remarkable achievements.

Known as the “Body Snatcher”, McCallum won titles in three weight divisions. He died in Las Vegas, Nevada, on May 31 at age 68.

Brown’s comments came during his speech at McCallum’s thanksgiving service, held at the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Kingston on Saturday.

“Let us do something in Mike’s memory, let us have some tangible thing, that we can point and say, ‘this is the Mike McCallum, whatever it is’,” Brown says. “There are other people who have had statues in their names, buildings in their names. Let us for posterity, and for the young sports people of Jamaica, especially our boxers, have something they can point to and say, ‘the Mike McCallum, whatever’.”

Reports out of Las Vegas say McCallum was driving to a gym where he worked as a trainer when he fell ill. Shortly after pulling off the road, the former fighter was found unresponsive by police and pronounced dead.

McCallum retired from boxing in 1997 with a record of 49 wins, five losses, and a draw. Two of his losses were to light heavyweight James Toney, who considered him the best fighter he faced.

In 1980, McCallum was awarded the Order of Distinction (Officer class) by the Government. That was upgraded to Commander Class in 1987.

In 2003, he was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

Saturday’s service, officiated by Reverend Ronald Thwaites, was attended by members of McCallum’s family led by his mother Olive, wife Veronica, his 11 children, six grandchildren, two sisters and five brothers.

Also attending were Sport Minister Olivia Grange; Kingston Mayor Andrew Swaby; Sport Ministry official Ali McNab; Jamaica Boxing Association President Stephen Jones, former flyweight boxer Richard “Shrimpy” Clarke; and Cuban Ambassador Ines Fors Fernandez.

In her address, Grange spoke about McCallum’s roots in the rugged community of Olympic Gardens, Kingston. She says despite attaining global success, McCallum never forgot his working-class background.

“Mike was one of the brightest lights of Tower Hill, Olympic Gardens,” she says. “And he would often speak of the discipline that boxing demanded and how it kept him focused. His stories were not just about the big fights in Las Vegas or New York, but the early days in Jamaica. Here was a man who had defeated world champions, travelled the globe, and cheered by thousands. Yet, he could sit in a yard in Tower Hill and reason with you like an old friend.”

McCallum was among a group of amateur boxers who emerged in Jamaica during the early 1970s. His contemporaries included Clarke, and future heavyweight champion Trevor Berbick.

He fought as a welterweight at the 1976 Montreal Olympics where he reached the quarter-finals. Illness prevented him from competing in the Moscow Olympics four years later and he turned professional in 1981.

At Madison Square Garden in October 1984, McCallum won his first title — the WBA junior middleweight division, beating Irishman Sean Mannion.

He went on to win the WBA middleweight and WBC light heavyweight titles.

At different stages, McCallum was trained by Americans Lou Duva and Emmanuel Steward. He defeated several highly rated opponents in the 1980s such as Julian Jackson of the United States Virgin Islands, and Americans Milt McCrory, and Donald Currie.

Jamaica Boxing Association General Secretary Leroy Brown (Photo: Joseph Wellington)