Mike “The Bodysnatcher” McCallum, a legendary Jamaican boxer, has passed away.  He was 68.

According to The Jamaica Observer, McCallum was driving to the gym in Las Vegas on Saturday (May 31) when he pulled off the road after falling ill. 

Later, he was found unresponsive and then declared dead. McCallum’s official cause of death has not yet been revealed.

The Hon. Olivia Grange, Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment, and Sport of Jamaica, expressed her condolences at news of 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 personal condolences to his mother, siblings, and 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.” 

“Greatly saddened by the passing of  Mike McCallum. Mike was a lovely guy, a humble guy, a great champion,” added Rich Marotta, the founder of the Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame, wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “He was an Inaugural year inductee of @nvbhof and, as a resident of Las Vegas, always wanted to be part of the events, big or small. Had the greatest nickname in boxing, ‘The Bodysnatcher’ RIP.” 

Bursting onto the professional boxing scene in 1981, McCallum earned the moniker “The Bodysnatcher” due to his ferocious punching power, which often targeted the body of his opponents. In 1984, McCallum won his first world championship, defeating Sean Mannion to win the vacant WBA super welterweight title. He would go on to defend that title six times, winning all six fights by knockout.

One of the bouts was a duel with Julian Jackson, another hard-punching, Hall of Fame boxer, whom he defeated in the second round in August 1986.

Moving up to the middleweight division, McCallum defeated Herol Graham by a split decision to capture the then-vacant WBA middleweight title. McCallum took on IBF middleweight champion James Toney in 1991, which ended in a draw. In a rematch,  McCallum lost in a controversial majority decision the following year.

As a light heavyweight, McCallum won the WBC interim light heavyweight title against Randall Yonker and then won the full WBC title by outpointing Jeff Harding in 1994.

In his last fight, McCallum lost a rubber match to James Toney in a unanimous decision in the cruiserweight division.

After retiring, McCallum became a trainer and relocated to Las Vegas, and he was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2003.