In short, the boxers with similar, Burke and Hare-esque nicknames are, in chronological order, Jamaican former professional Michael ‘Mike’ McCallum and Jamaican-born British professional Dillian Whyte. ‘Chop down the body and the head will fall’, or so says the old adage, and both fighters earned their monikers by virtue of aggressive body punching.
Mike ‘Bodysnatcher’ McCallum retired from professional boxing on February 22, 1997, aged 40, having lost his final fight, by unanimous decision, to James Toney at the Mohegan Sun Casino, in Uncasville, Connecticut. However, he boasted a career record of 49-5-1, including 36 knockouts, and each of his five defeats – three of which came in his laest four fights – went the distance. He also had the distinction of being the first Jamaican world champion, beating Irishman Sean Mannion, by unanimous decision, to win the vacant World Boxing Association (WBA) Super Welterweight title at Madison Square Garden, New York on October 19, 1984. Indeed, McCallum went on to win world titles at three different weights, holding the WBA Middleweight title between 1989 and 1991, and the WBC Light Heavyweight title between 1994 and 1995.
Formerly a professional kickboxer, Dillian ‘The Body Snatcher’ Whyte made his professional boxing debut on May 13, 2011 but, following a fourth round technical knockout of Hungarian Sandor Balogh on October 13, 2012 – which took his career record to 9-0-0 – he tested positive for the banned stimulant methylhexamine (MHA), was disqualified, and subsequently served a two-year ban imposed by the National Anti-Doping Panel (NADP). On his return to boxing, Whyte remained undefeated for another seven fights, until losing, by technical knockout in the seventh round, to Anthony Joshua when challenging for the World Boxing Council (WBC) International Heavyweight title at the O2 Arena in Greenwich, London on December 12, 2015. Later in his career, he won, lost and regained the WBC Interim Heavyweight title, but in his most recent title fight, for the WBC World Heavyweight title, he was stopped inside six rounds by Tyson Fury at Wembley Stadium on April 23, 2022.