mclellan

[bbjc]

Hey all just looking for opinions on gerald mclellan how good was he would he have become an all time great.

How would he have faired against roy jones think he beat jones in the amateurs what about pro you would have thought that would suit mclellan more could he have knock roy jones off the very top or was he slightly overated due to what happened post nigel benn.

Realize he lost 2 fights prior to the benn fight what was the story behind these he really was gaining momentum coming up to nigel benn.

Watched some footage on youtube of his fights he looked a tremendous fighter remember watching the benn fight what a fight to remember so sad what happened to him thereafter he was on the verge of bombing benn out in the first.

How do you think benn would have faired against the top americans no bias -what a dearth of talent in that super middleweight division at that time.

Personally think benn would maybe take too many shots but he would have been a danger to anybody there

Much respect to the G-man

[meade95]

mcClellan likely would have stopped Roy Jones Jr at MW I believe - He had the exact style and power to cause Roy to be fearful....and if he caught him....Roy would have went....

I'd have taken mcClellan by KO inside of 6 -

[BoxBuzz]

As I have heard it, he suffered an injury a fight or two before the Benn affair. And some have said that Benn simply punctuated some sort of previous injury that Gerald had already sustained. (Details on this can be found here on this forum somewhere. My teflon mind just does not hold onto all of this info as it used to.).

Not sure there is medical proof to back this up but when I read the info it was rather compelling as I recall.

[Diamond WEAPON]

As I have heard it, he suffered an injury a fight or two before the Benn affair. And some have said that Benn simply punctuated some sort of previous injury that Gerald had already sustained. (Details on this can be found here on this forum somewhere. My teflon mind just does not hold onto all of this info as it used to.).

Not sure there is medical proof to back this up but when I read the info it was rather compelling as I recall.

From what I remember he started having some particularly alarming symptoms after the Julian Jackson fight (random bouts of nausea and vomiting and intense headaches for no reason). The first fight against Jackson was a pretty brutal one and McClellan took a lot of flush shots from Julian that would've KTFO'd most anybody else as he was an absolutely murderous puncher. That combined with the fact that Benn was a massive puncher in his own right along with Gerald's offense as defense style likely resulted in his condition as I believe he was never actually treated for anything before the Benn fight despite the signs of a possible injury being present, and between the Jackson and Benn fights McClellan scored a couple very quick KO's.

[Ezzard]

i believe that McClellan's rehydration (which gave him a massive power and strength advantage) finally caught up with him. Some observers have said that he was so drained that his skin would almost change colour... He was fine in a short fight (as most were for him) but it caused all kinds of problems later on in a fight.

[overhand_right]

The fact he was so weight drained and had a dangerously inept referee in the ring pulling him off, buying Benn time and doing everything possible to help Benn survive the early blitz also, IMO, led to his injuries.

[My2Sense]

G-Man:

Pros: Tall, rangy, could box somewhat, hit like a muthaf*cka (particularly with his right), had a very solid chin.

Cons: Very poor, sometimes non-existent defense, like to go for the KO too much, was a bit of a frontrunner, didn't have much of a variety of punches (couldn't throw an uppercut if his life depended on it, which is the real reason he lost to Benn).

As it was, he wasn't a true great. He was comparable to someone like Pavlik or Arthur Abraham IMO. Big puncher, but had too many other limitations.

Benn beat G-Man by simply bobbing, weaving, and then leaping in with over-the-top hooks and rights, and G-Man just kept walking into it and never altered his attack once over 10 rounds. Granted, Benn did pull out all the stops and the referee did give him help in the first round, but his failures to finish Benn off or make any tactical adjustments afterward still exposed his shortcomings. Remember, McClellan came into that fight as a decent-sized favorite (I think about 3-1 if I remember correctly).

And besides, I think McClellan was being oversold at that time regardless. The only elite fighter he'd beaten at that time was Julian Jackson, and as good as Jackson was, his one major weakness was always considered to be his chin. Plus, there was some question that Jackson was just beginning to slow down around that time too. The other "name" fighter McClellan beat was John Mugabi, and he had already been KO'd several times already and was generally considered on the way out.

[My2Sense]

i believe that McClellan's rehydration (which gave him a massive power and strength advantage) finally caught up with him. Some observers have said that he was so drained that his skin would almost change colour... He was fine in a short fight (as most were for him) but it caused all kinds of problems later on in a fight.

But how could he be weight drained for a fight up at 168? Didn't he weigh in around 164-165 for the fight?

[Ezzard]

i believe that McClellan's rehydration (which gave him a massive power and strength advantage) finally caught up with him. Some observers have said that he was so drained that his skin would almost change colour... He was fine in a short fight (as most were for him) but it caused all kinds of problems later on in a fight.

But how could he be weight drained for a fight up at 168? Didn't he weigh in around 164-165 for the fight?

I believe he had some method that he used to lose the weight. he certianly looks huge compared with almost any of his opponents.

I've read a number of times that he was really puishing the edge with his dryingout techniques...

[ICEMAN JOHN SCULLY]

I'd go with RJ by decision...people forget how smart of a fighter RJ was in his prime...the fight between these two was a real WAR (and I know because I was there!) but as a pro RJ was much more careful and disciplined...and G always showed a lot of trouble with boxers...and RJ definitely would have BOXED Gerald comfortably from a distance all night, taking no chances.

(Note: i.e. RJ being avery smart fighter, etc...I remember the two Norris-Simon Brown matches...the first one saw Terry go toe to toe with Simon and get blasted out...in their rematch, though, Terry boxed a VERY smart and calaculated fight and won going away over twelve...I saw RJ in training camp the very next day and I said something like, "Man, did you see Norris yesterday?? He put on a boxing CLINIC!"

I've never forgotten his reply to me.

He said, "Shoot, I wouldnt have had to see Simon Brown twice to know that was the right way to fight him."

[My2Sense]

i believe that McClellan's rehydration (which gave him a massive power and strength advantage) finally caught up with him. Some observers have said that he was so drained that his skin would almost change colour... He was fine in a short fight (as most were for him) but it caused all kinds of problems later on in a fight.

But how could he be weight drained for a fight up at 168? Didn't he weigh in around 164-165 for the fight?

I believe he had some method that he used to lose the weight. he certianly looks huge compared with almost any of his opponents.

I've read a number of times that he was really puishing the edge with his dryingout techniques...

But if it was such an effort to lose weight, why would he lose an extra 3-4 pounds unnecessarily (rather than coming in 168 on the dot)?