BoxRec

I realize you weren't asking me but I am going to throw in my two cents anyway - The McClellan-Benn fight as a tragedy fight was an oddity - the big banging was certainly there but when McClellan took a knee (I suspect it was when he began feeling great pain; he puts his glove up to his face) it caught us by surprise, prompting (the ever big mouth who really shouldn't have an opinion) Ferdie Pacheco to exclaim that 'McClellan has no heart." (asshole) - but in this case McClellan actions did come as a surprise to us all; I agree - I am not sure any ref could have recognized that McClellan was in peril

Some good points mate.

Benn v the G Man is still the fight that makes me query my love for boxing; actually went off the sport for a while.
It was one of the best wars seen in a British ring but the consequences were appalling and screened to millions of UK folk.

Time to be honest, I was a huge Benn fan and badly wanted to see Gerald get ko'd and see that total dickhead Don King humiliated.

But the fight did get out of control.

Once Benn had weathered the storm he began hitting Gerald with any number of sickening shots and many of them were flush and looking at the fight again Gerald is not seeing them and just trying to land huge ko shots of his own....which in turn made him even more hittable.

To a certain extent I don't blame the ref - it was sheer pandemonium in there and Benn had of course been nearly down and out - but the G Man's corner did not seem to read the signs and they had the opportunity to talk with him and see where he was at between rounds.

It would have been far better if Benn had properly clipped Gerald and he had been counted out; but tragically it got attritional before the stoppage and getting hit hard and often by someone like Benn was very bad news and extremely dangerous.

Benn had a mean streak a mile wide and had been wound-up by King something rotten so was in no mood for mercy.