BoxRec

Whos win should be regarded as bigger??

Obviously both wins should be respected but all sentiment aside, which result will be remembered 20 years down the line...?

Theres no revisionism going on here, i picked Kessler to win and tbh I had it to Joes by only One or Two points..Kessler in my opinion will go on and be a great fighter, he may well get the big American wins that Joe never felt the need to..but McClellan was something special..

McClellan was arguably the hardest hitter in Boxing with ring smarts to boot..he was on the march to becoming a legend until he ran into Nige..

There are similarities between the Two, both suffered from a lack of big fight experience, Kessler loaded up too much and burnt himself out, McClellan did the same, plus he threw only straight punches instead of uppercuts, a mistake which imagine would have been rectified in a rematch

I just see Nigel as doing something more special that night..would Calzaghe have taken on Gerald?

Benn

Benn had a harder fight because he was easier to hit and got hurt on a number of occasions. He was out on his feet, Calzaghe was not. The McClellan fight only showed Benns heart and determination. I don't think it proved him to be any better of a fighter as most of what he did was wild. I don't even think he'd have won the fight had G Man not suffered the brain damage that had already began before the fight finished. Look at those last couple of rounds. He was gassing, but then started blinking hard and was visably agitated by something else going on inside.

History wise Joe and Kessler.

To the fans Benn and McClellan. Benn was a heroe In British Boxing.

Benn. McClellan was a wrecking machine and was starting to get that unbeatable feel about him.

Kessler was a good champion, no question, but no where near the proposition that McClellan was.

I think probably Benn-Mcellan was bigger, mainly because of terrestrial television.

Goz wrote:I think probably Benn-Mcellan was bigger, mainly because of terrestrial television.

Agreed, and because just about everybody thought Benn was going to get Ko'd in the first 2 rounds.

I'll agree with the masses, it was def Benn.

18 million on ITV to 400, 000 on Setanta, haha.

Plus Benn is loveable with charisma and big punch. Calzaghe is devoid of personality and slaps his way to 12 rd decisions.

Benn without doubt

hes the reason i got into boxing

benn. I watched a clip of mclellan before, i was reminded just how much destruction he brought in his shots. scary, scary badass of a fighter. benn was gifted a ridiculous lifeline in that first round and showed legendary courage to come back, but really it is scandalous that gerald didnt get his KO1.

watch this clip and imagine Mcclellan instead of Kessler..

theHitman wrote:

Riddick Blowe wrote:benn. I watched a clip of mclellan before, i was reminded just how much destruction he brought in his shots. scary, scary badass of a fighter. benn was gifted a ridiculous lifeline in that first round and showed legendary courage to come back, but really it is scandalous that gerald didnt get his KO1.

watch this clip and imagine Mcclellan instead of Kessler..

theHitman wrote:

Why is it scandolous that GMAN didnt get a 1 round KO? Benn was technically aloud 20seconds to get back in the ring and back on his feet.

Obviously Benn-McClellan.

Remember, McClellan-Mugabi was on BBC1 and McClellan's record-breaking WBC middleweight defences on ITV.

Plus, Benn had loads of fans in America from way back in '89-'90 who had followed his career.

I'd have to say Benn. He was supposed to get slaughtered, Joe v Kessler was an even fight...

Historically, Id say Calzaghe-Kessler was bigger. It was a unification fight between the 2 best SMs of their time, thought to be an even match, and had massive hype before the fight. Plus the crowd and atmosphere were electric. It can rightly be called a superfight
However, Benn-McClellan will always have a big place in British boxing folklore. There wasnt as much hype before the fight, Benn was expected to go down all guns blazing, and the outcome was dreadful. Benn doesnt get the credit for this win from all lot of Septics, they say a headbutt caused the damage, blardy blah.
Benn will always be a true legend to British fans, because of his amazing victories and wildly exciting style. Calzaghe will never be anywhere near as popular, he has never put himself on the line until this last 2 years (right at the end of his career), and he isnt the most personable of boxers. He will never be held in the same affection as Nigel Benn to British fans

Benn-McClellan, the best, most dramatic fight i have ever seen, bar none.

Yup, horrific ending, but thats what can happen in boxing. It was nothing short of an all time classic event.

Come on Payne, write an article on it you lazy bugger.

Calzaghe was 4/7, Benn was 9/2.

With regards that video and asking "imagine if that was Mclellan" .......

Calzaghe has a better chin than Nigel did and is naturally bigger. Benn took Mclellan's best shots and came back so why wouldn't Joe?

Yes Kessler v Calzaghe was a fight between the 2 best at the weight and it had people i've never heard mention boxing before talking but really neither fighter captures the average Joe's imagination.

Benn is probably the reason most people in this british forum like boxing (if your around my age that is), the fight had 18m viewers on ITV, McClellan was the built up, yank wreaking ball who was telling people he was going to kill Benn, the papers all went with it and none of them gave Benn a hope in hell.

Benn-McClellan was never billed as a superfight because Benn was expected to get mullered. Calzaghe-Kessler was virtually a superfight, so in that sense it was bigger. Probably wont go down in British boxing folklore like Benn-McClellan did though

Phenomenal-Nutrition wrote:

Riddick Blowe wrote:benn. I watched a clip of mclellan before, i was reminded just how much destruction he brought in his shots. scary, scary badass of a fighter. benn was gifted a ridiculous lifeline in that first round and showed legendary courage to come back, but really it is scandalous that gerald didnt get his KO1.

watch this clip and imagine Mcclellan instead of Kessler..

theHitman wrote:

Why is it scandolous that GMAN didnt get a 1 round KO? Benn was technically aloud 20seconds to get back in the ring and back on his feet.

Got to go with Benn v McClellen on this one, I was at ringside, an awesome fight and an awesome night but horrible outcome.

I think its 20 seconds only if the boxer is on the floor off the apron which Benn was not.

Benn vs McClellan by some way - Calzaghe vs Lacy was bigger than Calzaghe vs Kessler.

Benn vs McClellan could have been even bigger though - It was only Radio 5 sports America show (sadly axed) that I heard how good McClellan was - two weeks before the fight.

ITV could have done more build up.

Lacy vs Calzaghe is closer - alot closer than Calzaghe vs Kessler.

Cal is the better fighter, but rarely has there been seen the drama and bravery of Benn. Best fight I ever saw.

I think that Calzaghe is the better boxer, in all honesty. But JC does not, and can not, carry the charisma and heart of Benn .

It may be a separation in terms but we will always try to define the sport along these lines without anyone being proved right or wrong. It's just opinion.

Calzaghe vs. Kessler was a bigger fight.

Yes JC/Kessler was a bigger fight, in terms of world interest, money & significance. A 50/50 matchup as well.

Benn/Gman was seen as an absolutely can't miss collision, but nearly everyone was expecting an early win for the American. No one really expected to see the back and forth classic we witnessed.

And yes, Joe would have taken on McClellan if Frank lined him up ( like he did with Benn ) you can't accuse Joe of ducking any dangerous fights in his career - he'd have been a big favorite to beat Ottke and Beyer, so to say he was running scared of those two is laughable.

He'd likely have beaten McClellan too.