For all you saying he had it coming, does his family deserve to suffer to. They've bankrupted themselves and work multiple jobs for G-Man.
Jerry Quarry making a comeback in 1992 at the age of 47 to get beaten silly by some guy who was 3-4-1. Quarry died of dementia about 7 years later.
He bred dogs for dog fighting, took part in dog fighting and bought non fighting dogs so his dogs could "spar" with them, Taping their mouths shut so as not to harm his own dogs. Not very nice i agree, in fact i ****ing hate dogfighting, but its not exactly hitler material is it? No-way he deserved what happened to him and infact i bet there are people who have posted on this thread slamming him,that are supporters of boxers who have done a lot worse things than him in their life. There are Boxers who have killed,attempted to kill,raped,robbed and battered people who get more respect here than him.
Great story on Victor (Young) Perez. We can remember him as a flyweight champion. He fought numerous bouts between 1928 and 1938 including Frankie Genaro, Emile Pladner, Al Brown, and others.
Thanks for mentioning Roshii Wells and Julian Letterlough. Looking at the life and times of Roshii Wells, there are a few stories to tell such as his rise to Olympic contention and his pro fights. It would be nice if folks that followed his boxing story could add a few thoughts.
Throughout boxing history black boxers have been outstanding. One great tragedy is many were not given an equal opportunity such as Sam Langford. Even the great Jack Johnson was hunted. He won the title, but he died a tragic death in 1946. Some retired from boxing to a life of poverty and despair, some driffting through life bruised, battered or blind. From ring tragedies to life tragedies, the names go on and on. Battling Siki, Tiger Flowers, Chalky Wright, Zora Folley, Eddie Machen, Sonny Liston, Wallace (Bud) Smith, and many more such as Roshii Wells.
To be honest my knowledge of McClellan's out-of-ring activities is not particularly good. I've heard about his dogfighting escapades but not how seriously he was involved in them. Out of curiosity, was he ever thrown in jail for this?
Obviously it's worst for the family, but they weren't exactly classy either. After it happened, they were openly wishing Benn got paralyzed too, and that they just wanted his money. Pretty stupid, emotional reasoning. Blaming Benn for what happened is like blaming a gun for someone getting killed.
I read that Archie Moore kept pit bulls ,don't know if he matched them. Billy Collins story is pretty sad,especially because he was White[thats for Foreman Rules].
People in their situation have more freeway to say offensive things, though their comments were unacceptable.
It is a shame that some would focus on the negative aspects of a McClellan, but this thread's prime focus should be remembering past champions, contenders and ordinary boxers professionals and amateurs. When we are looking for that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow of hope, dreams and boxing objectives we must from time-to-time take time to remember some of those lost along the winding road of glory. We should try to remember in a spirit of co-operation and respect, and not travel along the low road of negative attacks. In the case of ring deaths, there are accidents like the case of the great African - American Davey Moore (the Springfield Rifle from Ohio) to those that should never have happened such as Benny (Kid) Paret, Ernie Schaaf and others of all weights, races and religions. For those that should never have happened, there is a sad story with many lessons that should have been learned. Where were the promoters, managers, and doctors after Paret was beated badly by Gene Fullmer in December 1961. Where were Paret's manager and doctor when the March 1962 match with Emile Griffith was set. Where was the referee in the Griffith - Paret tragedy, where was Paret's cornerman, and where were the fans. Where were the safety regulations, and where is the health benefits and pension plans.
Jack Johnson driving angrily away from an establishment that refused to serve him because of his color. He crashed his car and died.