Nigel talks about Gerald McClellan, Racism, Boxing injuries and the Dangers of Boxing. Says the GMAN hit him harder than he'd been ever been hit, including when he was hit in the face by a racist with a pick axe [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nm-VQ82_Gko&feature=related[/ame] [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yyTYvxDsfc&feature=related[/ame] [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIiTv07_M8Q&feature=related[/ame] [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_UIiIC_S9Q&feature=related[/ame] Another Benn-McClellan docu vid [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNjoM63rJ3I&feature=related[/ame]
Definitely the brutal side of the sport. I loved the G-Man. He wasnt the most personable guy, but he was like King described as a mini Mike Tyson very fun to watch. Argueably one of the biggest punchers pound for pound.
There were 2 Mike Tysons in that ring that night though, apparently usually they have 1 ambulance waiting just in case, that night they had 2 ambulances ready at the end of the fight, they knew before hand both men could be seriously hurt and both were. Benn suffered a shadow on his brain, broken jaw, bust kidneys, i forget everything he had but its better hearing it from the man himself. I don't think many have have shown the heart to win that Benn showed that night, that was a real life Rocky movie McClellans personality gets judged on his record of violence and cruelity but none of us really knew him to know if he had a good side to his personality too.
I just wached The Devil Advocate interview again, I remember it vaguely from the time. It's great. Nigel Benn was a just hard hard ferocious man, in mind and spirit. And he loved boxing, and he would have fought anyone. But he's not like that nowadays. He pretty much says he doesn't like what he used to do, he doesn't believe God meant him to beat people up, and he admits he was too materialistic in those days. Interestingly, he was actually finished after the McClellan fight and should have retired when he couldn't secure the Roy Jones match. He had nothing left after McClellan anyway.
He was shot after the McClellan fight, that words over used but that fight really broke him down with all the injury's he sustained. And once your body has been to the depths of hell it can be hard to go back there Benn was a bully but he was a likable 1 even back then Did you watch the other vid I posted, I thought that 1 was better
I remember Benn saying how Gerald punched him so hard in the first round when Benn was sitting on the ropes that the ligaments in his neck tore.
Yea I remember that 1 now, he said in this 1 how when he'd just been punched out the ring he looked up and saw McClellan in the ring and thought 'whats he doing in the ring over there, where am I?'