How would this play out if they were to meet at middleweight? The two of them at middleweight. Let's say the Nigel Benn who pieced up Iran Barkley against the G-man of the second Jackson fight, that bombed him out in a single round.
The first time I saw Benn intentionally lay on the ropes was against Sims in his last fight at middleweight (leading to the KO). He can't lay on the ropes against McClellan so it would depend on that... Also he didn't duck, slip, weave and bob around as much back then. That was the key for him when he did fight GMc, getting under those long rangey commited punches and coming up with his right and left hooks and short crosses with GMc then wide open. So 1990 Benn might have to take GMc early without the body and head movement mastered as 1995 Benn had. McClellan, also, so much bigger. It took Benn four or five years to grow into the super-middle division. GMc would come in at 180+ chiseled in WBC title fights. But a huge factor is whether the weigh-in would take place on the day of the fight itself (pre Eubank/Watson II) or 28 hours after the weigh-in (post Eubank/Watson II) allowing GMc to blow up much bigger than Benn...
Benn was a far better, more mature fighter at 168lbs. The wild swinging brawler of the 80s, really would do well get out the first minute, let alone the first round.
Destroyed? Hardly. Benn is knocked out inside 30 seconds. He has a near 20 second recovery time to get himself together, and the fussy French ref gives him chances to recover every time he can. Having said that, at the end of round one, Benn gave out the kind of yell that said he knew what he was in for and he'd ridden the dragon but take a look at the concern the doctors showing in his corner at the end of that first three minutes. Perhaps they were looking in the wrong corner. As early as round 2 McClellan has his mouth open and he's blowing, Benn caught him with a couple of big shots in the first and dominated 2, maybe that's where the damage started, maybe it started in fights before. Julian Jackson wasn't a powder puff puncher, In 3, Gerald starts to dance, but following the patten of round 2, The Pit Bull is getting backed up, McClellan is down to single, two punch salvo's, there's no intensity like round one, he's holding smothering, covering up, even that early he is showing signs he no longer wants to get hit in the head. But Benn is relentless walking him down. For the most destructive fighter of his day, and by this time, it was said more of Gerald than Tyson, McClellan is doing a lot of backwards steps. Pretty much from then on in, in hindsight, you can see that every time Nigel hits him with a bomb, he physically reacts. Jabs, straights, hooks, he is not comfortable. Benn marches on relentlessly. Hitting him not so much with the kitchen sink as the kitchen itself, dining, living rooms, and surrounding house. Big Frank is sat next to Don King ringside and every second the shock haired scum dares speak, Frank is on his feet bellowing at Benn, along wit the crowd who, don't forget, were the only people thought Nigel Benn would, or even could, win. The press, the pundits, the critics had universally said he was meat to the slaughter. NO matter what they said during, watching it unfold, or after, check out the odds, just on a WIN, no round, just Nigel Benn leaving the ring in his home country , with his belt. Cats have been given better odds of escaping hell. He is soaking up punishment like a sham wow soaks up pepsi, and giving it back, at the end of 6 its only the bell stops him punching McClellan, its in humane at times. Something has to give and eventually it does. In 7 McClellan knows hes got to finish it and warrior to the last goes all out with everything hes got in the tank, whenever the ref gets fussy he shoves him out the way to try and finish the job, open mouthed, his body clearly telling him there is a problem, but still refusing to accept his mortal frailty. With 90 seconds to go in the 7th Gerald's gum shield is out, but he is firing his arms out like steam powered pistons, hes trying to dance, and at that point his instincts are keeping him not only on his feet, but alive. At the end of that round Gerald looks shot, his heads bowed he is literally a dead man walking. He doesn't call 'No Mas' He doesn't walk back to his corner shaking his head and retire, he never once considers quitting on his stool despite what his body has been telling him , as a challenger, he's not protecting a crown, there's no shame in losing a world title challenge. He has Benn out on his feet in the 7th, he's saved by the bell. He doesn't know what ring, arena, country or planet hes on when he staggers home. Going into 8, Newbon famously says that out of the two McClellan looks the most distressed. More so than anyone knew. That round swayed like a Bowery bum, but when Nigel's head hit the corner post no one would have blamed him had he collapsed, but still his inner warrior pulled him through and took McClellan into unknown territory. The first big left Benn hit him with in the 9th took all resistance out of him. Training, instinct, passion, courage and will took over from that point on. Benn threw himself on the floor launching a huge right ,connected McClellan with his head, he took the knee, and from that point, the fight was over. In the 10th he was blinking and the gum-shield came out that signaled the end of what I can only describe as one of the bravest displays by two fighters, and on that night neither were boxers, Ive ever seen in my life. Only one of them would come out in anything approaching what one might call one piece. It's arguable that even that, was whole. So don't DARE disrespect the memory of a man who literally gave everything he had, took 6 steps back to his corner, and then never got back up. It was a war, one that Nigel Benn shamefully doesn't get enough credit for, because of the resulting injuries but equally it should be remembered, Gerald McClellan showed courage, spirit, desire, and sheer strength of will in. He did not, in any , way, shape, or form, get destroyed
Thanks for the blow-by-blow commentary, squire. If only they had video cameras back in the 90's to capture all this action on film. Sounded like it was quite an enjoyable contest.
