Of course, his story is a tragic one. Here is a video of him about 8 years after his injury. http://youtube.com/watch?v=LGz-unNi1dU&feature=related I was just a kid when he fought and i don't know anything about him outside of what i've read about him. I knew he was an incredible puncher but that's about it. How good was he? Was he on a decline when he fought Benn or was he top of his game and had a lot of prime years left? Thoughts please.
McClellan was an absolute animal. One of the hardest Middleweight punchers you will ever see. Not a real polished boxer, but had eraser type power. He was really at the height of his powers when he fought Benn, that's what made that fight so exciting. If he had landed that second right in the first round against Benn it would have been goodnight, and maybe the beginning of McClellan's superstardom. However, fate had other plans.
Truly one of the scariest middleweights I have ever seen. He actually had an alright skills set but obviously it was his power and destructive style that he is remembered for.
............I don't think he stands up to either trashing or true praise. He deserves some credit for taking out Jackson the first time, but then took on the hoplessly outmatched Bell, Baptist, and a by then horribly faded Jackson in a rematch, all of whom he dispatched in a round each. That alone is impressive enough, but aside from Benn and possibly Jackson the first time, he never fought real top-flight opposition. Suffice to say he showed great promise, but never got the chance to really prove how good everyone guessed he would be.
G-Man was only 27 when he suffered the injury. From watching his highlights, he seemed to have a DEVASTATING left hook to the body which finished off a lot of guys. Guys seemed to just fall off when he hit them. Impressive KO power. I think people have compared him to Hearns in terms of freakish power?
Great right hand puncher with an underrated body attack. Probably the hardest puncher I've ever seen at middleweight. Was compared to Hearns for a while, but I never saw it other than the fact both are lanky and power punchers. McClellan wasn't a great technical boxer despite the dimensions, build, and one-time trainer (Steward) that would suggest otherwise. One of the most exciting fighters during the 1990s though. A damn shame what happened to him.
Basically. He was very good, but as with most "what might have been" fighters, he gets overrated by more than a few fans.
Is it true that he beat Roy in the amateurs? Is it fair to say McClellan looked like a giant middleweight version of Rafael Marquez??? His body dimensions and vicious commitment into his punches = scariest power ever
I can't imagine him beating Roy Jones Jr, even in the amateurs. Would have loved to have seen that...
His left hook to the body was vicious. Pretty similar to Hearns in this regard, but Hearns threw his left hook to the body with a more upward (hookercut) like motion.
for sure....I more was thinking about body demensions and punching power, seems so similar...I mean if you could scale Rafael Marquez up to 160lbs he'd be a fkn demon like that
**** to beat Roy in the amateurs, You gotta be a guy that sure as hell isn't gun shy... I mean considering that amateurs is solely on out landing your opponent, Gman must have went balls to the wall with Roy to out punch such a fast fighter in Roy.