Lamar Parks was once a top ranked middleweight contender by the WBC and IBF. He was set to face Gerald McClellan on March 4th 1994 before the bout was cancelled due to Parks testing positive for HIV. Who wins this matchup?
Parks was awesome, but short and flat footed. You can't be either against McClellan, let alone both. Parks was the more skilled fighter in many ways with his combination punching, punch variety and compactness. He could also bang real hard. Reminded me of Lindell Holmes. But McClellan is too long for him with too good a timing. That range finding jab on the circular and Lamar a sitting duck for those timed rights.
As stated above, Lamar was a bit limited in size and skill but he could hit like a ton of bricks and kept coming. I think Gerald is a tad overrated. He fought two elite guys and one of those ended his career. I will favor McClellan but Parks is a very live underdog to pressure and punish Gerald into a stoppage.
Well, he only fought four times after he knocked out Jackson. * He fought the WBC Super Middleweight champ Nigel Benn, who wasn't a bum. * He had a rematch with former champ Julian Jackson, who wasn't a bum. * He was supposed to fight #1 contender Lamar Parks, who wasn't a bum (which is what this thread is about), but Parks tested positive for HIV only a few days before the fight and was replaced by Gilbert Baptiste. Jay Bell was a bum.
