Nigel Benn-Gerald McClellan - what caused the blood clot?

i've seen it a stack of times and still to this day don't think benn did anything other than graze the g-man when he stumbled over.

as for the g-man wanting out, kevin mitchell reckons geralrd wanted out before the 10th round stoppage.

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as for why gerald is the way he is today? same as you minus the headbutt. obviously taking flush shots from jackson and benn is playing russian roulette with your health. gerald just happened to be one of the unlucky few that don't leave the ring of their own accord.

 

Wasn't the headbutt. I was at ringside that night and I could hear the crack of the punches but nothing when that landed. It was more like a graze

 

Don't think it was caused in round 9, because McClellan had been blinking profusely a few rounds before that.

 

Yep, if you watch all the fight McClellan was blinking like crazy and was having trouble keeping his gumshield in from the 5th round onwards. I'm convinced whatever happened to him that night happened way before the 9th round.

 

He was struggling from the second round. At the end of the 4th he complained to his corner of bad headaches and the end of the 6th he said he was finding it hard to breathe. There was definite contact with the accidental clash of heads on his brow and it was a clot on the frontal lobe that they removed. But this happened in the 9th.

In training after the first Jackson fight he complained of headaches and dizzines but this was put down to going through 5 rounds with Jackson. He was also severley weight drained in the Benn fight. he moved up from middleweight coz he was struggling to make weight and ended up coming in 3lbs short of the limit. Jackson,Sparring with heavyweights with no gear a week before the Benn fight and the fight itself must have all played a part.

 

I noticed that on a YouTube clip. It wasn't just normal blinking in hindsight, it was they way in he was blinking.

 

Gman was too brave for his own good.

 

great highlights there

 

eating flush powershots for 10 rounds caused it. Who knows if it was one single shot?

 

It was the old 36 hour weight IIRC.

 

Julian Jackson said McLellan had privately confided in him that his head was hurting months before. He said he had constant headaches and migranes. Emmanuel Steward said Gerald's speech pattern had faded (as well as his reflexes) by the time they were sparring for Benn. Let's not forget McLellan had admitted to having a headache and "wanting to sleep for a few days" after his last fight before Benn.

If you're going to point to ANYTHING during the fight I'd gurss you'd say the headbutt...but the damage was done months (perhaps even years before).