was gerald mcclellan overrated?

G-Man was wobbled by jabs?

 

No not overrated in my opinion, GM was a vicious puncher and anybody who knows anything about Benn knows he too was a vicious puncher and GM proved what a great chin he had too that night, Benn hit him with some seriously heavy shots and GM pretty much ate them all.

I believe if he was trained properly and kept on the straight and narrow (that would have been the challenge) GM could have been sensational for a period of time.

Personally I believe the minute he left Steward was the minute he became vulnerable.

There is a documentary on YouTube called "The Fight Of Their Lives" and its about Benn Vs McClellan, if you watch it you'll see GM on the pads with his "Trainer", its absolutely ridiculous, embarrassing, I could do a better pad session with GM.

Also you will hear a story about GM having to wrap his own hands before the Benn fight because nobody in his Team could wrap hands, that's the level of Team he had around him, so imagine if he was trained correctly and had a team that knew what they were doing.

If you haven't seen "The Fight Of Their Lives" I urge you to watch it, it's a very good documentary.

 

I think there is a better video quality but it's in parts, anyway here is the full documentary.

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Not sure but Roy Jones wanted nothing to do with G man.

 

Yeah. His sparring partner gave an account of it. Caught McClellan with a jab and he stopped sparring, blinking heavily, like he was in the Benn fight. In the changing room after, G-man told the sparring partner how the jab had hurt him, or something close to that. I think from what I gathered, that the sparring partner was left confused why as McClellan was very sturdy chin wise. Thing is, it wasn't his chin. It was his brain injury that he was carrying. How he passed to be medically fit is shocking. Looking at his team and promoter though, its easy to think they knew something was up but didn't care. In an ambulance going to hospital after the Benn fight, they were heard calling G-man a quitter(his team)as he was in obvious terrible shape..His trainer is on youtube giving his account, go have a look, the mans a unprofessional disgrace. I'd post it for u BB but i'm not that savvy with computers

 

Yeah seen it, his trainers pathetic.

 

I think he is to an extent, given that Julian Jackson was the only top 10 rated fighter he ever beat and they looked at least a weight class different in those fights. After the couple of losses he took at the prospect phase, King put him on a matchmaking path that'd maximize hype and minimize risk.

Take a look at the MO: almost always, his opponent had a history of being knocked out prior to the fight, they didn't present stylistic challenges, and G-man would drain like hell to stay at 160 to maintain his size advantage on fight night. Like most knockout punchers, he eventually succumbed to the curse of falling in love with his power at the expense of other skills.

That said, what his strengths were, were damn strong. At his best, he would be a terrible matchup for many middleweights who had a sniff of durability issues. Chances are, he'd almost always be the bigger man on fight night, had a tremendous chin at the weight, carried very heavy hands, and a willingness to use them even if he took shots in return. I think that's a fair assessment even if I think he is a bit overrated H2H and legacy-wise.

Also, we all lost out by not seeing McClellan vs Roy at 160.

 

Hate to say it given the guy only boxed about 75 rounds going in to the Benn fight, but G-man was already damaged goods by then.

It seems like Jackson I was the tipping point after a lifetime of gym wars & sparring punishment. It's important to remember that McClellan was really cutting hard to make 160 by the end of it, and that level of dehydration takes away some of the fluid surrounding the brain. His chin was iron enough to last, but I honestly think he had brain damage after Jackson I.

The accounts of the headaches, unusual blinking, being rattled by shots in the gym he'd brushed off easily before, and his increasingly erratic behavior are what I base that on. Even had he gotten the win vs Benn, his career was on borrowed time IMO.

 

Both he and Benn were CLEARLY overrated, Mac by the Yanks and Benn by the Brits. Middleweight Mike McCallum was obviously better than both.

 

Yeah borrowed time totally. Bad how his team turned a blind eye to an obvious brain issue.

 

I think he's just a tad overrated, no more.

 

over rated?? hell naw he aint even rated high up there any ways. he was a good fighter and picture perfect right hand. his power alone was just outta this world.

 

No problem, pal. I've saw it.

His "Trainer" with that ridiculous hat! Looked like something out of the Village People!

 

No he was the real deal. Emanuel Steward said he was the most talented
fighter he ever worked with and he defeated Roy Jones Jr in the year of
1988 Olympic's . Emanuel Steward said of GMac " He had so much going
for him. He would have put Roy out within six minutes of boxing.
Gerald could have been the best of the 90 's . "

 

Funny thing about his "trainer" is that GM got mad at how bad he was at his mitts and "accidentally" punched him in the mouth knocking out his 2 front teeth