would geralrd mclellan have been the greatest fighter ever

[Kid Achilles]

McClellan was an unrealized potential but best fighter ever? I don't see how anyone could say for sure. No way of knowing. He was great for his time though.

[Franko]

from the few fights ive seen and the benn fight where he beat the **** out of benn till the head butt. he was a killer after the 2 decision losses ,he became more agressive and with that power and foot speed it was sickening.. he had way more power then roy and much better technically.. i cant imagine anybody beating him but i heard toney had mastered him and that he didnt like to fight inside according to toney...

I don't think that he had the potential to be the greatest fighter ever! A bit overblown that comment i think, however, he was certainly an explosive fighter who i enjoyed watching and it was sad to see what happened to him.
Nigel Benn deserves unbelievable credit for winning the war with McClellan despite the arguments as to how he won it. However, i agree that referee - Alfred Azaro was incredibly inept, amateur at best, and didn't speak a word of English! I understand that there is some kind of pecking order for referees and fights, much like a roster if u like, but i really do think that Azaro should have been overlooked for this much anticipated fight. It was clear during the fight that both Benn and McClellan were struggling to understand him, and although i thought Benn won the fight fairly, i do think that the referee gave him too much recovery time after the 1st round knockdown, not including the time spent out of the ring because fighters are given extra time if they are knocked through the ropes. The bottom line is that the referee was far too fussy, and at times didn't let the fight flow. At one stage after the first round knockdown he actually pushed McClellan back a little prompting McClellan to attempt to usher him out of his way. Of course the referees inability can't be used against Nigel Benn. It was a miraculous recovery from the knock down and an unbelievable achievement to go on and eventually win the fight after being knocked down for a second time. But debates always arise, and people will question whether Benn deliberatley head-butted McClellan, and rabbit punched a lot. The clash of heads was accidental, that much is clear, but Benn did seem to hit McClellan on the back of the head quite a bit, but for much of the time after the 1st knockdown Nigel Benn was in survival mode, and then of-course he also recovered from a 2nd knockdown, amazing. Both fighters showed amazing courage.
Gerald McClellan was moving up in weight to fight Benn, who was supposedly coming close to past his best, if not already there, despite being the champion. I think that McClellan underestimated Nigel Benn and expected to knock him out early, which was very nearly the case. However, when that didn't happen, McClellan never had a plan B, and Benn was able to capitalize because of this. For instance, i don't think that McClellan was advised very well by his corner men, one of which was his supposed friend and trainer from his amateur days - Stan Johnston. Had McClellan boxed and moved a bit more instead of trading with Benn then who knows? He was certainly capable of doing so, but by that time he was a fighter who relied completely on his knock out power. It was also strange that he neglected to throw more upper cuts as at times Benn was crouching low. I do think that Manny Steward would've made McClellan an even better fighter had he stayed with him, but IMO McClellan wanted 'Yes' men, and surrounded himself with the wrong people. For example, there is a rumour that McClellan told Johnston that he didn't feel right and wanted to quit. It was obvious that something was wrong with McClellan midway through the fight due to the continuous blinking, and there was something not right about him hanging his gum shield out of his mouth, but Johnston convinced him to carry on fighting. Whether this story is true i don't know. Don King was also rumoured to have said 'McClellan quit like a dog!' McClellan was rumoured to be no saint himself but i really think that there is no room in boxing for a comment such as the one Don King is rumoured to have made.
McClellan fought a brave fight that deserved praise, not criticism, and let's not forget that he was still actually ahead on two scorecards at the time of the stoppage.

Gerald McClellan had the potential to become a great fighter, and i'll never grow tired of watching his knock out victories over the likes Julian Jackson (twice), Gilbert Baptist, Jay Bell, and John Mugabi.

[Bucktown Beast]

Gerald was a very powerful, quick handed killer. He came in the ring to punish people and did it pretty masterfully. Greatest ever is quite a stretch, but the man was a huge middleweight which was evident in his blasting out of most of his opponent. He could have been a great champion.

The ref of the Benn fight was indeed utterly incompetent. Even Pacheco was like "What does he think hes reffing an amateur fight?". I take nothing away from Benn, but he was getting his ass handed to him for a large portion of that fight by a man with a developing BLOOD CLOT IN HIS BRAIN!!

No way Been wins that fight or even makes it 12 rounds with a healthy McClellan.

[pr20]

Gerald wsa a great talent but I think he would have been taylor made as an opponent for someone who could out quick him and dance away from his power shots like a RJJ. I also think he would have really had his hands full with toney. he fought to one dimensionally. not tactical enough

[-Antonio-]

I still dont get why the referee kept stopping the action. Would G-man have knocked Benn out? We will never know, but the ref was definetley helping Benn out whether is was done on purpose or not.

I think he would have had problems with Toney and Hopkins.

[Phantasm]

McClellan would have been great and his fights would have been legendary, but not the greatest fighter by any stretch of the means. He had many flaws, though we'll never know if he would have adjusted them. But from what we saw, no. Great, but nowhere near the greatest.

[realheavyhands]

Gerald wsa a great talent but I think he would have been taylor made as an opponent for someone who could out quick him and dance away from his power shots like a RJJ. I also think he would have really had his hands full with toney. he fought to one dimensionally. not tactical enough

his combinations were to fast and he was too tall and had fast feet to get away from.. he could throw long combinations for as long as it took... he was a natural.. he didnt emanuel steward.. he was lik ray robinson but mean ...

[butterfly1964]

from the few fights ive seen and the benn fight where he beat the **** out of benn till the head butt. he was a killer after the 2 decision losses ,he became more agressive and with that power and foot speed it was sickening.. he had way more power then roy and much better technically.. i cant imagine anybody beating him but i heard toney had mastered him and that he didnt like to fight inside according to toney...

I doubt he would have een the greatest fighter ever.

[Southpaw Stinger]

definatly not the greatest fighter ever...

[lazyitis]

no, he wouldnt have even been one of the best Super Middleweights ever. Over decade later tards are still popping up spouting nonsense about that fight.