Dark Destroyer vs the G man rematch

[Scott9945]

Desperately disrespectful to Nigel Benn. His record and reigns at middleweight and super middleweight speak for themselves. Only ever beaten by world class boxers, non of which completely outclassed him.

I agree that Benn was on the same level as McClellan.

[taansend]

A great thread except for Shoulder Rolls silly comments.

One of the best fights I ever saw but with a tragic ending. However, as sad as McClellans state is now I have little sympathy in light of his torture of animals.

I know this may not sit well with everyone but animal cruelty is a very important issue with me.

[mickey malone]

mcclellan in shape and with a corner destroys benn imo. i think their fight is a case of one man being overconfident, not training properly and underachieving on the night while the lesser fighter rose to the occasion and boxed out of his skin. managing to beat a fighter he had no business even being competitive with let alone defeating. like a lewis-rahman I situation on a smaller scale.

I agree with your first two sentences, but Benn had every business to be competitive with McClellan, or any of the other top smw's at the time.. He was a much better smw than Rahman ever was as a hw. The Rock got lucky with a single shot, but was'nt so good at fighting his guts out. Only a shot Benn (vs Collins) makes that comparison imo.

[Scott9945]

A great thread except for Shoulder Rolls silly comments.

One of the best fights I ever saw but with a tragic ending. However, as sad as McClellans state is now I have little sympathy in light of his torture of animals.

I know this may not sit well with everyone but animal cruelty is a very important issue with me.

It sits very well with me, and thanks for saying that.

[joseph5620]

There was no question of either fighter being healthy after that bout. Benn's career survived, but he was only half the fighter.

Benn travelled pretty well, see the Doug DeWitt and Iran Barkley bouts although it should be acknowledged the ref's conduct was questionable in the first round of the McClellan fight (albeit GM should have did what he was asked).

That's very true. He was not the same after that fight and I suspect it was more mental than physical.

[joseph5620]

If you take the two controversies of the fight away;

Namely 1) The fussy ref in round one, and 2) The rumour that McClellan's brain injuries were started in the Julian Jackson bouts,

then any unbiased viewer can see the major flaw in McClellan's game, which was that his defence was very weak. His ability to slip or block punches was non existent!

Benn had a very good round 2; it was surprising how many of his hooks were catching McClellan flush.

McClellan, seemed to show first signs of a brain injury around round 6. his erratic blinking and strange gumshield mannerisms should have sent warning signs.....but even then he nearly stopped Benn in round 8. That said, even with the knockdowns the points were close at the time of stoppage.....and correctly so, I think Benn would have taken a close decision if there was no injury.

Injuries aside, McClellan could have become one of the finest pound for pound boxers in the world at that time; but I don't think that he'd have beaten the likes of Toney or Jones Jnr without a better defensive game.

Yes. As good, powerful, and exciting as McClellan was, there were definite flaws that made me believe that other than Benn, at the elite level there were some other fighters that could have exploited those. Benn did that and I believe Roy Jones jr would have even more.

As far as the brain injury, some believe it was Benn's rabbit punching allowed by the referee. Others say it was something else. As with all brain injuries in boxing, it's impossible to know what specific blow caused it.

[Anthony342]

Why is it called rabbit punching anyway?

[Scott9945]

Why is it called rabbit punching anyway?

I believe that hitting a rabbit behind the neck is a way to kill them instantly, presumably in preparation to be cooked.

[LacedUp]

English refs anger me to this day because of that fight. How are you going to give Nigel Benn a long count and allow him to continue and then stop the Malik Scott-Chisora fight without giving a proper 10 count?

Horribly inconsistent and unprofessional.

Hmm.. This comment doesn't sit well with me. I don't even think the fight in the benn - g man fight was british and refs are allowed to give extra time if someone falls outside the ring.

How can you compare that to something that happened 20 years later? I could say that the ref from the Khan-Peterson fight was horrible, therefore say that's why I don't like American refs? I mean, really?

There's been some horrible refs on the American scene over the years, and there's been a few british ones. But that doesn't make me generalize either way.

On the subject, if you watch some of McLellans early fights, you'll see what a force he was. I think he was a more complete fighter than Benn and could have beaten him. But Benn was wild and could have won win his tenaciousness had the fight gone past a few rounds.

[joseph5620]

I believe that hitting a rabbit behind the neck is a way to kill them instantly, presumably in preparation to be cooked.

I never knew that was the reason.

But that sounds cruel to be honest.