Im guessing that people dropped Gerald after they heard about what he did to dogs but I personally dont hate him for that even if I sound like a disgusting person, but he was an amazing boxer and you gotta respect that even after what happened to him. He's still one of my top favs boxers.
Best fight I have ever seen . Such a tragedy what happened too both fighters . Benn was never the same again either .. I remember my dad saying it the only fight that looks like a rocky film
From what I recall he started blinking after the Julian Jackson fight. I believe running into the hard punching Jackson started the injury and taking punishment from Benn was the final nail.
Sensible analysis fella , I think similar of Michael Watson taking massive shots off Benn n then Eubank the thing people don't realise is them 4 fighters where monster punchers Benn Jackson McClellan n Eubank
Heartbreaking watching this even 22 years on. Watched it live on tv at the time and it truly was a brutal fight between 2 warriors. Despite all the talk around fights and all the hype I genuinely don't believe many boxers have ever got in the ring with the intention to kill someone, or lead to a situation like Gerald finds himself in now. It is sad that boxing has turned its back on Gerald in the way that it has. Yes he might have fought dogs and that is abhorant, but wishing this level of disability on someone for doing that is equally abhorant. Let's also not forget the toll that this fight took on Nigel either, both physically and mentally, I hope that One day he truly finds the peace has found so hard to find. Respect to both Nigel and Gerald
Nigel should not take all the blame for what happened to Gerald! Gerald suffered some hard hits from Julian Jackson, let’s not forget! He suffered a lot of hits from past boxers and it just so happens that His body finally had enough on the Nigel fight!
@Tom Mike exactly mate people get on bandwagons n half of them wasn't even born I was there great night n fight so sad what happened Again people hear snippets n jump on stuff said like Jim watt n Reg Gutteridge saying his bottle had gone when he went on 1 knee people criticise but they wasn't to know back then they where just saying what they seen n it did look like he had given up Same as Nigel saying Rather him than me but he didn't know the full situation n was just hyped after the fight who wouldn't be Like I say people run off at the mouth n only know a snippet of the story
@@hueyfreeman1983 Exactly! A good referee would have been taking points off for rabbit punching from the first round. But I do think McClellan had some brain damage with his fights with Julian Jackson. McClellan was fighting 2 people that night - Nigel Benn and referee Alfred Asaro.
I saw this whole fight live. I was a kid. McClellan was odds on fave. I'd never seen him fight before. He bullied Benn in the ring. If I remember rightly Benn was knocked down 4 times during the fight. Everyone thought he was going to lose by KO, TKO or towel. The only man on the planet that could've beat the GMan at that moment in time was Benn. Why, because Benn had sheer grit and determination and was the very definition of courage. One of the all time best fights in the history of the sport, marred and forgotten only because of the tragic brain injury that McClellan suffered. Thank you to both gents for showing the sport in its best and unfortunately worst light.
That would be the dumbest thing he can do. I say that with all respect to Gman. I think Gman would agree as a fighter the last thing you wanna see is the worst possible outcome of a fighters career. Broken and forgotten. Wilder seeing Gman would put things into his mind he would never shake off. This is the very reason no fighter went to see him for a long time. Roy Jones Jr used to ask about him but would never visit in the prime of his career.
Superb insight into Nigel Benn's haunting compassion for what happend to Gerald McClellan on that tragic night, classy fighter with a heart of pure Gold...Much respect !
Apparently, McClellan's sparring partner commented he had this blinking thing even before the fight against Benn. It was apparent, he could have got the brain damage long before...but made wirse with the fight.
oli Fuckoffski no one deserves to be a vegetable in constant pain. That’s hell on earth, imagine the pain his family is in seeing him like that everyday
oli Fuckoffski Bet you’re a Roy Jones fan. What about cockfighting? Does Roy deserve the death penalty too? I would never condone that behavior but saying someone deserves that is disgusting
Don King and the other promoters of this fight have a lot to answer for, I pray that lessons have been learnt, McClellan should of gone on to have a good career, Benn gets hate and tortures himself over the aftermath but the promoters deserve time for the lack of any medics or ambulance at the venue.
Totally agree. McClellan's family still struggle terribly financially. King could write one cheque and take care of them all and never miss the money. Doing the right thing isn't his strongest suit though :(
Thats why Benn got me into boxing, he was such an emotional fighter, not a robot. when he says theres a lot of things people dont understand, its breaks your heart
Nigel is a decent guy. Boxing is always dangerous. It's easy to judge. But, 2 men in a fair fight where no-one forces them to go. Never judge a boxer. It's a fight. There's always consequences. God Bless Nigel. I only wish him peace. And God Bless Gerald's sister. She never deserted him. A decent lady.
Benn one of the most inspirational people I have met :) his wife and himself spoke to us on Saturday night past and you can still see how badly this affects him yet he is still living for God :) An amazing man with an even more amazing testimony!
@@Lovinlife1234 He is a coward who took up the cowards religion and a dirty fighter who should be in prison for attempted murder - only dirtbags are morons you defending him.
I'm a dog lover too but the human deserves to be tortured like that or any dogs but for people to say he deserves what he got they are the devil themselves
no matter what we do, no one deserves to suffer like he did. we all make mistakes and sure we deserve a second chance. i also feel sorry for ben. he felt responsible
battlefield/socom ps I don't agree he should suffer from the dog incident but not many people make mistakes like tying a dogs mouth together so it can be killed.
You cannot compare fighting dogs to fighting humans. 2 things, I have never had one of my dogs tell me they want to fight. A human makes that decision knowing there could be life or death consequences. You're an idiot. Why not compare junping out of airplanes to eating shit sandwiches?
With hindsight everybody is wise. I suspect neither man would have wished real injury on the other. Their aim in fighting was personal advantage. 'Time and chance' intervened. There was no conspiracy or bad intentions in the outcome, just chance. If it wasn't Gerald it would have been Nigel - 'Time and chance happeneth to all men.' Blessings on both. Mozzman.
this is why i pride myself on being a fan of floyd mayweather jr, because he has the mindset of a brilliant fighter with a defensive pedigree that has kept him undefeated and really free from any serious damage throughout his whole career. i feel for gerald...i hope he's doing good and i really am praying for his recovery...nigel, i have nothing but respect for him..he did his job, and i know it's killing him to see what gerald's going through...people call floyd a runner..i laugh at them...
at the end of the day both men knew what they were getting in to when they signed the contract what happened was a very sad day for boxing but neither man is to blame in my opinion
Benn punched McClellan in the back of the head multiple times. That's a dirty, illegal and dangerous move that most likely had a lot to do with McClellan's brain damage. The ones that are the most responsible for what happened though, are the referee and McClellan's team. Allowing illegal moves to go through multiple times and not realising when a fighter is acting so weirdly are amateur moves.
I remember watching this fight. It was a great era for middleweight/super middleweight boxing. Very sad for both boxers obviously more so McClellan. After several similar injuries and deaths in the 80's/ 90's lessons have been learned and fewer boxers are suffering in the same ways due to better refereeing and cornermen unafraid to pull their fighters out and with better systems of weigh loss and control in place to preventing sudden dehydration which was a major factor in many cases.
He had an incredible left, a sort of swooping upward hooking left that he would torc his body into. Physically gifted athlete. By far the most incredible sporting event I witnessed live.
Despite the whole dog thing which is utterly abhorrent - he still doesn't deserve brain damage. Feel for Ben too. At the end of the day they both decided to fight with the aim of hurting and beating each other. Unfortunately one, unusually, came off very badly.
Swolbraham Lincoln he was a passionate dog fighter who used to get gentle dogs like Labradors from pounds tape their mouths up and set his pit bulls on em to satisfy his blood lust
Karma is a bitch. Taping a docile dogs mouth and making them fight with a pit bull. . I have little sympathy. More sympathy with benn cause he was never the same after this.
Benn was an incredible fighter and is still an incredible man. As an Irish man I was always shouting for Collins but in every other fight of Benn's I was screaming for him. Such a talent, with such a heart. I was so sad that his life went to a bad place after boxing. I always thought he should have opened gyms and become a trainer and help the kids, to give him focus and remain part of the boxing space. I hope he has a happy life now.
Nigel did not cause this, he was just unlucky being the last guy he fought. He took some serious shots from Julian Jackson before this fight, he did that blinking thing then aswell. No fighter is to blame but himself sadly, they know what they are getting themselves into.
maybe he could have reduced the amount of times he hit him on the back of the head hitting on the back of the head is a very dangerous and stupid thing anyone can do it’s very dirty and not fair so i’m reality it’s Benns’ fault he made the brain damage process much more faster than it had to be
very sad ending to an amazing fight one of the best staged in britain, both showed amazing guts and pride especially benn after the beating he took early on he was all heart
Nigel, you are a legend, please do not beat yourself up about this, you were doing your job as was Gerald. oh and pleasure meeting you in Aberdeen many years ago
@mrcjwolfe I remember watching this fight too in 95 when i was in high school. I never heard of gerald then but i only saw 2 mins of ihm training and chose him to win. Benn came back magnificently though and a terrific fight.
@catchfree84 i read a book about this fight called war baby and it talks about what the gman was like, he was not a great man, although he was a great fighter
Naw, this fight alone didn't cause his brain damage, he had multiple people in his gym say during the training camp he was already showing signs of CTE most notably his uncontrollable blinking. He should have retired long before this fight but its easy to say that in hindsight.
Recuerdo esa pelea en directo..no se porque avía una furia contra Maclean..y todos queríamos que ganara Nigel Ben ..me cayó mal lo que pasó ..ay que saber que primero está la vida de las personas.
Two brilliant fighters, a classic boxing match with such a tragic ending. Why should Benn pay for McClellan's medical bills though?, all boxers know the risks when entering the ring. Managers should protect the financial aspect of their fighters, not the opponents. Respect for Nigel and Gerald.
Benn was a STUD! Classic wars he was in! He's a classy man...these guys go in the ring with their lives on the line, that's the part of the WAR! very sad however!
Its funny how people criticise Gerald and say stupid shit like "I'll remember McCllellan for tying a Labrador retriever's mouth shut so a pitbull could kill it without getting bit. I hope Gerald lives a long time so he can fully experience his body rotting away." sounds to me like you got more issues then what gerald had when he did that. No excuses for what he did but, i find it pathetic that people would kick a dogg while hes down like that..... karmas clearly a bitch so I'd watch what i say.
i dont give a fly fuck abut my english cuz i dont fucking use it evry day ! and i love animals but why so hate egens Gerald cuz a fucking labrador we all meke mistaks no on dezerve this and i hones can killl kile 10000 labradors if it is to save a human !
The Truth Hurts so watch what your saying then. How could you wish a man to live like that? obviously what happened to the dog was wrong but what you said is even worse. Be carful about the things you say because karma is a bitch
Both knew the risks, both were willing to fight to the death and shit happened. The biggest refereeing error in the history of boxing paved the way for the disaster. Benn was more than counted out in the first but deserved to win just on heart! Totally agree with you Harry Weir. The referee was way out of his depth reffing a fight like this.
Thank you for information. I never accuses Benn for this accident. This is boxing and sometimes such thing happens... I'm Benn fan, he was british little Tyson. Regards.
One second. That's the first thought that comes to mind when I think of this fateful fight. Benn got knocked out of the ring in the 1st round and beat the count by one lousy second. And then everything changed.
There was a lot of illegal hits on both ends in this fight. Both lives were changed that day, not in the best way. What makes me angry is the greedy ones who pushed these men, the ones who still has wealth, still has money and instead of taking care of the ones who help them make the money they just shake their heads and talk about how great he could have been. I’m praying for both boxers.
A very sad fight which should have been stopped earlier. But this aside , Gerald Mc Clellin was sent over to do a number on Nigel Benn . Both of these fighters were greats, and all boxers know the risk when they get into the ring. The result could have been the other way round .Nigel Benn is a good kind hearted man and was an excellent boxer .
@bill23138 You are not average, you may be one day, everyone should have aspirations. Bob Fitzimmons was one of the first world heavyweight champions and unless I'm mistaken, he was also world middleweight champion, when there were less divisions and only one world championship belt per division, so it was much tougher to obtain one. Why do you think Joe Calzaghe is a coward though, I'm intrigued?
