Whenever you think of any boxing tragedy its always Muhammad Ali that springs to mind, probably the most well-known and recognized fighter, the self-proclaimed "greatest" who ended up not just a shadow of his former self but was diagnosed with the debilitating Parkinson's syndrome from the early 1980's until his death in 2016. It's generally accepted that Ali fought on well past his best, but often it's one particular fight that can dramatically affect a boxer and this is certainly the case in the February 1995 super-middle weight title fight between Nigel Benn and Gerald Maclellan.
What is often overlooked is that although the loser of a fight may be floundering on the canvas after being counted out, the winner of a fight can often be in a bad condition too. This was certainly the case with the last Joe Frazier v Muhammad Ali bout in 1975 when Ali described feeling near to death after Frazier never came out for the last round. Another example is the John Mugabe v Marvin Hagler fight in 1986 where despite Mugabe being counted out in the 11th round, the swelling, the size of a watermelon on one side of Hagler's face was a sure testament to the beating he'd taken. Hagler fought once more about a year later against Sugar Ray Leonard which at the time was billed and hyped as a super fight but to me in all intensive purposes resembled an exhibition as Hagler's heart didn't seem in it.
Other notable tragedy's include Johhny Owen dying weeks after collapsing in the ring during his fight with Lupe Pintor in 1980. Duc Koo Kim died five days after being KO'd in a title fight in 1982 and in the UK in 1991 Michael Watson was stopped in the 12th round by Chris Eubank and spent weeks in a coma (although eventually made a recovery and was able to complete the London Marathon some years later).
Somehow the Maclellan v Benn contest seems to have had the worst outcome. Both fighters had two losses each on their ledger but went into the fight with a string of impressive victories. Nigel Benn held the prestigious WBC super-middle weight title and McClellan who was the WBC middle weight champion was moving up to 168 Ib to challenge Benn had some noticeable wins over the likes of power punchers John Mugabe and Julian Jackson.
At stake was a financially lucrative winner take all super bout showdown with Roy Jones to unify the super middle weight division. This bout was co promoted by Don King and Frank Warren and televised live by ITV in the UK and Showtime in the USA.
There were things that happened in the fight that I'd never seen before. Firstly, the buildup and hype between both camps was as nasty and disrespectful I'd ever seen, and this was obvious from the outset where both fighters who obviously disliked each other were clearly trying to hurt the other. Secondly the patriotic fervor in the arena resembled something out of a Nuremburg rally and thirdly the crowd were baying for blood. Boxers Frank Bruno and Nassem Hamid who were sitting in the front row either side of the humorless, yet dignified Frank Warren seemed to be choreographing the mood of the crowd as they were seen on live tv yelling, leaping out of their seats and banging the floor of the ring after every punch Nigel Benn threw. Fourthly, although the fight was exciting and compelling, technically it was a terrible fight, as l mentioned, both fighters were trying to load up all the time and there was very little ring craft and defense. McClelland after his initial success in the first round seemed to be undisciplined and his defense was unimpressive. Rather than keeping his gloves up to protect himself seemed determined to go toe to toe with Benn and as a consequence took a lot of clubbing round house punches to the side and back of the head. This was incredibly reckless to do this and probably go's some way to explain McClellan's post-fight injuries.
Lastly, the referee couldn't speak English therefore he never should have officiated that fight. Although he was right to allow Benn more time to climb back into the ring after being knocked through the ropes in the first round, he was clearly allowing Benn to duck far too low in the ring and was also unnecessarily stepping in and breaking up both fighters which obviously benefitted the stunned Benn. This was picked up by the British commentary on ITV but the American commentators on Showtime were incensed at what the referee was doing, he was clearly out of his depth. By the later rounds McClellan could be seen having difficulties with his gum shield, which indicated breathing problems and was blinking a lot, both of these issues should have got the attention of the referee.
Mcclellan was counted out after taking a knee (an American football gesture) and then collapsed in the corner. The aftermath of the bout had McClellan suffering severe brain damage which left him mostly blind, deaf and difficulty walking and needing constant care. As for Nigel Benn the big fight with Roy Jones never materialized and he was never the same fighter again. Although he returned to the ring and won his next two fights, they were unimpressive affairs against mediocre opponents and eventually lost his title after being outpointed in a boring fight and then was beaten twice by Steve Collins in lackluster efforts and swiftly retired from boxing. Benn was quite likely traumatized by the events of that night, a sad end to probably Britain's most exciting and talented fighter of that period.
