Nigel Benn v G-MAN

[Dark Lord Al]

This fight is a WAR as we are all aware , at the time i pick G-man to win inside 1 round , as i couldnt see Benn's chin holding up.
I watch the fight again last night and i was shocked at how bad the French Ref was. I knew he was poor ( long count and all ) but he was a disgrace. Constantly pushing the fighters apart and being very fussy , he could have even spoiled a great fight like MAB V Morales with this picky style.
I slike to hear your views on this guys , also id like ( especially the none Brits ) to rank Nigel Benn as to how good he was , and who in modern history hes on a par with ?

I also find it sad that what should be talked about as Benn's best wins , cant be because of the tragic injuries Gerald suffered. Both men were warriors that night.
Look forward to hearing your veiws.

[Violent Demise]

If it wasn't for the ref Benn wouldn't have made it out the first round. The ref was a joke. He was clearly helping Benn by giving him time to recover. Even the ShowTime crew was complaining. It was a disgrace.

[donnydarkoIRL]

The ref was poor.

G-Man was a martyr for boxing that night.

[Bookkeeper]

Here in the states we call it home field advantage

[X]

I was at the fight, and I must admit that I didn't notice the ref doing anything wrong at the time (but when I saw it on tape afterwards, he did give him extra time to recover .... but that is the strory in boxing ..... Gene Tunney and Buster Douglas to name but two)

The fight was an absolute war and benn was even more like a maniac than usual. I am not sure that anyone would have stopped him that night. G-Man was moving up a weight for the first time and I think that counted against him.

G-Man's long, fast punches against Benn's marauding swarming style .... both HUGE punchers.

The crowd was fuelled up by booze, there were loads of fights in the crowd before and during the boxing. I took my younger brother to this fight.

I'm ashamed to say the crowd were booing at the end as they thought McClellan had quit (he had taken bigger more monster shots than the final ones) and he was counted out on one knee making no attempt to rise.

Little did we realise that parts of his brain were dying in front of our eyes.

[donnydarkoIRL]

The crazy thing was, when McClellan took the knee (1st and second time.) he actually wasn't caught.
Watching the slow mo's the worst he was caught with wasa grazing hook. The big shots all missed.

[cpcompany]

I was at the fight, and I must admit that I didn't notice the ref doing anything wrong at the time (but when I saw it on tape afterwards, he did give him extra time to recover .... but that is the strory in boxing ..... Gene Tunney and Buster Douglas to name but two)

The fight was an absolute war and benn was even more like a maniac than usual. I am not sure that anyone would have stopped him that night. G-Man was moving up a weight for the first time and I think that counted against him.

G-Man's long, fast punches against Benn's marauding swarming style .... both HUGE punchers.

The crowd was fuelled up by booze, there were loads of fights in the crowd before and during the boxing. I took my younger brother to this fight.

I'm ashamed to say the crowd were booing at the end as they thought McClellan had quit (he had taken bigger more monster shots than the final ones) and he was counted out on one knee making no attempt to rise.

Little did we realise that parts of his brain were dying in front of our eyes.

So did Showtime and Don King. I have the fight on my Mac with the American commentary and they initially thought he had quit.
I also watched the fight live on TV in England and me, my dad, friends and the commentary team all thought he had quit.
The only thing that we really hinted at the problems were Mclellan`s constant blinking and pushing out his gumshield during the latter rounds.

[Fenster]

If it wasn't for the ref Benn wouldn't have made it out the first round. The ref was a joke. He was clearly helping Benn by giving him time to recover. Even the ShowTime crew was complaining.It was a disgrace.

True. That commentary was one of the worst in history. "The Fight Doctor" was a disgrace!

[CutMeMick]

If it wasn't for the ref Benn wouldn't have made it out the first round. The ref was a joke. He was clearly helping Benn by giving him time to recover. Even the ShowTime crew was complaining. It was a disgrace.

Quite possible top 3 in the worst referee jobs I've ever seen in a ring.

[No Contest]

I never physically wanted to hurt a referee until I saw this fight. The rabbit punching was what did the damage. Benn should be ashamed of that shit, he was dirty as fuck that night. I liked Benn before that fight, but not after.

[Spicoli]

I never physically wanted to hurt a referee until I saw this fight. The rabbit punching was what did the damage. Benn should be ashamed of that shit, he was dirty as fuck that night. I liked Benn before that fight, but not after.

Come on??Yes there was some Iffy clips by both guys & The ref had his head up his backside,pushing both guys and Inserting Himself but there was plenty of accumulative Damage Inflicted outside of "Dirty" tactics by both .This one is a hard one to talk on and the cruel Irony is that both guys were Indeed trying to Hurt one another badly but by no means to the extent that followed Nor Illegally.

[Dark Lord Al]

so come on guys were do you rate Benn as a fighter ?

[Mark TKO]

yes the ref did do Benn favours in that fight - the ref is just part of the furniture though as in any sport. Look at all the favours the judges have done fighters over the years !

And as someone said you get longer to get back in the ring when you have gone through the ropes so he couldn't have been counted out there in the first round.

It was Benn's greatest moment in boxing which unfortunately is overshadowed, rightly so, by the tragic outcome and for that reason is not talked about as it should be.

He should have quit himself after that fight as he lost something too that night.

Thats why I tend to disregard his two losses to Collins. Heartbreaking seeing a warrior such as him quit twice. And painful watching him get booed after his final fight....

[ICB]

Yes the ref did give Benn time to recover and he also let him get away with a lot of rabbit shots. But you still need to give credit where credit is due, Benn took one of the worst 1 sided beatings i've ever seen in a single round, yet he still comeback strong in the next round and gave McClellan a taste of his own medicine. That fight also basically finished Benn as a fighter that took a lot out of him.

[Dark Lord Al]

Yes the ref did give Benn time to recover and he also let him get away with a lot of rabbit shots. But you still need to give credit where credit is due, Benn took one of the worst 1 sided beatings i've ever seen in a single round, yet he still comeback strong in the next round and gave McClellan a taste of his own medicine. That fight also basically finished Benn as a fighter that took a lot out of him.

Ice im not for one minute taking anything away from Nigel , he is one of my favorite british fighters , mainly for his power - heart and vulnarability , like my american hero Tommy Hearns , he had those 3 ingredients.
Benn showed his warrior spirt that night , but the ref did suck , and the result may have been different if he was a better ref , who knows.