WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

Gerald "G-Man" McClellan
Still where he was eight years ago. Only, boxing must've forgot.
By Jake Donovan

I remember sitting in the Rainbow Room at NBC on February 25, as Main Events was holding a press conference to announce that Boxing will be returning to the network for the first time in over a decade. During the entire press conference, I could barely focus, as it disturbed me as to why I felt like this day was important for reasons other than free boxing.

Then it hit me. Perhaps not as hard as the headbutt that caused a bloodclot in Gerald McClellan's brain. Nevertheless, it dawned on me that February 25 should not be cause for a celebration, but a day of reflection.

For those who did not witness perhaps one of the most brutal slugfests of all time, it was eight years ago on the aforementioned date that Gerald "The G-Man" McClellan went from the hardest hitter in the industry to near death in the manner of ten rounds of boxing.

To truly understand and appreciate the aftermath, I guess the best place to start would be at the beginning. Or at least, the pre-fight buildup.

Despite moving up in weight, and having to travel across the globe to London, Gerald McClellan entered the fight as a 4-1 favorite. This was quite a statement, considering that Gerald had never fought before at 168 lb., was fighting overseas for the first time in his seven year career, and was traveling to the hometown of the division's longest reigning champion in Nigel Benn. Known as "The Dark Destroyer", Benn had won the title twenty eight months prior, yet found himself the underdog in his own backyard for his seventh title defense. The reasons that Gerald entered as the favorite were simple.

First, even though he was only three years older, Nigel had also been in far many more wars, and was beginning to show signs of slowing down. His last fight prior to G-Man was a 12 round stinker against Juan Carlos Giminez. The fight was so dull, that there was actually more action IN THE STANDS than the two combatants offered in the ring. Nigel himself even alluded to such in apologizing for such a lackluster performance.

For all the wars Nigel had been in prior to February 25, 1995, quite the opposite was true in regards to Gerald's career. The closest thing to a war that McClellan ever engaged in was his 160 lb. title winning effort over fellow lights out bomber Julian Jackson in May, 1993. For four rounds, Gerald gave as good as he was getting. In fact, he ate one final right hand before delivering a murderous right of his own. The shot froze Julian, and an ensuing flurry nearly drove Jackson out of the ring. Jackson recovered, but another straight right ended any threat of McClellan eating any more punches that evening. A new era was born, as McClellan would confirm with three straight first round knockouts, including his "don't blink" destruction of Jackson in their May 1994 rematch in Las Vegas.

The knockout extended his streak to 14 straight wins inside the distance, cementing the claim many had made in regarding McClellan as the sport's hardest puncher. Of the 14 knockouts, ten had come in the first round, with the most impressive being the two over Jackson, which was why many favored him to return from the other side of the pond with the WBC 168 lb. belt in tow.

Fast forward to fight night, the scene of the crime, if you will. Despite fighting on the champion’s home soil, in front of a capacity crowd at the London Arena, Gerald went to work immediately. For those that questioned whether or not G-Man could carry his power 8 lb. north, they had their answer about a half of a minute into the fight. McClellan jacked Benn with a straight right that left the defending champion numb and defenseless along the ropes. Gerald sensed another first round knockout and moved in for the kill. Two shots to the head drove Benn through the ropes and nearly into the laps of the ringside photographers.

Once able to regain his senses and realize where he was – which at the moment was the wrong side of the ropes – Nigel scrambled to his feet and just barely beat referee Alfred Asaro’s count, a count that some consider to be a VERY LONG 9 ½ seconds. What appeared to be a 45 second path to a future fight with Roy Jones, Jr. would turn out to be a dead end the moment. Nigel was waved forward to continue fighting.

What went wrong? Well, there’s plenty who are responsible for what would transpire. We could start with Alfred Asaro, who as mentioned before was the referee for this contest. Or at least was supposed to be the referee. You see, to be a referee, it is required that you do some officiating, to keep the action clean and to offer an unbiased and policed presence. Asaro did none of this. Instead, he constantly pushed Gerald back whenever breaking up the two fighters. He stood in between the two fighters for far too long on every break. He stepped in and broke apart the fighters seemingly every time that Gerald would move in for the kill. He warned McClellan for infractions that weren’t even committed. If they were, it was done by “The Dark Destroyer.” Yet, any fouls committed by the champion seemingly went unnoticed. Was it a conspiracy? No, just a horrendous piece of officiating. And this was just the first round!

Asaro’s antics over the course of the rest of the fight were questionable at best. However, in order to have such a situation, it would mean that a fighter is in fact committing the unpunished infractions. Enter Nigel Benn. Long renowned as one of boxing’s bad boys, many have often interpreted Nigel’s style as “Win at all cost.” Others would just refer to it as downright “dirty.” In regards to February 25, 1995, I’d say it’s all six of one, half a dozen of the other.

The reason many became furious with how Asaro handled the action on this fateful night was because Nigel did in fact walk a fine line between ‘doing what you have to do to survive’ and ‘dirty fighting.’ Frequently throughout the contest, Nigel would hold Gerald and hit him behind his head, and would also dip below Gerald’s waist, hit on the break, just to name a few. This is not to suggest that his fight plan was limited to breaking the rules, but it was clear that Nigel was getting away with far too much than even the normal “home court advantage” should allow.

Where Asaro and Benn share the most blame is at the halfway point of round nine. It was at this point, one round after Nigel suffered another brutal beating en route to his second trip of the night to the canvas, where Benn lunged forward and missed with a wild overhand right. He did however land with a headbutt that clipped Gerald right above his left eye. Accidental perhaps, but the infraction went completely unnoticed by Asaro. McClellan, thinking he was rightfully entitled to a five minute rest period, took a knee, even though Asaro never ruled it an accidental foul. Instead of allowing Gerald to recover, he waved his hands frantically, demanding that Gerald rise up and continue fighting. Fight on he did, though it was obvious to everyone (except, of course, Asaro and then-Showtime color commentator Dr. Ferdie Pacheco), that the headbutt clearly affected him, with his eyes constantly blinking throughout the remainder of the round. For those scoring at home, this would be considered the beginning of the end.

Round ten would be remembered as every bit bizarre as it was tragic. McClellan came out with his vision and frame of thought still impaired. His power advantage clearly handicapped by his inability to clearly see, all Gerald could really do was attempt to stay outside. Benn sensed that the end was near, and went on the pursuit in search for the kill. The kill, however, was not exactly the stuff that highlight reels are filled with. The cleanest punch that Nigel landed was a long right hand that caught Gerald flush on his stellar chin. It hurt Gerald, but only to the point where he had to hold on. Benn then missed with a follow up overhand right, and again missed with a left hook – and down goes Gerald! Partially form the effects of the initial right hand, but more so because his brain was becoming more and more clouded by the seconds. All he could do was rest on a knee and watch Asaro count away. He arose at the count of eight, but really was no longer able to defend himself. Still, Nigel wasn’t able to land anything of substance, perhaps battling off his own fatigue as well as the preceding nine rounds of punishment he had absorbed. Once again in close quarters, McClellan held on to catch a breather. He was met by a right uppercut that was clean, if not particularly devastating, but nonetheless down went McClellan again. Not from the uppercut, obviously, but from the blood clot that was developing in his brain. All he could do at this point was take a knee and watch Asaro count to ten, ending the fight – and his career – with one minute and twenty two seconds remaining in the round.

At the time of the stoppage (for those who refer to it as a knockout, you are mistaken), Gerald was ahead on two of the three scorecards and even on a third. None of that mattered at that point, however. As Benn leaped into one corner, wildly celebrating perhaps the greatest upset in British boxing since Randy Turpin scored a decision over Sugar Ray Robinson some thirty plus years prior, McClellan had risen from a knee and simply walked back to his corner. He never even made it to his stool, instead slumping along the turnbuckle with his arms draped across the ropes.

On a night where many ponder who to blame, a hero had arrived in the form of the British Medical Board. To their credit, they were in the ring the moment the slugfest was stopped. Had they not reacted as quickly as they did, Gerald would be in a far worse state than he is today. After given a thorough diagnosis in the ring, McClellan was immediately rushed to the hospital, where he slipped into a coma. Again, had the ringside physicians not reacted in the aforementioned manner, he could have just as easily died that night.

It was at this moment where the effects of such a brutal slugfest were clearly visible. Even in victory, Nigel never made it back to his dressing room, collapsing as he attempted to work his way out of the ring. He too was rushed to the hospital, the same hospital as the man he had just conquered.

As Nigel would eventually be released, his career was never the same. He would score two more wins, before going zero for three in 1996 and eventually retiring from the game (actually retiring three times, after every loss in ’96). At least he was afforded the opportunity to fight on.

Gerald, on the other hand, became an afterthought. In the beginning, the boxing community was concerned. Three weeks after the fight, Roy Jones Jr. was scheduled to make the first defense of his 168 lb. title. The bout was supposed to be a prelude to a future Jones-McClellan bout, but was obviously not the case come fight night. Rather than view the matter as a fight that would never happen, Roy instead reached out to an old friend (and former amateur opponent, one that soundly defeated Roy in the National Golden Gloves competition nearly a decade before) and offered to donate 10% of his purse he was to receive that evening. HBO was so moved by Roy’s generosity that they offered to match Roy’s donation.

Shortly thereafter, a trust fund in Gerald’s name was established to help offset the growing medical costs in order to care for him. While many have reached out, the McClellan family has been overwhelmed since that tragic night, both in time and financially. You see, while many point to Gerald’s state as a barometer for the precautions necessary to take when fighting, very seldom does anyone in the fight game keep in touch with Gerald. Only through fundraisers do fighters seem to make an attempt to reach out to the G-Man. Other than that, it has all fallen in the hands of Gerald’s two sisters, Lisa and Sondra. And of course, the fans.

“The fans have been great in their response and support to Gerald,” says Lisa, who juggles working full time and going to school full time in between splitting 168 hour per week care with her older sister. ”Unfortunately, the fighters and promoters have been less than responsive in regards to Gerald’s care.”

Not all in the fight game have turned their back on Gerald. Roy Jones, “through his advisors, Stanley and Fred Levin, consistently offers help via donations and fundraisers. Emmanuel Steward (Gerald’s former trainer when he trained at Steward’s Kronk gym in Detroit) is also looking to arrange a fundraiser for Gerald.”

A very short list indeed. The only contact that fighters have made with Gerald was at the 2002 Boxing Writers Association of America Awards. Gerald was on hand for the ceremony, and was greeted with a thunderous round of applause. Otherwise, “fighters don’t choose to see Gerald, perhaps because they are scared that if they see him, reality will settle in,” offers Lisa. “They feel that by seeing him, they will become scared that the same will happen to them.”

Perhaps fighters should be constantly reminded of what can become of them without the proper safety precautions beforehand, and without the proper support afterward. Gerald himself never believed that this could happen to him. Lisa recalls that “Gerald used to walk by this statue of (fallen former British fighter) Bradley Stone in days leading up to the fight. He would stare at the statue, and shake his head saying, ‘That will never happen to me.’”

While it did not reach those extremes for Gerald, he did suffer career ending damage in the ring, a mere ten months after Stone encountered his life ending fate in the ring. Unlike Stone, McClellan has come a long way. Perhaps not long enough, but certainly better than in ’95, Lisa reveals.

“These days, Gerald can talk on the phone, and is also able to dress himself. One thing he always loved to do, and is now able to do, is TALK. He’s very talkative – and very opinionated- but most importantly, very happy. Recently, he was reintroduced to boxing by someone other than myself. Richard Slone (who has been very involved in raising money and care for the McClellan family) was the first one beside myself to sit with him and discuss boxing.”

So, while Gerald can do more for himself than he could eight years, it is not a reason that he should be forgotten, or bypassed for more recent events. He was a boxing warrior, who offered everything – almost including his own life – to please the fans. He deserves a better fate than to be an afterthought. Thanks to Brad Starks, more has been done to create a link between the fans and the McClellan family. Brad, who “last year sent in a donation, but always felt like I should be doing more,” has developed a website for the former rising star. The website will be key in keeping all updated in the developments of Gerald’s ongoing recovery, as well as all charity events to be held in his honor.

In the meantime, we can continue to help by doing what we’ve been doing for the past year, and keep contributing to the Gerald McClellan Trust Fund. For those that are unaware, or have forgotten, donations can be made to:

Gerald McClellan Trust
C/O Fifth Third Bank
PO Box 120
Freeport, IL 61032

Until a boxing union is formed to help offset medical costs, apparently the only boxing family the McClellan’s have are we, the fans. That is something we should cherish, and never forget.