Nigel Benn has looked back over his career to pick out the best fighter he faced and has overlooked his legendary contests with Chris Eubank Sr.
That pair first fought in 1990 for the WBO middleweight title with Eubank winning by TKO in the 9th round. The rematch was a unification in 1993 for the WBC and WBO super middleweight championship and ended up a draw, with both men retaining their belts. Decades on, their sons Conor and Chris Jr have taken on the family rivalry.
Despite those famous battles, when speaking to The Ring Magazine, Benn revealed that one American fighter was the best he ever faced by a long way.
“Gerald McClellan by far. He had an incredible knockout ratio and he was a prolific puncher. There was a mile between him and anyone else. I came out of that fight with a damaged nose, a damaged jaw and I was urinating blood. I was in bed for three days afterwards and I had a shadow on my brain. That shows you how powerful a champion that man was.”
McClellan was a feared knockout artist who was the betting favourite when he and Benn fought at the London Arena for ‘The Dark Destroyer’s WBC super middleweight title.
Within the first round, he knocked Benn clean out of the ring, but Benn recovered. What followed was a savage, high-paced war filled with momentum swings and heavy punishment on both sides and Benn ultimately won via 10th-round stoppage after McClellan took a knee and was unable to continue.
However, the fight will forever be overshadowed by tragedy as McClellan suffered a severe brain injury and was left permanently disabled – a sever reminder of the dangers of the sport.
