Английская Википедия:Gerald McClellan

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Gerald Allen McClellan (born October 23, 1967) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1988 to 1995. He is a two-time middleweight world champion, having held the WBO title from 1991 to 1992, and the WBC title from 1993 to 1995. McClellan was forced to retire from boxing after a severe brain injury suffered during his final fight in 1995, a loss to WBC super middleweight champion Nigel Benn.

Known for his formidable punching power and one of the highest 1st-round-knockout ratios in the history of boxing, McClellan was dubbed "a miniature Mike Tyson" by his promoter, Don King (Tyson himself, while incarcerated, reportedly called McClellan "the best fighter in the world").[1]) The Ring magazine rated McClellan No. 27 on their list of the "100 Greatest Punchers Of All Time".[2] In 2007, McClellan was inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame in California, not to be confused with the more widely recognized International Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota.

Amateur career

As an amateur, McClellan was a four-time Wisconsin Golden Gloves champion, 1984–1987, competing mostly in the junior middleweight division.[3]

Highlights

National Golden Gloves (147 lbs), Little Rock, Arkansas, March 1985:

  • 1/4: Lost to Roy Richie DQ 3

U.S. Olympic Festival (156 lbs), Houston, Texas, July 1986:

Шаблон:Gold1 U.S. National Championships (156 lbs), Buffalo, New York, March–April 1987:

  • 1/4: Defeated Keith Graves by unanimous decision, 5–0
  • 1/2: Defeated Kevin Grantham by unanimous decision, 5–0
  • Finals: Defeated Tim Littles by unanimous decision, 5–0

U.S. Olympic Festival (156 lbs), Raleigh, North Carolina, July 1987:

  • 1/2: Lost to Ray McElroy by split decision, 2–3

Шаблон:Col-2 Pan Am Box-offs (156 lbs), International Center of the Broadmoor, Colorado Springs, Colorado, July 1987:

U.S. National Championships (156 lbs), Olympic Sports Center, Colorado Springs, Colorado, March 1988:

National Golden Gloves (156 lbs), Omaha, Nebraska, May 1988:

  • 1/4: Defeated David Gamble KO 2
  • 1/2: Defeated Roy Jones Jr. by split decision, 3–2
  • Finals: Lost to Ray McElroy by split decision, 2–3

He trained with Kronk Gym being trained by Emanuel Steward.[1] After turning pro, he also fought out of a Palmer Park gym run by Sugar Ray Leonard.[4]

Professional career

Шаблон:Quote box McClellan turned professional in 1988. Trained by hall of fame trainer Emanuel Steward, his early career was notable for a propensity for quick victories by knockout: only two of his first 29 fights went beyond the third round, although he lost both of those on the scorecard (in 6 rounds against Dennis Milton, 8 against Ralph Ward, in successive fights.) However, these proved only a momentary check on his career, as he captured the vacant WBO middleweight title by knocking out John Mugabi in one round in 1991, and the WBC middleweight title by knocking out Julian Jackson in five rounds in May 1993, after McClellan had survived some brutally hard punches from Jackson in the second and third rounds. McClellan defended the WBC title three times, all first round stoppages, including a rematch with Jackson. In the fall of 1994, McClellan separated from his long-term trainer Emanuel Steward.

Benn vs McClellan

Шаблон:Main article McClellan moved up in weight to challenge WBC super middleweight champion Nigel Benn in London on February 25, 1995. The fight was watched by an estimated 17 million people on television and 10,300 paying spectators.[5]

In a savage bout, McClellan knocked Benn out of the ring in round one and scored another knockdown in round eight, but each time Benn was able to work his way back into the fight. Throughout the fight Gerald received several punches to the back of the head, known to be especially dangerous, without referee interference. Referee Alfred Azaro was also roundly criticized for his officiating mistakes, which included impeding the challenger's progress when McClellan was trying to finish off Benn in round 1. McClellan was noticeably blinking repeatedly early in round ten, during which, after receiving a single hard blow from Benn who seemed to throw his shoulder into McClellan's eye, he voluntarily went down, taking a knee again.[6] McClellan took the mandatory eight count and the fight was resumed, but he did not throw another punch, and moments later he dropped to his knee for a second time and allowed Azaro to count him out. After the fight was over, McClellan immediately stood up and walked to his corner under his own power. He then sat down on the canvas and leaned against the ring apron, but while being attended to by ring physicians he slumped onto his back and lost consciousness. McClellan was subsequently strapped to a stretcher and rushed to the hospital.

Aftermath

McClellan had emergency surgery to remove a blood clot from his brain. He spent eleven days in a coma and was found to have suffered extensive brain damage. He lost his eyesight, the ability to walk unassisted, and was reported as being 80 percent deaf. Sports Illustrated ran an article about the fight and its outcome one week after the fight. McClellan's family flew to London to be by his side, and he was later flown back to his home country. He has recently recovered some ability to walk with the assistance of a cane, but he has not recovered his eyesight. In addition to being blind, his short-term memory was also profoundly affected. His three sisters, particularly Lisa McClellan, are responsible for his care. In a 2011 documentary broadcast by ITV (which originally screened the fight live in the UK), Lisa stated that Gerald is in fact not deaf, but that he has trouble with comprehension when spoken to.

Tarick Salmaci, a Kronk Gym fighter, claimed later in an interview that he had sparred with McClellan over a year before the Benn fight, and that after McClellan was hit by a jab thrown by Salmaci, McClellan started to blink hard and the session had to be stopped. McClellan initially claimed that he was thumbed, but later admitted to Salmaci in the locker room that he was in fact seriously hurt. Salmaci said that he found it strange that a fighter with McClellan's chin wearing headgear was being hurt by a jab, and that when he noticed McClellan blinking during the Benn fight in the same way, Salmaci was immediately aware that McClellan was in serious trouble. Also notable in hindsight was McClellan complaining of getting regular headaches after his first fight with Julian Jackson in May 1993. In the fight, McClellan's chin resisted Jackson's formidable punching power before McClellan won the fight in round 5, but Jackson's punches may have done some damage to McClellan's brain, such as concussions, that were not noticed at the time.[7]

Fundraising

McClellan has been the honoree at numerous banquets and award ceremonies, and fellow boxing world champion Roy Jones Jr., often pointed out as a rival middleweight champion during 1993–94 (indeed, McClellan actually beat Jones as an amateur), set up a foundation to help McClellan.Шаблон:Citation needed

Nigel Benn himself has also helped to raise funds for McClellan's treatment, and the two men would meet again for the first time since their bout at a fundraiser held in London on February 24, 2007. Several items were auctioned off at the event and a total of £200,000 was raised.[8]

In May 2012, the World Boxing Council publicly appealed for donations to a trust fund set up in McClellan's name in order to help his sister Lisa maintain his 24-hour care.[9] In July 2017, McClellan took a turn for the worse, and underwent surgery to repair a malfunctioning colon. McClellan now uses a colostomy bag, and incurs colostomy supply expenses of about 500 dollars a month.[10] Former world light middleweight champion Terry Norris, whose Final Fight Foundation acts to protect boxers, made an appeal for the Gerald McClellan Trust, noting, "McClellan's organs are starting to shut down because of his brain injury."[11] Ring 10, a nonprofit organization that helps impoverished former fighters, provides McClellan with monthly food credit and raises funds to assist with payment of other necessities.[12]

Dog fighting controversy

According to an article in The Observer, McClellan participated in dog fighting.[13][14] McClellan's trainer and family admitted that McClellan was involved with fighting pitbulls, and on one occasion had used tape to bind the jaws of a Labrador shut before allowing his pet pit bull "Deuce" to kill it.[13][15]

Professional boxing record

Шаблон:BoxingRecordSummary

Шаблон:Abbr Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
34 Шаблон:No2Loss 31–3 Nigel Benn TKO 10 (12), Шаблон:Small Feb 25, 1995 Шаблон:Small Шаблон:Small
33 Шаблон:Yes2Win 31–2 Julian Jackson KO 1 (12), Шаблон:Small May 7, 1994 Шаблон:Small Шаблон:Small
32 Шаблон:Yes2Win 30–2 Gilbert Baptist TKO 1 (12), Шаблон:Small Mar 4, 1994 Шаблон:Small Шаблон:Small
31 Шаблон:Yes2Win 29–2 Jay Bell KO 1 (12), Шаблон:Small Aug 6, 1993 Шаблон:Small Шаблон:Small
30 Шаблон:Yes2Win 28–2 Julian Jackson TKO 5 (12), Шаблон:Small May 8, 1993 Шаблон:Small Шаблон:Small
29 Шаблон:Yes2Win 27–2 Tyrone Moore TKO 2 (10) Feb 20, 1993 Шаблон:Small
28 Шаблон:Yes2Win 26–2 Steve Harvey TKO 1 (8), Шаблон:Small Nov 7, 1992 Шаблон:Small
27 Шаблон:Yes2Win 25–2 Carl Sullivan TKO 1 (10), Шаблон:Small May 15, 1992 Шаблон:Small
26 Шаблон:Yes2Win 24–2 Lester Yarbrough TKO 1 (10), Шаблон:Small Feb 24, 1992 Шаблон:Small
25 Шаблон:Yes2Win 23–2 John Mugabi TKO 1 (12), Шаблон:Small Nov 20, 1991 Шаблон:Small Шаблон:Small
24 Шаблон:Yes2Win 22–2 Sammy Brooks TKO 1 (8), Шаблон:Small Aug 13, 1991 Шаблон:Small
23 Шаблон:Yes2Win 21–2 Ivory Teague TKO 3 (10) Jul 27, 1991 Шаблон:Small
22 Шаблон:Yes2Win 20–2 Ken Hulsey KO 1 (10) Mar 1, 1991 Шаблон:Small
21 Шаблон:Yes2Win 19–2 Danny Mitchell KO 1 (10), Шаблон:Small Dec 15, 1990 Шаблон:Small
20 Шаблон:Yes2Win 18–2 José Carlos da Silva TKO 3 (8) Nov 14, 1990 Шаблон:Small
19 Шаблон:Yes2Win 17–2 Charles Hollis PTS 8 Sep 14, 1990 Шаблон:Small
18 Шаблон:Yes2Win 16–2 Sanderline Williams UD 8 Aug 21, 1990 Шаблон:Small
17 Шаблон:Yes2Win 15–2 James Fernandez TKO 2 (8) Jun 12, 1990 Шаблон:Small
16 Шаблон:Yes2Win 14–2 Brinatty Maquilon TKO 3 (8), Шаблон:Small Apr 26, 1990 Шаблон:Small
15 Шаблон:Yes2Win 13–2 Ron Martin TKO 1 (8) Mar 10, 1990 Шаблон:Small
14 Шаблон:Yes2Win 12–2 James Williamson KO 1 (8), Шаблон:Small Jan 20, 1990 Шаблон:Small
13 Шаблон:Yes2Win 11–2 Rick Caldwell KO 1 (8) Dec 14, 1989 Шаблон:Small
12 Шаблон:No2Loss 10–2 Ralph Ward Шаблон:Abbr 8 Sep 21, 1989 Шаблон:Small
11 Шаблон:No2Loss 10–1 Dennis Milton Шаблон:Abbr 6 Jun 24, 1989 Шаблон:Small
10 Шаблон:Yes2Win 10–0 Terrence Wright TKO 1 (8), Шаблон:Small Apr 14, 1989 Шаблон:Small
9 Шаблон:Yes2Win 9–0 Tyrone McKnight TKO 2 (8) Feb 19, 1989 Шаблон:Small
8 Шаблон:Yes2Win 8–0 Anthony Jackson KO 1 (6), Шаблон:Small Feb 10, 1989 Шаблон:Small
7 Шаблон:Yes2Win 7–0 Joe Goodman KO 2 (6) Feb 4, 1989 Шаблон:Small
6 Шаблон:Yes2Win 6–0 Jerome Kelly TKO 1 (6), Шаблон:Small Dec 3, 1988 Шаблон:Small
5 Шаблон:Yes2Win 5–0 John Gordon TKO 2 (6), Шаблон:Small Nov 25, 1988 Шаблон:Small
4 Шаблон:Yes2Win 4–0 Roberto Abondo TKO 1 (4), Шаблон:Small Nov 22, 1988 Шаблон:Small
3 Шаблон:Yes2Win 3–0 Danny Lowry TKO 1 (6), Шаблон:Small Nov 3, 1988 Шаблон:Small
2 Шаблон:Yes2Win 2–0 Bill Davis Шаблон:Abbr 1 (4) Sep 15, 1988 Шаблон:Small
1 Шаблон:Yes2Win 1–0 Roy Hundley Шаблон:Abbr 1 (4) Aug 12, 1988 Шаблон:Small

References

Шаблон:Reflist

Further reading

  • After the Bell: The Gerald McClellan Story, by Wayne Lettice Lennon

External links

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