Former world champion’s sister recounts story of frightening admission from Nigel Benn’s agent.
Boxing fans of a certain age still know where they were and what they were doing when it happened. Or at least, they remember when they found out what happened afterwards.
The 25th of February, 1995, is a day that has gone down in infamy in boxing.
It’s the day Nigel Benn fought Gerald McClellan at the London Arena in London, England.
What made this fight so compelling, was–amongst other things–the reputation that both men had going into it. You see, Nigel Benn was the reigning WBC super-middleweight champion, having previously been a champion at middleweight.
Almost no other fighter, before or since, has fought with as much pure violence and ferocity as Benn did. Starting his career 22-0 with 22 KOs, “The Dark Destroyer” laid waste to most who got into the ring with him, and those who managed a victory over him had more than a few scars to tell stories about afterwards.
Though he had taken Michael Nunn and Roberto Duran the distance the year prior (and stopped Thomas Hearns the year before that), Iran Barkley could not escape the opening three minutes when Benn destroyed him to win the WBO middleweight title. Chris Eubank, despite not ever losing to Benn, still carries respect for the hell he was put through across their two encounters.
There may only be one other fighter in history who properly embodied rage and destruction in the way Nigel Benn did, and it just so happened that he was active at the exact same time.
Gerald McClellan was a menace, a beast that could not be tamed. He rampaged through the middleweight division like he owned it.
When he fought John Mugabi (38-3, 38 KOs) for the vacant WBO middleweight title, “The G-Man” won before the first round was over. After stopping Julian Jackson (regarded by some as the hardest pound-for-pound puncher of all time) in a war for the WBC title, McClellan would win their rematch in the first round.
You see, fellow punchers just weren’t enough to beat McClellan. In 33 fights, he had 28 wins in three rounds or less. Across three defences of his WBC middleweight title, his total time in the ring added up to 3 minutes and 30 seconds.
That’s why when Gerald McClellan (31-2, 29 KOs) moved up to super-middleweight to challenge Nigel Benn (39-2-1, 32 KOs), boxing fans everywhere knew it could only be an all-out war.
Of course, it was also Britain vs. America. Benn was making the 7th defence of his title, and McClellan was hoping to become (like Benn) a two-weight world champion.
When the first round began on that chilly English night, bedlam ensued.
Following the sounding of the first bell, McClellan flew out of his corner straight at Benn, bombing him through the ropes and almost out of the ring.
Benn momentarily looked like he had become the victim of another of the American’s first-round specials, but the Briton climbed back through the ropes and met McClellan head-on.
The two would fight like they hated the other man, and fans were treated to one of the most fantastic spectacles they could possibly ask for, with Benn being ruled down again in the 8th round.
But something strange was happening, too. Throughout the fight, McClellan had been frantically blinking and breathing with his mouthpiece almost hanging out of his mouth.
Commentators picked up on it, but the reasons behind this behaviour would only become clear afterwards. Nobody knew it in that moment, but those watching were witnessing a tragedy steadily unfolding before their very eyes.
In the 10th round, McClellan would go down as a result of some very innocuous-looking punches from Benn. After rising, it wasn’t long before he was down once more. And this time, he did not rise.
The commentators claimed that he quit, but immediately after the fight had ended, it was clear that something was seriously wrong.
As Benn celebrated what was certainly a fantastic victory, McClellan walked over to his corner and sat down against the ringpost, where he was quickly laid on his back and placed on a stretcher that he was carried out of the ring on.
Gerald McClellan had suffered a blood clot on the brain that would eventually leave him blind, unable to walk without assistance, and 80% deaf.
Benn vs. McClellan has been branded as one of the darkest days in boxing history, and it continues to echo on every time a fighter suffers a serious injury in the ring.
For 30 years, McClellan has been constantly cared for by his sister Lisa, who has taken the time to speak about the fight and her experiences surrounding it on a few occasions.
Now Lisa McClellan has taken part in a brand-new interview with Andre Ward, the former two-weight world champion.
The interview is eye-opening for many reasons, but one specific claim from Lisa is particularly worrying.
Speaking on the time ITV were making The Fight of Their Lives–a documentary about the fight–Lisa said that Kevin Lueshing (Benn’s agent and a former professional himself) came over to Illinois and spoke to her in the back garden of her house.
“And I said, ‘I wanna ask you a question, and I want you to tell me the truth'”, Lisa stated. “I said, ‘Was Nigel Benn on steroids that night?’ And he said, ‘Absolutely.'”
The full interview, uploaded to the “ALL THE SMOKE FIGHT” YouTube channel, can be watched here:
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