Remembered: McClellan stopped Jackson in five rounds in 1993

Gerald McClellan stopped WBC middleweight champion Julian Jackson in the fifth round on 8 May 1993, ending one of boxing’s most dangerous encounters at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. The referee, Mills Lane, halted the fight at 2:09 of the round after Jackson had been knocked down twice.

Jackson entered the bout aged 32 and was making the fifth defence of his WBC middleweight title. He held a 46-1 record with 43 knockouts, while McClellan, seven years younger, brought a 27-2 mark and 26 stoppages from Emanuel Steward’s Kronk Gym.

McClellan made the faster start by hurting Jackson with a right hand in the opening round. Jackson responded by targeting the body, landing heavily in the second and continuing that approach in the third. A left hook to the body forced McClellan to retreat, while Jackson used feints to disrupt the challenger’s attacks.

An accidental head clash left Jackson bleeding and cost McClellan a point under WBC rules. After four rounds, two judges scored the fight 38-37 for Jackson and the third had it level at 38-38. Two low punches from Jackson then interrupted the fifth round, with McClellan receiving time after the second knockdown.

The pause did not protect the champion. When action resumed, McClellan landed a right hand to Jackson’s head before adding left hooks that sent him onto his back. Jackson rose, but his face was bleeding and his legs were unsteady. McClellan attacked again and dropped him for a second time, prompting Lane to end the contest.

The victory was later recognised as The Ring magazine’s 1993 Knockout of the Year. Jackson had demonstrated that McClellan could be hurt, but the challenger recovered from the body attacks and low blows before changing the fight in a matter of seconds. McClellan won their rematch by first-round knockout one year later.