Gerald McClellan was known for being cold – not just inside the ring but outside of it too…his most obvious trait was his knockout power. The G-Man was a brutal puncher and finisher and because of this some of his subtle skills often go overlooked. One of the skills he was extremely adept at was using his hands for control. With all those knockouts under his belt he was obviously good at setting those knockout punches up.

McClellan would also use his lead hand to measure range for his right hand and he would double it up by using this as a stiff arm, sometimes right down the middle so the opponent couldn’t see what was coming behind the stiff arm which would usually be the power punch, in most cases his right hand.

Now McClellan could also make space for his right hand by using the lead hand on the outside cheek of his opponent to control and steer the opponents head creating room for him to follow through with the right cross.

Another trick we see Gerald McClellan use is an old school boxing technique of head control. When the G-Man had rocked you with punches he would control you with his gloves and steady your head by placing his glove or gloves around your head or back of the neck so he could set you up for his next punch, often the left hook to the liver, he was almost holding you so you couldn’t get away from him.

McClellan could do the same thing with his lead forearm, use it to control you and throw a punch off this by steering you into his next shot, he could use the lead forearm to pin you if he happened to miss a punch which prevented you from countering him and he would also use the lead hand to hold down your right hand or power hand when in the clinch, again ensuring you couldn’t use any dangerous punch up close with your dominant hand. Going back to when he missed a punch and using the lead forearm to block any counterpunch McClellan could turn arm to restore balance, if he missed with a left hook for example, he would immediately restore balance by using the lead forearm to stiff arm you in the face, not only does that put you back into position but he would place the stiff arm in a position you couldn’t see beyond such as the outside cheek, turning your head which again gives McClellan control.

Watch the video below to see this much underrated skill of Gerald McClellan.