There isn't another experience to compare with it."Embittered when he was not chosen for the 1988 Olympics in Seoul despite a victory over Roy Jones, who holds the International Boxing Federation 12st championship, and is considered, pound for pound, to be the most accomplished fighter currently at work, McClellan turned professional with Emmanuel Steward. It was at Steward's gymnasium, the Kronk in Detroit, that McClellan fully developed the attitude that even opponents of long experience find intimidating. "As an amateur I was more of a boxer," he said, "but once I realised the power was there I went with it."Also, McClellan went off in another direction, taking up again with his original trainer, Stan Johnson, after a split with Steward. "I didn't think Manny was giving me enough of his time," he said. "I considered myself to be top man at the Kronk but Manny paid more attention to Michael Moorer."It was early in the afternoon of a bright day and McClellan was smartly, if extravagantly, turned out in a mustard-coloured suit, a gold medallion dangling from a crew collar. Predictably, his boxing heroes are Mike Tyson and Thomas Hearns, both renowned hitters.

11/11 Acquire Demi Lovato Tickets staging in Fox Theatre, Hershey Theatre. Demi Lovato is staging in Detroit, Hershey and New Orleans. Demi Lovato tickets

11/11 - 12/11 Capture Cincinnati Bengals Tickets playing in Heinz Field, M&T Bank Stadium. Cincinnati Bengals is playing in Pittsburgh, Baltimore and Cincinnati. Cincinnati Bengals tickets

01/12 - 12/11 Purchase Zac Brown Band Tickets staging in Bridgestone Arena, Ford Center. Zac Brown Band is staging in Nashville, Evansville and Las Vegas. Zac Brown Band tickets

Muhammad Ali and Sugar Ray Leonard? "They weren't my kind of fighters," McClellan replied.McClellan's credentials were first established in a British ring when he knocked out John Mugabe in one round at the Royal Albert Hall in London to gain the World Boxing Organisation championship vacated by Chris Eubank. In keeping with his lucrative policy of avoiding all unnecessary risks, Eubank had kept McClellan at a safe distance.At 27, standing 5ft 11in, McClellan cuts an impressive figure. "Because his fights don't last very long it is difficult to assess McClellan fully," Ed Schuyler, of the Associated Press, said. "But certainly he carries a lot of natural power and is extremely quick And he's no head hunter The body shots, wicked left hooks, are ruinous. If Benn is looking to make it a long fight, supposing perhaps that McClellan will slow up after five or six rounds, he'll have to withstand a lot of punishment."McClellan goes along completely with that theory. "I can out-box Benn," he said, "but I don't need the exercise.

Why stand there for 12 rounds when I can get it over in one.". SAILING BY STUART ALEXANDER The boat that won so convincingly the 1992 America's Cup made what was probably its last appearance on the San Diego start line yesterday and its all-women crew showed it could still turn in a sharp performance.Against Dennis Conner's Stars & Stripes, they closed the third round- robin of the defender trials by chasing Conner's new boat all the way home.Conner went off well enough, leading by 43 seconds, but America3 twice came back on the spinnaker runs, cutting the gap to 32 seconds, before finally being worn down and losing by 1min 52sec.For the next round, the last before the semi-finals, when one of the three rival defender syndicates will be eliminated, there will be a shiny new, lean, mean America3. For the moment, though, America3 is trailing the other two and Conner's win yesterday puts him equal first in the standings with Kevin Mahaney's Pact 95, already making urgent use of the all-too- short break to make changes before racing begins again on 2 March.Pact, too, had beaten America3 in their last outing, but had to come back from losing the start and the beat up the first leg. As before, Pact was too quick for them downwind and came out best in a gybing duel that took them from 22 seconds behind to 12 seconds in front.From then on, Mahaney was comfortably in control but the 1min 19sec margin at the finish was more adequate than devastating.CITIZEN CUP Round Robin 3 (San Diego) Day eight re-run: Stars & Stripes bt America3, 1min 52sec. Standings at end of Round Robin 3: =1 Pact 95, Stars & Stripes, 25pts; 3 America3, seven.. SWIMMING Alan Rapley completed a praiseworthy double at the Thistle Hotels Multi Nation meet in Leeds last night. Rapley, 24, from Sheffield, beat his rivals in both the 50m freestyle and backstroke.In the freestyle he defeated the Loughborough University student, Nick Williams, clocking 24.15sec to win by 0.63sec and then in the backstroke was even more convincing as he won with 1.03sec to spare over the Commonwealth 200m medley bronze medallist, Fraser Walker, winning in 27.47sec.Kathy Osher, of Ealing, Britain's top backstroke swimmer for the last decade, came out on top in a clash with Portsmouth's Emma Tattam in the 100m backstroke.Tattam beat Osher in December's National Winter Championships and broke the short-course British record at the distance, but 25-year-old Osher gained revenge in 1min 5.57sec, with 0.31sec to spare.. BY RICHARD EDMONDSON The stopping train to Cheltenham reaches its last significant stations this afternoon at Kempton and Haydock.