BOXING : McClellan Knocks Out Baptist in 97 Seconds

Gerald McClellan is slowing down.

It took him 97 seconds to stop Gilbert Baptist in defense of his World Boxing Council middleweight title Friday night at the MGM Grand.

In his first defense, last Aug. 6, McClellan knocked out Jay Bell in 30 seconds.

“He caught me,” Baptist, 30, of San Diego said of McClellan.

Again and again, and it didn’t take long. The first knockdown came 10 seconds into the fight.

Baptist, subbing for injured No. 1-contender Lamar Parks, appeared to have no business fighting McClellan and announced his retirement after it was over.

In other fights:

--Mike McCallum, a 37-year-old former World Boxing Assn. junior middleweight and middleweight champion, stopped an outclassed Randall Yonker in the fifth round of a scheduled 12-round light-heavyweight fight;

--Juan Vasquez of Argentina had no trouble defending his WBA junior middleweight title, stopping Armand Picar of the Phillipines at 2:05 of the second round;

--Gianfranco Rosi of Italy retained his IBF junior middleweight title with a technical draw when he butted heads with Vincent Pettway of Baltimore in the sixth round;

--Orlin Norris Jr. of Campo, Calif., retained the WBA cruiserweight title with a split decision over Arthur Williams of Las Vegas.