Julio Cesar Chavez vs.
Meldrick Taylor
"Thunder Meets Lightning"
March 17, 1990
In a much anticipated match-up Chavez and Taylor, both undefeated and at the top of the pound-for-pound rankings, put their respective WBC and IBF junior welterweight titles on the line. Taylor (24-0-1, 14 KOs) was winning most on points and looked like he would be the fighter to give Chavez his first career defeat. However, Chavez knocked Taylor out in the final round with just seconds left on the clock, exciting the boxing public and making it Ring Magazine's Fight of the Year.
Meldrick Taylor, of Philadelphia, got into boxing at a young age. A 1984 Olympic gold medalist, Taylor soon proved to be a great pro fighter as well, building up wins over names such as Primo Ramos. The only blemish on his record was a split draw with fellow contender Howard Davis, Jr. In 1998, Taylor entered the ring against IBF junior welterweight champion Buddy McGirt and left with his title after earning a twelfth-round TKO. After two successfully defenses and a couple of tune-up fights, he was all set for a unification match with Chavez.
The first good punch of the fight was a hard left hook flush on Taylor's face, but it was Taylor doing most of the punching at the start of the fight, outlanding Chavez about three to one with quick combinations. It wasn't until halfway through the second round that Taylor slackened his pace a little and gave Chavez the chance to get some work in. Yet, it was still Taylor dominating with hooks to the head and body while Chavez bobbed and weaved, successfully avoiding most of the punches.
At the start of the fight Taylor was able to get in, throw punches, and get out. It was a good strategy, but Taylor the warrior was tempted to go inside and slug with Chavez, trading furiously. Though Taylor was the far more active fighter, it was Chavez's punches that were most effective. By round six, it was visible as Taylor had a slight swelling under left eye and still a small occassional trickle of blood from mouth. He looked a bit tired and tried to stay on the outside, but was getting hit a few times before able to respond. Chavez, too, was starting to look a little weary, but had been conserving his energy and looked fresher and fresher in comparison with Taylor.
By the end of the eleventh round, the beating that Taylor had taken was obvious. Although according to HBO Punchstat Taylor had landed 418 punches and Chavez only 235, both of Taylor's eyes were swollen and he looked exhausted as he went back to his corner while Chavez looked relatively fresh.
Lou Duva, Taylor's trainer, encouraged him, though, telling him that he needed to win the final round, and Taylor listened. Though weary and with both eyes swollen and blood coming from his nose and mouth, Taylor still came out active and agressive. Chavez showed no hurry, though, and looked calm and collected as Taylor fell to the canvas of his own accord after swinging and missing a minute into the round. Chavez waited patiently for his opening, and then with thirty seconds left in the round he landed a hard right that staggered Taylor a little. Taylor tried to respond, but Chavez was landing and got in another hard right flush on the chin. Taylor fell to the canvas and pulled himself up by the ropes, on his feet at about the count of five. Unfortunately, he did not respond when referee Richard Steele twice asked him if he was okay. Taylor only looked at him and then to his corner where Lou Duva had just jumped up onto the ring apron. Steele stopped the fight with just two seconds left, giving Chavez the TKO win.
Controvery immediately surrounded the stoppage, and Taylor supporters argued that their man had been robbed by not being allowed those last two seconds to secure his victory on the scorecards. The blinking light in the corner would have informed Steele that there were less than ten seconds left in the round, and the count could have been paused for Steele to redirect Chavez back to the neutral corner, which he had wandered away from. Steele could have noted the slight nod Taylor had given him before gazing over at his corner and given him a couple of extra seconds to respond when asked "Are you okay?" the second time. If Taylor had been allowed just those two extra seconds, he would have won a split decision on the scorecards.
However, Steele was focused on Taylor's condition and not the time. He had seen close up the punches that were later found out to have shattered Taylor's eye socket and to force him to swallow an estimated two pints of his own blood. As he said after the fight, "I stopped it because Meldrick had took a lot of good shots, a lot of hard shots, and it was time for it to stop. You know, I'm not the timekeeper, and I don't care about the time. When I see a man that has enough, I'm stopping the fight." Taylor himself proved that he had been out at the time when he stated after the fight, "...Then I got up. [Steele] didn't say anything to me. He didn't say "Are you okay?" He didn't give me no kind of direction in the corner. Then he just stopped the fight."
It wasn't just the controversy surrounding the fight, however, but the twelve action-packed rounds that earned the title of Fight of the Year and later Fight of the Decade. A rematch should have come soon after, but in it's absence Taylor moved up in weight to win the WBA Welterweight Title and then attempted to move up yet again to challenge Terry Norris for his WBC Junior Middleweight Title. Unfortunately, the bigger and stronger Norris proved to be too much for Taylor and stopped him in the fourth. When the rematch with Chavez was finally made for September 1994, Taylor proved that he was still a good fighter but nowhere near the level he was at in the first fight. Chavez stopped Taylor in the eighth round of his last world-class fight. Both fighters, though, will always be remembered best for their tremendous performance on that fateful night when two seconds changed boxing history.
More info:
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
Venue: Hilton Hotel & Casino
Scheduled: 12 Rounds
Titles: WBC/IBF Junior Welterweight
Referee: Richard Steele
Judge: Dave Moretti 102-107
Judge: Chuck Giampa 105-104
Judge: Jerry Roth 101-108
Result: TKO12 2:58
Promoter: Don King
Broadcast: HBO
Ring Announcer: Chuck Hull
Commentator: Jim Lampley
Commentator: Larry Merchant
Commentator: Ray Leonard
Interpreter: Ruben Castillo
Chavez Purse: $1.2 million
Taylor Purse: $1.2 million
Attendance: 9,200