Did JCC Really Ruin Meldrick Taylor ?

[Spicoli]

Ive always thought it a little hasty to label him 'done' after that war but yeh...he fought a heart fight and it was very taxing on longevity overall. Taylors style was speed,movement,speed and he was a short lived phenom at it. Some of the fastest hands you will ever see regardless of era. He came back after Chavez vs Primo Ramos in rematch and early was taking some clean left hooks and was even snapped by rugged Ramos's jab more than once. Once he hit mid fight in 5th,6th and on you could see the bursts come back...hit and move,repeat. Ramos was always rugged and nailed him extremely badly in the balls for time out but Taylor sucked it up and went back out,pissed off very much and nailed Ramos with big shots and almost seemed the turning point of fight.

Full respect for Davis win and Taylor commanded it. Davis was always troubled by speed but I think he was always juuuust a bit under appreciated as far as solid skills go. Stick and move owned the night for Taylor. That Breland brawl undoubably taxed Davis likewise but Taylor was fluid in there though not overly spectacular. Think sometimes the weight rise for Taylor gets overlooked. Brown was a very good hitter but could be out hustled and out sped too as Mo Blocker had shown in a fight which the scorecards were generous in. Its been a long time but I thought Taylor fought Browns fight in spots and had him only winning up by two points at fights end. It was a solid back and forth rough one and not wise to take Norris as next up for Meldrick...you could see writing on wall going into that fight. He didnt belong there,with that Norris, on that night. A name vs name fight I thought at time. Gangly freak of an long hitter Espana just finished a spent Taylor after that. He was spent totally going into Chavez rematch and that was more about Chavez seeking 100 and 'redemption' vs a rival than a realistic rematch I really believe...see Randall 3

[JonesJrMayweather]

YES he did!!!!! Man he was pissing blood after the fight, and his face was fractured severely. He never looked anywhere near top form again...

Tito v Vargas, Margo v Cotto, are two more fights that remind me of that but less severe...

[Niko's Girl!]

He didn't do him any favors but ruined is a bit strong, I'd agree.

[El Kabong]

Meldrick Taylor ruined Meldrick Taylor.....he was a very fast fisted, quick and slick boxer puncher but since he fought out of Philadelphia he wanted to brawl and he tried his hand at it and it shortened his career making him THE stereotypical "Philadelphia Fighter" meaning he was better in the gym than on fight night. Taylor should have been a slick boxer witht he ability to throw punches in bunches while avoiding punches in return.....but his pride got the best of him.


This is why you can't randomly hate on guys who do decide it's best if they use a bit more defense, a bit more caution in boxing...not everyone is a face first brawler

[Thread Stealer]

The loss to Chavez in 1990 took something out of Taylor, but it didn't completely ruin him as a formidable fighter. He still was good enough to move up in weight a year later and beat undefeated WBA champ Aaron Davis.

Really, I don't see the loss to Chavez affecting Taylor's career that much in terms of longevity and success. What happens if ends up winning the fight? He still has problems making 140 (Taylor detailed them in an issue of Sports Illustrated after the Davis fight, I recommend doing a sivault search as it was a good read), and judging by his stocky frame, it's not hard to picture. He did make 140 years later to rematch Chavez, but that was probably a desperate attempt to get a big fight/payday and revenge and he was more suited for WW at that point.

While Taylor's frame had grown to a welterweight, his power didn't. Neither did his height or arm length. Welterweight was loaded then, or about to become loaded. Stable Pernell Whitaker was about to go to WW. Felix Trinidad became a champion in 1993. Ike Quartey rose to the scene a year later. Cristano Espana always would've given Taylor hell due to his style, and dimensions (or Taylor's lackthereof). Taylor was too brawl-happy for his own good and took too many shots. Not only in prize fights, but does anyone NOT picture Taylor being a Philly gym war kind of guy?

Team Taylor was obviously not the type to protect Taylor. They had a young Taylor fight Buddy McGirt, and Chavez, who had a gigantic edge in experience on TNT. Taylor would've gotten beaten, and most likely beaten up, sooner or later at WW, win or lose against Chavez, or even without a Chavez fight. I also think Team Taylor shamelessly cashed out on Taylor in 1992 following the win over Glenwood Brown. Taylor had already showed signs of decline, and being too devoid of size and power at welterweight. He showed mettle in rising from 2 KDs to beat Brown, but what about the way he reacted to a lot of those shots? Not exactly what you'd hope for. So then they have him go up AGAIN in weight, at 150.5, to fight Terry Norris?

I've always taken issue with Lou Duva, not only for giving those instructions before round 12 against Chavez, but for taking that fight with Norris.

[Master]

JCC did ruin him, Taylor edged Davis who had just come off a war against Breland and the real beat put him down twice, so the righting was on the wall. Moving him up to get crucified by Norris did not help. Also remember Crisanto Espana finishing him off later after Chavez. That is a lot of wars. Taylor was the fastest fighter i ever saw.