For years I thought that Richard Steele did the right thing in stopping the Meldrick Taylor/Chavez fight when he did. It's not the ref's job to be the timekeeper, blah blah blah. But the more I think of it, the more I think he may have been rooting for the Don King fighter...

If anybody gets a chance take a look at Steele's handling of the Barry McGuigan/Steve Cruz fight four years earlier (1986). The 15th round sees Barry get the living shit knocked out of him from pillar to post, Twice he goes down and twice he looks to be in all sorts of trouble upon rising (worse shape than Taylor did anyway...) yet Steele lets him continue.


McGuigan was being hyped as being the next big thing, on the brink of superstardom etc. Is there any chance Steele was doing what he could to protect a cash cow?