Julio Cesar Chavez vs Meldrick Taylor

[Master]

Julio Cesar Chavez vs Meldrick Taylor: Two seconds and pure boxing pandemonium in a fight for the ages.

In March 1990 there was just two seconds left on the clock in the fight of the year, the fight of the decade. Two short seconds, but that was long enough and in the boxing business it takes less than two seconds to injure a fighter for life. Still, it was just two, tiny seconds and there was a lot on the line.



The fight was a beast on both sides of the ropes: In one corner with 68 wins and no defeats was Julio Cesar Chavez, the lord of Mexican boxing and a fighting genius. In the other corner was Meldrick Taylor, unbeaten in 25 fights, an Olympic darling. Both were world champions, they came from viciously rival camps, backed by opposing promoters. It was like a gang war, fought for the pleasure of thousands in attendance in Las Vegas and the millions watching on television.

Taylor was brilliant, too slick, too fast, and too smart. He won rounds, he controlled Chavez. It was impossible to take your eyes off it. Chavez was simply relentless and he still hurt and marked Taylor in rounds that he lost. Was Chavez losing the battle, but winning the war? Taylor was in front as the bell for the last round sounded, but his mouth was busted, his eye sockets damaged and he had been swallowing his own blood. One judge incredibly had Chavez up, but the other two had Taylor in front by five and seven rounds. All that Taylor had to do was survive the round, survive three minutes, and that would be victory.

In the last round, contrary to the tricks that memory can play on any fan of any sport, it was not a massacre for Chavez, not a one-sided slugfest. There is nothing in the fight for the first two minutes, they are both tired, both marked, hurting and desperate for the last bell to end a quite brilliant fight. It was, long before the end, a fight of painful fractions, seconds of pain, seconds ticked off.

pushes Chavez back with about 38 seconds left, throwing punches he does not need to throw. The fight was won, he should have been moving in the last minute, running with what little strength he had. And then, with 23 seconds left on the fatal clock, Chavez hurts Taylor and Taylor staggers. Chavez sets himself for the only finish that could save him. Chavez moves to the side, finds a bit of extra room and connects.

Taylor is caught and dropped in the corner with 16 or 17 seconds left on the clock. It is heart-breaking for Taylor, ecstasy for Chavez. It is thrilling, unbelievable, hard to invent, it takes away your breath even now. There is pandemonium at ringside, in both corners – part delirium, part distress.
There is nothing like that in sport, nothing that quite captures that final-round moment – it is that rare moment when a finish in the last few seconds will alter a fight forever, will change the result, ruin any plans and break a fighter’s spirit. It is boxing’s ultimate finish.

Taylor is down, but he is not out.

He somehow scrambles up, using the ropes, desperate to get back on his feet. His face is swollen and bloody. He is up, still not steady on his legs with ten seconds left. Richard Steele, the referee, is right in his face. There is a camera in the corner that perfectly captures the drama, the moment. Steele and Taylor, separated by inches – one in control, one out of control. The seconds tick.

There is now just five seconds left in the fight, then four – Steele is asking questions, listening and looking for answers as Taylor stands in front of him. There are no answers for Steele and no more time for Taylor. Time stops. Then Steele waves it off at 2:58 of the twelfth and last round.

Chavez is too exhausted to celebrate at the end and Taylor is arguing with Steele, he wants to fight the last two seconds and be the first man to defeat Chavez. “I was fine, I was fine,” Taylor has been saying ever since. Steele would have to defend himself – he still does – against all sorts of outrageous accusations when the fight is over. He did his job, maybe saved a soul.

Chavez would have another 46 fights during the next 15 years, remain at the top for a long time and retire a Mexican idol. It is possible that Taylor never fully recovered from the brutal fight, never got back what Chavez beat out of him in that ring in Las Vegas. Taylor fought for 12 more years and had 21 more fights. They had a rematch four years later, an odd affair and Chavez won in round eight.

It was a unified world title fight, two unbeaten boxers, in Las Vegas, unforgettable quality and then it delivered the fantasy ending with just two seconds left. It does not get much better.

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/sport/boxi...cid=spartanntp

[Memphis]

I know there's so much to be said for this fight but the one thing that sticks in my mind was Lou Duva. I wont say he cost Taylor the fight. OK fuck it, he cost Taylor the fight. The shitty 'advice' going into the 12th. Jumping on the ring apron and distracting your guy just as the referee is looking for a response from him. Bizarre stuff.

[Master]

Lou lies in the documentary that was made after the fight. He said he told Taylor to stay away as he was ahead on points but in reality he was telling him to win the last round which did cost Taylor the fight.

That fight was brilliant and 2 elite fighters at the top of their game facing one another.

[Spicoli]

This classic came roaring back to life last month immediately after Bryant Perrella was ko'd with 1 second left in a fight he had all but dominated. I remember at the time thinking Taylor was robbed and being po'd. But what I lost track of was exactly how much damage Chavez actually did throughout that entire fight. Internally and physically Taylor was really feeling it bad. One of the more unneeded rematches after Taylor was just a shell years later. Ol Chavez wanted his 'clear' redemption and he did the very same thing to the faded ghost of Frankie Randall.

[mikeeod]

Amazing fight. When people say the best fight of recent memory is Gatti-Ward or Castillo-Coralles in a definitive manner I become a little disappointed. Both were exciting fights, but in my opinion they didn’t reach the skill level or importance of JCC vs Taylor.

Meldrick paid a heavy price, and I wish he had been given that win for no other reason than that fight ruined him and he was never the same again. Broken orbital bone, cracked ribs, horrific cut in his mouth, and he swallowed 2 pints of blood during the fight. I remember reading one of the docs saying he usually saw that level of damage in car crash victims.

I always wonder why this fight doesn’t receive more attention or appreciation from fans (same with Barrera vs Morales 1 and Raph Marquez vs Izzy Vasquez) and commentators. Taylor was too tough for his own good and his hand speed was unbelievable. This was prime Chavez and he was the ultimate predator in the ring- efficient and destructive behind a relentless attack- much of it to the body.

[Master]

I saw the fight after I knew the result and I am a big JCC fan so when I was scoring it I had it a lot closer than other people had it. The damage that Chavez was causing with his punches were clearly visible whilst Taylor’s punches just seemed to not bother him.

Just a brilliant fight and I would have loved to see Floyd in with this Julio Caser Chavez.

[Fenster]

I always argued the stoppage was correct, then a few years ago changed my mind, just watching it again changed back to the stoppage was correct. Regardless of the figures and circumstances at the time Taylor was in no condition to take another punch regardless of whether Chavez would have landed one.

Like Memphis said Lou jumping on the ring apron caused the big confusion. Imagine he was saying stop it yet Steele let him go? 2 seconds left? Yeah, watch Mosley-Mayorga? Whether or not Chavez lands another shot Taylor was in no condition to take one.

(I watched this fight with my dad in my sisters house on a sunday afternoon repeat, nobody had SKY/cable back then, well nobody working class)