BoxRec

On a Saturday night of March 17th, 1990, the first super fight of the 90s decade took place at the Las Vegas Hilton Hotel Center in Las Vegas, NV.

Two undefeated champions, put their reputations and undefeated records on the line, to be the best fighter of the Jr Welterweight division. Julio Cesar Chavez of Culiacan, Mexico, the WBC World Jr Welterweight Champion, faces his IBF World counterpart, Meldrick "TNT" Taylor of Philadelphia, PA.

Chavez, at 27, had an astonishing record of 68-0, with 56 knockouts. Something unheard of at the times. He started his career in 1980. Plus, he was a triple crown division world champion of three different weight classes. Already, an all-time pound per pound great as his fans were concerned, he was one of the top 3 best fighters of the 1980s decade.

It wasn't that he didn't had no great opposition. He had a resume against the very best he fought, beating the likes of Mario Martinez, Roger Mayweather (Twice), Rocky Lockridge, Juan La Porte, Edwin "Chapo" Rosario, Nicky Perez, Jose Luis Ramirez, Bazooka Limon and Ruben Castillo among others. He was tested. He just outclassed them.

Taylor at 23, won the Olympic Gold medal at the age of 17 in the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. To be from the city of Philadelphia, probably the best city that has ever produced America's best fighters was not a short of an accomplishment. You got to know how to fight! And Taylor, with an undefeated record of 24-0-1 with 14 knockouts, wasn't any different. His only blemish on his undefeated record was a draw against former Olympic champion of the 1976 Olympics, Howard Davis of Long Island, NY.


The Mexican and Latin boxing fans came and the crowd was electrifying. They came to see their hero Chavez in action one more time.

The fight was a masterpiece. One for the ages. Taylor was magnificent. Chavez not short of it. But, the Latin crowd was uneasy in seeing how Taylor was out punching Chavez by a ratio of three to one. Sometimes more. He was too fast!

Each round, the Latin crowd got much uneasy. Taylor was winning the fight at Chavez's own game. He didn't ran. He was right there with the Mexican great blow for blow. He was just smarter and faster. Taylor was giving a great boxing exhibition.

Both fighters were showing why they were the two best of the 140lbs division. This is for all the marbles! The winner gets the recognition as a true all-time pound per pound great and the title as the best fighter pound per pound in the world.

Between rounds 11 and 12, Buffalo Martin, one of Chavez's handlers was screaming with a sense of urgency like if his life depended upon it. "Hazlo por tu familia, Julio!" (Do it for your family, Julio!). Chavez got the message. This was of reminiscing the super fight between Sugar Ray Leonard and Thomas Hearns nine years earlier when Angelo Dundee, Leonard's trainer screamed at Leonard "You're blowing it, son! You're blowing it!"

Chavez and Taylor went out like if their lives depend it up on it. Slugging it out. Why did Taylor choose to slugging it out when he was winning outright? Did he wanted to prove that he could go the distance by 12 rounds of inside fighting? Why he didn't box and ran the last round? Did he also was thinking that the fight could go either way in the scorecards, so therefore he needed the last round?

There's a saying on boxing that says "Don't hook with a hooker" Taylor did just that and paid the price. A left hook wobbles Taylor, and instead of retreating to recuperate, he still wanted to finish strong by slugging it out. Twelve seconds left, Chavez sets him up into a corner and a wicked right shot at the jaw of Taylor, and Taylor goes down.

American referee, Richard Steele started the count. Taylor gets up at six of the mandatory 8-count. Steele asks Taylor "Are you okay? Are you okay?" Taylor doesn't respond. Steele stops the fight at two seconds! Lou Dubs, Taylor's trainer, goes berserk! The Mexican and Latin crowd got ecstatic. Their champion pulled it off. The winner by TKO in round 12 and new IBF and still undefeated WBC Jr Welterweight Champion of the World!: the great Julio Cesar Chavez!

It was a great fight. One of the greatest fights of all-time between two great champions.

I felt bad for Meldrick Taylor. He was winning the fight and chose to slug it out at the end to prove Julio Cesar Chavez that he could also fight toe to toe with him.

But, he paid the price even if he would have won the fight. His face was in a bloody mess. His two eyes were closed bad. He had received a lot of punishment. Even if he would have got the decision, he looked at the time, as the loser. His face was so battered that his own mother wouldn't recognize him. That fight was so brutal.

After this fight, none of the two were likely the same. Chavez started looking for easier opponents for easier paydays until he ran up to Taylor's stablemate, the great Pernell Whitaker. And Taylor? He was worst. He wasn't the same either. He won the WBA World Welterweight title, but wasn't impressive. Next? WBC World Super Welterweight Champion, "Terrible" Terry Norris abused him for 5 rounds and Taylor was through in 1992 of it.

They, Chavez and Taylor, fought again in the rematch in 1994. Chavez won again by knockout in 8 rounds. But, none of the two were the same as their 1990 classic.

Your comments, please.

This has been talked to death, but I guess it's been a while. Great fight. Taylor was going to win the fight if he lasted the distance.
Taylor looked like he could continue.
Duva deserves some criticism here. He distracted Taylor when Steele was talking to him.
Steele should have realized that Talor was distracted. Or did he know that Taylor was distracted?
It seems very possible that Steele was on the take and looked for a chance to help Chavez. Lots of fishy things happened in his fights.
Taylor was never the same after this fight. What would have happened if he would have won? Who knows.

Anytime I think about this fight, I get pissed that Duva or whoever had Taylor at the time , threw him in with Terry Norris not long after. They knew how much of a beating he took in that Chavez fight. There’s no way they couldn’t. They knew he was damaged. Also, I don’t think they thought he was beating Norris. Ther fighters gonna agree to fight whoever. Money grab by the handlers. And of course Meldrick got hurt more.

It was a great of high skill and will, heart and determination. What a fight! One of the best fights that I ever seen in my lifetime.

BOTH fighters gave everything they got. None of the two came to that intensity and level ever again. But, they gave us a classic of the 1990s decade.

This fight was next from the Mike Tyson vs Buster Douglas fight in Tokyo a month earlier. Ironically, both fights were promoted by Don King.

At the time I thought Taylor could have continued and Richard Steele stopped it too soon. Steele usually favoured the King fighter IMO and this was no exception.

I will watch this classic again. Of what I remember when I see the reruns of the fight, was that in rounds 10, 11 and 12, Julio Cesar Chavez was connecting some clean accurate shots. I haven't seen a fighter as accurate while punching like Chavez. Those shots did Meldrick Taylor in.

It was a masterpiece where guys, skills, will and determination that would never be match in future generations. Those two could fight!

Great fight, Steele/King crookery

I met Meldrick Taylor in 1999 in Atlanta. In the same hotel where I was working when I also met Carmen Basilio, Livingstone Bramble and Buck Smith.

Taylor was damaged goods, then. He had impediment speech. He could barely speak. Boxing is a brutal sport.

There wasn't no point to ask him about that classic fight in '90.

What a fight! A terrific fight, that was voted by The Ring Magazine as the Fight of the Year in 1990 and also the Fight of the Decade of the 90s.

I don't know what fight was HBO's Harold Lederman was watching to tell you the truth. He had Meldrick Taylor winning by a shutout in 9 rounds against Julio Cesar Chavez? A you serious?

I know that Taylor was winning the fight, but not by a shutout through 9 rounds. I have never seen other groups of announcers as biased as the HBO ones.

I had the fight close, Taylor winning 106-104 score. It was much closer than the shutout Lederman had for 9 rounds.

If the fight would have finished to its entirety by the hand of the judges, Taylor would have been by split decision:

Judge Chuck Giampa had it 105-104, Chavez.
Judge Dave Moretti had it 107-102, Taylor.
Judge Jerry Roth scored it 108-101, Taylor.

It was surely a heartbreaking defeat by Taylor. That must affected him psychologically. Chavez never fought a great opponent after that in 19 straight bouts, padding his record until he met the great Pernell "Sweet Pea" Whitaker in 1993. I don't think that he was the same fighter after that brutal slugfest with Taylor. It really took a toll on him physically.

What a fight! A fight for the ages! One of the greatest top 20 fights in boxing history.