BoxRec

One of the most remembered fights was Chavez-Taylor I. Taylor out-boxed the Mexican legend with amazing jabs and counter-shots with incredible precision and footwork. But Chavez came on with hard body shots and pressure in the last 4 rounds of the fight. One of the most widely debated calls of all time is Richard Steele's decision to stop the fight at 2:58 of the 12th and final round. After Chavez floored Taylor, Meldrick clearly hurt, but seemingly coherent, righted himself up at 6 as Steele Counted the manadtory 8. But when Steele asked Taylor if he was OK, Melderick did not respond and Steele stopped the fight to a stunned HBO commentary, and many in the crowd, who believed that Meldrick should have been given the opportunity to continue, especially as Larry Merchant pointed out, in a fight of this magnitude:

Taylor was comfortably ahead on two of the three scorecards. Surprisingly one judge had Chavez up by a point as did Earl Getskey of the LA Times. To most observers, while Chavez had been applying pressure in the last 3-4 rounds, you could see that the body punches had taken their toll on Meldrick. The hospital report showed that Meldrick had suffered serious dehydration, cuts inside his mouth and had swallowed at least two pints of blood. It may have taken Chavez 8 rounds to "get going," but the damage that Julio inflicted in those last four rounds may have been more than what the Taylor supporters realized.

Richard Steele in post fight interviews said that he saw a beaten fighter. Although their were only two seconds left, Steele was adamant. "There's no fight worth a man's life. I don't care what it is, or how many I do, when I see a guy getting hurt pound, pound, pound, I'm stopping the fight. I asked him if he was alright, and I didn't hear him say a thing, so that's why I did it. His condition was mainly what I was interested in."

Interestingly, Steele about 10 years ago said that Meldrick came up to him years after the fight and thought he did the right thing. My view has also changed. At the time of the fight, the live call March 17, 1990, I thought that Steele made a bad call as did all who watched with me. Only Harold Lederman agreed with the stoppage from the HBO broadcast team. Give the guy a chance in a fight of this magnetude, especially a world championship fight where so much was on the line.

But than upon review and re-review of the fight over the years, I now agree with Steele's call. Verbal communication and body language are critical agents in a ref's decision making process in allowing a fight to continue or be stopped. Taylor did not give a strong verbal command, or ANY verbal command to indicate that he was OK. Many observers claim that he was looking at Duva coming into the ring and this distracted him. But a question that has never been answered was, "Why did Lou try to come into the ring early like that?" The fight was NOT over, and Duva COULD have gotten Taylor DQ'd for that. Therefore, justification can be made for Duva contributing to Taylor's destration. However, the point is, Lou should not have been on the ring apron until the final bell sounded.

A point can also be made that Taylor coud have been seriously hurt if Chavez would have managed to land another punch. You could say that there was not enough time in the round. But in hindsight, it only take a split second for such an an action to occur. A ref can't make a judgment call concerning the health of the fighter based on time left in a round. His concern has to be the fighter, not a clock. The hospital reports do show how badly Taylor was hurt in those final rounds. It is a shame that it had to happen because of so few seconds left in the fight. However, it is still better to stop a fight one punch too soon than one punch too late. Meldrick was never the same fighter since that night, so allowing more punches by Chavez to land, may have had serious consequences.

What are your views on this fight? What did you feel about the stoppage when it happened, and how do you feel about it now? If your view of the stoppage changed, why did it change?

Jack

Taylor earned it. He should of won that fight.

This fight is the biggest uncontroversial 'controversy' of all time.

Taylor was absolutely knackered. Steele asked him twice to show he was OK and Taylor was unable to do so. Fight over.

Imagine the outrage if Chavez had ran across the ring and landed a huge blow on an unguarded Taylor who seconds earlier failed to say he was OK?

Fights are 36 minutes long (usually) and Taylor was winning until 35:58. Then Chavez won.

That's it.

Two seconds is a long time if you are defenseless and being blasted. It could be the difference between damage and permanent damage.

Taylor got a rematch.

Terry D wrote:It was sad to watch as well when you consider fight one. Both a pale imitation by that point.

True, Terry, true, although many fancied Taylor to win the rematch. There was a flood of betting on Meldrick.

Terry D wrote:Wow, I was in my teens at the time but even then could not see a slickster regaining form at that point. I remember they showed it on ITV and it was like watching a pair of fine actors making cameos. The odd burst from the past from both with Chavez again wearing him down.

I watched Taylor-Davies Junior the other night, final stand for Davies, who should have had more losses on his record given that he was saved, by my scoring, by the rounds scoring in the Tony Baltazar bout.

I don't mind seeing a guy get an early draw on his record, it is better than a defeat and can often flag flaws, although at one point Taylor himself seemed flawless in the ring.

Taylor was a great little prospect but he lost something when he suffered the dreaded knee cartiledge injury in defence of his IBF title against Courtney Hooper in 1989. That slowed him down, made him more of a fighter, more vulnerable to the likes of Chavez.
Such is life.

Terry D wrote:Any work on how Taylor is these days? Hopefully he avoided the madness/drugs that hit most fighters from his era.

Taylor is as punchy as hell. He was walking on his heels years before the game turned its back on him.

Here's the stoppage. I'd always thought there was 2 seconds left on the clock. I have the original version of the rematch on DVD and I think it has Dickie Davies introducing it.

Memories.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIa_jPzH3Hc

Jack1000 wrote:
Interestingly, Steele about 10 years ago said that Meldrick came up to him years after the fight and thought he did the right thing.
Jack

I highly doubt that. I heard a somewhat recent interview with Taylor and he's adamant in his belief that he could've continued.

As for the stoppage, I think Lou Duva totally fvcked things up for Meldrick. He jumped on the ring apron ( which could've easily been a DQ ) and confused Taylor just as Steel was asking him if he wanted to continue. I don't think that because Taylor didn't respond to Steel he was necessarily completely gone. You gotta remember that the crowd was roaring and Taylor's cornerman was acting like a complete nutjob.

Saddest yet most thrilling end to a fight since Rocky II. Feel for Taylor every time I watch it. I would have let him box on. Was a bad call in my view.

Steele actually makes the stoppage at 2:54/2:55 - it takes a few seconds for the clock to stop.

gb wrote:Steele actually makes the stoppage at 2:54/2:55 - it takes a few seconds for the clock to stop.

I remember the time being announced by the MC as 2:58. There might have been an issue where the commission's clock may not have been exactly synchronized with HBO's.

Jack

I saw it live and kept it on tape as well and my initial reaction to the stoppage then is the same now.

Steele asked him twice a question, Taylor never responded. That , in a nutshell, spells the end of the match.

Ian 'Mr' McNeilly wrote:Steele asked him twice to show he was OK and Taylor was unable to do so. Fight over.

I basically agree. If a fighter can't answer the referee when he says, "Are you OK?", then the ref basically has no choice but to stop the fight. Or else, what's the whole point of even asking that question?

I always felt the person who deserved much of the blame for this whole situation was Lou Duva. First, he screamed at Taylor before the start of the round and told him, "Go knock him out!" instead of telling him to be careful (although Duva later denied that he said that). Even worse, when Taylor was knocked down, Duva jumped onto the ring apron and began screaming something incomprehensible at Taylor. Notice that Taylor is looking at Duva trying to understand what he's saying at the time that Richard Steele is asking him, "Are you OK?" Taylor's attention needed to be on the referee and what was going on in the ring, not looking at Duva. Duva can scream "robbery" all he wants, but he played as much a part in this disaster as anyone.

I'm a Meldrick fan and it just hits me right there when I see it. I always think in a fight in that magnitude that you give both champions the benefit of the doubt. However, over the years, if about 50% of people think its a bad or good call, then I guess I can see why the fight was stopped the way it was. Taylor should've ran that last round anyways.

generic screen name wrote:I'm a Meldrick fan and it just hits me right there when I see it. I always think in a fight in that magnitude that you give both champions the benefit of the doubt. However, over the years, if about 50% of people think its a bad or good call, then I guess I can see why the fight was stopped the way it was. Taylor should've ran that last round anyways.

Why did his corner tell Taylor he needed to win that round?

A good corner would have told him to run...

The saddest thing imo is the way it affected Taylor's life and career. Boxing has changed so much since then that it makes me sad to think Taylor had to go throught that event under those circumstances.

Had it happened today, the popular opinion and controversy would have been enough for Taylor to feel like a winner. Imagine how diferent would it be if he could have just shrugged it off and wait for the inmediate rematch or just go for the next available money fight as if he had won it anyway. You dont need to actually win a fight anymore to move on to better things.

A boxer is probably typically not interested in the "err on the side of caution" approach. Taylor may forgive Steele but he probably wishes he would have let him absorb a few more punches than to take away what would have been a great victory....even if it had a bit of a price. I'm one of those "freedom and dignity of risk" folks and don't agree with the stoppage......but Steele did it...and if he did it based solely on his concern for the health of Taylor the he can sleep at night and that's all that matters. Being a head injury specialist I can tell you that IMHO a few more whacks that night would not likely have changed much of anything for Taylor....the damage was already done. I no longer condemn Steele's action...but if it would have been me I would have let Chavez take those last few whacks.

I feel certain we would not have had a Benny Paret moment. But Richard Steele may not have been certain....and in that case he can't be faulted.

BoxBuzz wrote:A boxer is probably typically not interested in the "err on the side of caution" approach. Taylor may forgive Steele but he probably wishes he would have let him absorb a few more punches than to take away what would have been a great victory....even if it had a bit of a price. I'm one of those "freedom and dignity of risk" folks and don't agree with the stoppage......but Steele did it...and if he did it based solely on his concern for the health of Taylor the he can sleep at night and that's all that matters. Being a head injury specialist I can tell you that IMHO a few more whacks that night would not likely have changed much of anything for Taylor....the damage was already done. I no longer condemn Steele's action...but if it would have been me I would have let Chavez take those last few whacks.

I feel certain we would not have had a Benny Paret moment. But Richard Steele may not have been certain....and in that case he can't be faulted.

I guess it was timing of the fight but if it was earlier there would be no question...Better to err on the side of safety... No win is worth a man's life or health...

My view was and is Steele did a pefect job and called it at the right time as was said earlier he asked Taylor twice if he was OK with no responce, game over no questions asked simple as that.

all those years ago there was no TV coverage in Australia and no internet to discuss, so had to wait for World of Boxing & KO to appea on the news agence shelf, I remember reading how the comintators were really one sided and may have affected the scoring as the broadcasters would be screaming - Taylor lands 3 jabs a right hand a double left hook and a righ upper cut, Chavez lands a hook to the body. Taylor steps out and lands 4 jabs and a fast 17 punch combination and Chavez lands a hook to the head.
At the end it was said that Chavez went out partying and Taylor went to hospital, IMO Chavez never got the full credit he deserved for an outstanding performance and has instead had the win tanted by the rubbish that the fight was stopped to soon.

Ross

I can see both sides of the debate, but as I've gotten older I emphasize more with Steele's call. Taylor was in bad shape.

TheOneIsHere2008 wrote:

BoxBuzz wrote:A boxer is probably typically not interested in the "err on the side of caution" approach. Taylor may forgive Steele but he probably wishes he would have let him absorb a few more punches than to take away what would have been a great victory....even if it had a bit of a price. I'm one of those "freedom and dignity of risk" folks and don't agree with the stoppage......but Steele did it...and if he did it based solely on his concern for the health of Taylor the he can sleep at night and that's all that matters. Being a head injury specialist I can tell you that IMHO a few more whacks that night would not likely have changed much of anything for Taylor....the damage was already done. I no longer condemn Steele's action...but if it would have been me I would have let Chavez take those last few whacks.

I feel certain we would not have had a Benny Paret moment. But Richard Steele may not have been certain....and in that case he can't be faulted.

I guess it was timing of the fight but if it was earlier there would be no question...Better to err on the side of safety... No win is worth a man's life or health...

Amen to that.

i think it was a reasonable decision. finally it is the referee and only him
responsible. no judge. no one in the audience. this was a decision you could
make given the condition of taylor.

the problem was that the taylor camp had protested against steele before
the fight, afraid he would act against them.

did you see at benn-mclelland? did you see taylor's condition later on? there
is a limit and it is the referee to say when that limit is reached. this decision
was in my eyes undisputably within fair and professional referee judgement.

[quote="man"]

the problem was that the taylor camp had protested against steele before
the fight, afraid he would act against them.

quote]


Tha Taylor camp didn't protest Steele before the fight. That’s a myth fabricated by HBO and Lou Duva who also lied about what he told Taylor before the 12th round even though the video of the fight clearly shows how much he makes up his own version of the facts.

Richard Steele’s assignment to the Chavez-Taylor match was never brought up before the fight. All of a sudden it became another excuse by the Duva camp on HBO’s Legendary Nights documentary and has been perpetuated on the internet since then. I have a lot of boxing magazines from 1990 and none of them mentioned Duva protesting Steele because of Don King. World Boxing wrote that “Steele had the letter of recommendation from the entire boxing industry for this fight.” World Boxing heavily criticizes Don King all the time. I don’t think that magazine works for King either.

I agree that Steel made the right call.