Meldrick Taylor vs. Jaime Balboa
Meldrick Taylor 142 lbs beat Jaime Balboa 139 lbs by TKO at 1:59 in round 5 of 10
- Date: 1989-11-20
- Location: Pennsylvania Hall, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
- Referee: Frank Cappuccino
- Judge: Ron Greenley
- Judge: Paul Harris
- Judge: Guy Richardson
Taylor Alters The Script, Stops 'Rocky' In The 5th
By Robert Seltzer
The Philadelphia Inquirer
November 21, 1989
Jaime "Rocky" Balboa, inspired by a fictitious pug, was a boxer in search of a script.
There was only one problem: The scriptwriter was Meldrick Taylor, the junior-welterweight champion, and he had a sad ending in store for Balboa.
Taylor, making his home-town professional debut last night, stopped Balboa in the fifth round of a scheduled 10-round, nontitle fight at Pennsylvania Hall in the Civic Center.
Referee Frank Cappuccino stopped the bout at 1 minute, 59 seconds of the round.
The victory gave Taylor, who holds the International Boxing Federation title, a record of 23-0-1 with 13 knockouts; the loss dropped Balboa, of San Antonio, Texas, to 47-11.
"I knew it was just a matter of time before I put my combinations together," Taylor said. "It was a great workout."
Balboa had received his big chance after Victorio Belcher, who originally was scheduled to meet Taylor, pulled out of the bout over a contract dispute.
"I thought it was kind of sassy for a man named Rocky Balboa to come and challenge me in my home town," said Taylor, 23. "But it was good for the venue. It brought the people out."
The bout, billed as the biggest local fight in almost eight years, drew a near capacity crowd at the 3,500-seat auditorium.
"I was very happy to see a big crowd," Taylor said. "That shows the people appreciate me. Maybe, in the near future, I can bring a championship fight here."
Balboa, who said the four Rocky movies inspired him, seemed dazed long before absorbing his first blow of the night. He seemed dazed by the opportunity to duplicate the triumph of his fictional hero, the brawler from Philadelphia. And then he took that first punch last night - a left hook to the face that said, "Yo, Rocky, this is the real world" - and, just like that, the glamour faded from his vision.
"I think Meldrick Taylor is a great champion," said Balboa, 26. "He's very fast, very strong. I had a great opportunity tonight, but it was not to be. I hope meeting Meldrick Taylor means bigger things for me."
Taylor, fighting for only the second time since undergoing knee surgery last spring, showed none of the ring rust that was apparent in his last outing, a 12-round decision over Courtney Hooper in September.
Taylor concentrated on defense in the early rounds, a part of his repertoire that he had neglected at times against Hooper. Taylor moved laterally for most of the first round, occasionally snapping a left jab and straight right.
The champion had said he wanted a "good workout," but he seemed intent on making it a short workout in the second and third rounds, when he began throwing heavy punches. Taylor backed up his opponent with overhand rights and then, waving the right hand in "bolo" fashion, lashed out with solid left hooks to the face. Balboa, beginning to back up in the face of the barrage, went from aggressor to wary boxer.
"I saw that he was trying to counterpunch," Taylor said. "So I got into a crouch, slipped his left and countered with a right."
Balboa landed a left hook to the face in the fourth round, but the punch seemed to inspire Taylor more than it did Balboa. The champion landed about 10 unanswered blows to the body and head. Balboa, trapped against the ropes, was saved by the bell.
When he got off his stool to answer the fifth round, Balboa crossed himself - a plea for divine intervention that was touching but futile. Taylor caught him with a left hook to the jaw that sent Balboa reeling into the ropes, his eyes opened wide and his knees about to give out. Taylor swarmed over his opponent, landing another crushing hook to the jaw just before the referee stopped the bout.
"I love to throw the left hook from a crouch," Taylor said. "That's my favorite punch."
Taylor, who will meet World Boxing Council champion Julio Cesar Chavez on March 17 in Las Vegas, tuned up for that fight with his brutal beating of Balboa.
"I give him a good chance against my buddy Julio Cesar Chavez," Balboa said. "He's a very tough fighter. I have no complaint against the referee for stopping the fight when he did, because I was getting hurt."
If this was life imitating art, Balboa probably would love to see this fight wind up on the cutting-room floor.