The lightning fast combination puncher, involved in the war with Chavez! Sorry for the ignorance but how great was he? Which boxers is he Ranked alongside on all time lists?? Cos watching him he's got some unheard of boxing ability! !
Very very good fighter. He should've beat Chavez. Just bad luck that he didn't imo. although kudos to Chavez for gutting it out and getting the stoppage. His speed and combos are definitely what made him special. the McGirt fight was probably his best moment. check out that fight.
He had more talent than his achievements showed. He had a very good career and beat the likes of Aaron davis and Buddy Mcgirt, and won world titles in two weight divisions. He had some of the fastest hands in boxing history and his footwork was also great. He also had the heart and chin to match his talents, and loved a good fight, Which I suppose is what led to his downfall in the Chavez fight (which he still should have won, if luck was on his side imo). The problem was that Taylors prime was extremely short and most would agree he was past his best by his mid 20's. Obviously the beating sustained in the chavez fight had something to do with it.
FFFUUUUU how could i have forgot the Taylor Mcgirt fight. That was a fight for the ages. Meldrick was the fastest boxer I have EVER seen.
Tons of talent, heart and grit. He had some of the fastest hands in boxing history, good footwork, and he was tough. Maybe even more than his heart and the punishment he took though, it was his body that was his downfall. Taylor was built short and a little aquat, so he couldn't stay at his best weight divisions for long. When he moved up in weight, he found himself fighting bigger, taller fighters, (so he couldn't exactly outbox them from the outside) and his complete lack of power meant he couldn't hurt them either. Better than his accomplishments show, even if he had some rather good accomplishments, and definitely deserves to be remembered as one of those guys who despite not being a huge name like Ali helps make boxing a great sport.
I see him as a 'Could of been great' fighter. He had amazing speed, both foot and hand, maybe the fastest p4p handspeed I can remember, I think his downfall was that instead of fighting as a slick speedy boxer, he would often fight in that famous Philly gym war style, meaning he took more punches than he should of. The Chavez fight should of been his moment, why the hell his corner told him he needed to win the last round big is beyond me. That fight damaged him, he was never the same. The Norris bout also damaged him, along with probably the return Chavez bout, though that was shorter. The HBO Legendary nights series showed him years after the Chavez fight, struggling with speech and co-ordination, yet still boxing and claiming he was as good as he ever was. As a side note, he has a book out (I forget the title) I keep meaning to order it as I'm sure it would be an interesting read.
Meldrick Taylor had some of the fastest hands of all time, you tube the **** out him, you won't be disappointed.
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZpPJrcpTY8[/ame] I believe Meldrck's hands travled the fastest in the air, but Roy was faster from the view point of his opponents
Taylor had great hand speed and pretty good skills. The problem was that he had leaky defense and was so damn brawl-happy. He also shoe-shined a lot with his shots, although he did have some pop. He was always going to have a short stay at the top with his style and the talent level @ 147 (Taylor had weight problems @ 140 and most likely only went back there because he was desperate for a big fight). When you're short & stocky, brawl-happy, only have modest power, and the talent pool is deep in your division, it's going to be very hard to compete at the highest level. Because of this, it's hard to really picture his career turning out much different than it did, even if he'd never fought Chavez. Especially when you have assholes managing you who are willing to cash out on you and have you fight a Terry Norris.