Taylor was ahead but the stop was good referee did perfect job he has a boxer with " gargoyle ' ' face in brutal fight knock down in last round leaning in corner post looking beat . arms on ropes. just look terrible. I know I get some persons do prefer the Taylor boxing style & I know Chavez a few years later did get favors in the fights Whitaker & Randall I think. but this stop is not anything suspicious. was good. was fair. & was a great mark of Chavez he won like this
Well let him finish the fight then that he rightfully deserved to win, a fight as big as that with what was on the line. A warrior like Taylor deserves a chance to carry on and vice a versa for Chavez. As I said if it was the other way round, and Chavez went down in the last round. I guarantee the referee would not of acted the same way. And also Taylor would not of took any more punishment anyway, Bute when he went down in the last round vs Andrade, got up and could barely stand. The referee gave Bute a chance to finish the fight, the bell rung and and no more punches were landed.
This is a debate that will never be resolved, like the scoring of Leonard-Hagler. The controversy will ensure as long as there is the sport of boxing.
I can see both sides of the argument, but I'm more in the Taylor camp regarding this debate. I think in a championship fight of this magnitude, a fighter should be given a chance to finish the fight. I'm not saying it should be a fight to the finish, but with all what Taylor went through for almost 36 minutes, it just seems cruel to take the victory away from him at the finish line but that's just my opinion.
He wasn't in condition to continue. The better man won. It's not a referee's job to fix fights for a fighter. Though it has happened in the past.
But neither was Bute when he got floored in the final seconds of the 12th round, and the referee gave him a chance to continue the bell rung and he won the fight. My point is i feel in a fight of that magnitude. A champion and a warrior like Taylor deserves a chance to carry on, as i've said multiple times in this thread. If Chavez gets floored in the last round does the referee act the same way ? i don't think so.
Steele didn't know how much time was left. His #1 priority at that point is a damaged fighter. Remember also he was the one closest to the action. The impact of the punches for 12 rounds. Seeing Taylor's face turn into a grotesque mask as the fight progressed.
Steele had some questionable stoppages and rumour was he favoured Don King fighters, now i'm not accusing Steele of any wrong doing here. But the way i feel is if the shoe was on the other foot and Chavez was in that position, i don't see Steele being in a hurry to stop the fight but that's just my opinion. And i also feel like in the last round of championship fight, a champion deserves the right to carry on especially if he's winning the fight. Again that's just my opinion on the matter, i can see both sides of the argument. But i've always felt Taylor was hard done by, and no one is ever going to convince me otherwise, and i'm sure you feel the same way about your views aswell.
You do have your moments with the Mortal Kombat metaphors....but since I own an MK3 in my garage, I still enjoy them.
Round 1: Taylor Round 2: Chavez Round 3-8: Taylor Round 9: Chavez Round 10: Even Round 11: Chavez 107-103 Taylor going into the 12th round Great post.