If Meldrick Taylor had not fought Julio Caesar Chavez, would he have continued to greatness?

I just had a quick sneaky peek at the Jr Welterweight rankings in 90s, and to be honest i would favour Meldrick Taylor against alot of the Jr Welterweights. But Camacho, a young Tszyu, R.Mayweather, and obviously Pernell Whitaker, would be very dangerous fights. I can't see Meldrick Taylor going undefeated against that opposition.

Didn't Meldrick Taylor also say he wanted to move up to Welterweight ? because he was struggling to make weight at 140 ? i don't really see Taylor doing much better at Welterweight than he initially did, i always thought he looked to small at Welterweight despite saying he had trouble making 140.

The issue is would Taylor stay at 140 ? if he did in a perfect world. I still see him picking up a loss against some of the opposition i named above. But Taylor vs Camacho would be a sight to see with that hand speed on display.

Overall to answer your question, he probably picks up few more solid wins at Jr Welterweight, but loses to a maybe 1 or 2 of the top boys there. I don't think anything drastic changes that much, where he suddenly becomes an ATG not fighting Chavez. Although overall he'd probably have a few more big wins at Jr Welterweight, and i think he would of been a fresher less damaged fighter mentally.

 

Much of Meldrick's decline may have been because he fought Chavez. The kind of beating that Julio laid down on him was systematic and thorough, body and head. Nobody else at the time did it like he did.

It wasn't just the anguish of the disputed finish, Meldrick looked totally battered. I don't see any of the other guys around doing that to him. If Tszyu or Mayweather have a chance, they'll do it with one punch or a short sustained burst - which might be more emphatic but won't be as physically devastating. Whitaker and Camacho do it through speed and slickness which might demoralise Meldrick but won't leave him as damaged as Julio did, physically.

Chavez shortened Taylor's career. Looking at him since he quit I wish he'd called it a day after the fight. The Brown, Norris and Espana fights, along with the JCC rematch, were brutal.

 

It's hard to say. The Chavez fight was brutal, and he was never quite the same again.

 

Don't think so. Taylor's style was based around speed and high contact, both of which are exceptionally fleeting or taxing in an athlete, and makes it harder to preserve the high level of performance. Even against a Courtney Hooper he was in a battle, and you can't have TOO many of those before stuff starts going south.

I think his clock was ticking and he needed the stamp of a Chavez fight to get him where he needed to be.

 

Chavez or not, Taylor was going to have troubles because Meldrick Taylor wasn't doing himself any favors. When he was at 140 he would routinely get up 190 between fights.
That roller coaster of gaining and losing 50 pounds 3 or 4 times every year has never been associated with longevity.

 

He'd really balloon up to 190 ? never knew that. That's crazy looking at his small frame seems unreal he'd put on that much weight so quickly. I know when i bulked up when i was weight training it took me ages to put on 14 pounds, how do these boxers balloon up in weight like that so rapidly ? do they literally eat everything in sight ?

 

I have seen guy gain 27 pounds in one week after a fight; this guy weighed 129 the day before a fight and was 155 pounds a week later in the gym.
They put back on all the water weight that they cut leading up to the fight. And, if you have just spent 60-90 days eating and drinking minimally while working out hard...

 

You and I are brothers of the scar. I had bypass surgery December 2011. God bless you my friend.

 

Damage he took in sparring was also a reason for his decline, not only the Chavez fight

 

He ate too many punches to be an ATG.. His fight with Meekins and even McGirt showed swelling, and Howard Davis fight exposed him a bit.