Chavez V Taylor I - Sheer heart & will were the keys in this fight

Yes, Chavez had great heart and will, but it was more than that, alot more than that, that got the job done vs Meldrick Taylor.

Chavez imo was one of those out of series fighters that knew his abilities, his strenghths and weaknesses, more than any fighter I can think of.

Margarito offered sheer will and pressure vs Cotto. Chavez actually fought within a game plan.
Its a pity that the uneducated on Chavez just think of him a a come foward type of brawler.
Chavez was not a brawler.....I would call Chavez as skilled an inside technician as there's ever been in boxing.

This is the thing about knowing oneself as a fighter. Chavez knew beforehand he was'nt going to match Taylor's speed punch for punch.
....so he nullified it by using his parrying skills to pick Taylor's shots off, in the process, timing Taylor's shoeshine flurries and consistently unleaching right hand thunder on Taylor's dome.

Taylor landed more, but If its about being effective, Chavez' punch connects were being more effective than the disparity in punch connects.....the sad part is that the people at HBO refuse to acknowleadge it.

Make no mistake gentleman....too many of you need to get educated.....
.....Chavez beat Taylor with more than just heart and will......

.....make the ingredients being heart, will, and a big dose of Skill!!!:deal

 

taylor wasnt miles ahead in this fight like some US commentators would have you believe. A lot of his punches were landing on JCC gloves and arms. JCC was getting in the harder and more cleaner, accurate punches

if this fight was 15 rounds, chavez would of KO's meldrick with no controversy

 

taylor is one of chavez best fights, meldrick taylor was a great fight, with great talent

 

I agree that it is Chavez most famous fight he known for but it is one of his "off" performances in his prime. Chavez was a monster

 

But how many people really thought Taylor was all that terrific a fighter? The guy had fast hands allright, but he sure held them low. And he landed a high volume of punches but really had to put a ton of shots together to get rid of a guy. But that Taylor defense was a huge flaw and it was going to surface against quality opponents but maybe not against the 2nd tier guys.

What surprised me with the bout was how long it took Chavez to get to the guy. Taylor would stand and brawl and Chavez really didn't get his feet in proper position against the guy to go toe to toe. I didn't think going into the bout that Taylor had the defense to go 10 rounds with the guy. But here he was well up at that point in the fight and Chavez wasn't exactly setting traps in there. He'd just eat shots and follow Taylor around & looked like he could end up losing a decision to a guy he should steamroll late.

 

I thought Taylor was a superb fighter at the time.

 

What was superb about his defense and hand placement? Or where did he bring his hands back > punching? The only thing he excelled at was handspeed.

 

What was superb about Taylor was his results.

What was superb about Ali/Clay and his hand placement? He too excelled at handspeed.

Regarding Taylor's handspeed, has anyone ever been faster? Taylor was a superb volume puncher with great stamina and inhuman speed. He also had heart and will.

Taylor's win over McGirt is not to be taken lightly, and his other results were solid. His effort vs Chavez was incredible IMO.

Each to their own tho of course.

 

A fair amount of good writers tipped Taylor to beat Chavez actually.

 

Taylor was a force until Chavez ruined him. Guys with exceptional physical abilities: Taylor, Ali are a couple examples, often neglected being technically sound because they didn't have to be. You can't teach speed and reflexes, and Taylor had an abundance of both.

 

Well. I'm in the minority then. I sure never bought into Taylor anymore than I did Zab Judah. Flashy, yes. But there are major flaws in their overall games. They have fast hands allright, but sure get hit clean a lot for guys w/ huge advantages in handspeed. At any rate, I didn't think Chavez would have any problem after about 4 rounds with they guy & would land far too many punches for a guy like Taylor to absorb for very long.

 

You dont get ruined from one fight, losing at the last second after winning 10 rounds. Where do you get that from?

 

I don't think it was one of his worst performances. On the contrary actually. I thought Chavez performed excellently against Meldrick, though he was clearly behind on the cards due to Meldrick's handspeed which allowed him to vastly outland Chavez. The hard shots though, the shots that eventually took their toll, were all landed by Chavez, who's gameplan and pressure never wavered, even through Taylor's assault.