I wasn't a fan of either of these guy's and always rooted AGAINST them, so im unbiased as they come, that being said, Whitaker would win a very comfortable decision, in a not so competitive match... Taylor was pretty much done and finished after Chavez beat the hell out of him in March 1990...
Whitaker would have won. Meldrick was obviously never the same after the Chavez fight. But, even if Taylor/Chavez had never happened I think Whitaker would still have outpointed Taylor. He was too slick for Meldrick.
Well, let's have it make more sense than. 1990... instead of Taylor fighting Julio Cesar Chavez (March of 1990), and instead of Whitaker fighting Azumah Nelson (May of 1990)... they fight each other in the spring of 1990. Taylor had more experience at JWW and Whitaker had yet to officially move up from LW... but Whitaker had a few non-title fights at JWW at this point. The point is he could handle fighting at 140 Lbs. just fine in 1990. Who wins this fight? I think it is a great match-up and Taylor would most likely be favored. People sometimes forget how things really were back in those days, or at least the way things were perceived. Taylor was faster, stronger, hit harder, and at this point he was seen as a durable fighter who could throw punches in bunches for 12 rounds. He could definitely handle anything Whitaker would throw at him. Whitaker beat Roger Mayweather W12. Mayweather dropped him in the 1st round. He went 1-1 vs. Jose Luis Ramirez, most felt Whitaker deserved both decisions though. He had also beat Greg Haugen and Freddie Pendleton. He fought a close fight with Nelson but did win the decision (Nelson's first fight at 135). Taylor had outboxed and stopped James Buddy McGirt in the 12th round. He had also beat Harold Brazier, Primo Ramos, and Jaime Balboa KO5. He drew with Howard Davis Jr. He fought an excellent fight vs. Chavez before being stopped with just 2 seconds left in the fight. Anything could happen. I'll take Taylor by decision... Whitaker doesn't have enough power to disrupt Taylor.
Whitaker is just too good for Taylor... It simply comes down to who's better and in more areas and that is distinctly whitaker
