Should Chavez-Taylor have been stopped?

In hindsight, it was the wrong time to stop the fight. Two seconds left in the round? If he'd ran across the ring, Chavez might have had time to land an arm-punch.

HOWEVER, the key thing is that Steele didn't know there was only two seconds left in the fight. I don't like Steele as a ref and I think he'd got very dirty hands, but he made the right call. For all he knew, there could be enough time left in the round for Chavez to do permanent damage.

So basically, it's fair to say "Looking back, it was a shame it was stopped", but that's hardly grounds to criticise Steele on. He made the right choice and Chavez showed the right goods to win the fight fair and square.

 

Exactly. People act like Richard Steele owed Meldrick Taylor and HAD to let him continue because of how much time was left in the contest. It doesn't work that way...if a fighter can't continue then he can't continue.

Steele's not the time keeper and his job is to look out for the fighter's health and safety, not their chances of winning the fight. If Steele thought Taylor was unable to continue and was hurt then the decision was proper.

 

Worst stoppage in boxing history. Taylor was robbed that night of a career defining win and would have won because he was ahead on the judges cards.

 

the better fighter won. End of story.

 

:nono 2 seconds?!atsch Aztek, are you a troll?

 

Please there was less than 10 seconds left in the fight. By the time that Chavez would have gotten across the ring he might of landed one punch if that, Taylor wouldn't have been stopped. Horrible stoppage by Steele he saw the red light signaling 10 seconds left Taylor beat the count you don't rob a man of his dream like that in the final round in the last seconds you give him a chance to fight on. No way you can justify it...no way.:bart

 

Chavez is the better fighter no doubt but Taylor should have won that fight. Bull**** stoppage.

 

From the surface, it looks like a bullsh*t stoppage. That was my first reaction when i heard/watched about this fight. I thought Taylor was done an injustice. But if you look more closely, it happened for a reason. And if you read this thread from start to finish, you will see the reasons why.

 

When the referee asks you to respond, you have to respond.

End of story.

And Meldrick was my favorite fighter at the time and after years of complaining, you cannot refute the statement above.

Time is irrelevant.

 

I was freaking out willing Taylor to look at Steele, nod, take a step forward, do anything but he didn't leaving Steele with no choice.

Right call by the ref but a terrible way to lose the fight.

 

Yeah ... Taylor was getting hurt really bad and the duty of the ref is to look out for the saftey of fighters.

Steele seen that Taylor was getting hit alot more and he wasn't responding ... no matter what time of the fight - if the guy is getting beat up then the fight should be stopped. I don't think that the ref should be aware of anything besides the fight ... and the two fighters ... you give all these clues that the fight was about to end ... but who's supposed to pay attention to that ... when you got a guy in front of you getting beat up.

After the fight Taylor was truely messed up ... pissing blood ... fractured cheek bone or broken jaw i'm not sure but it was brutal.

 

Fitz, we rarely if ever disagree about boxing, but I think it was utter bull**** that Taylor got robbed of the W. Sure he was getting beat up and the ref knew it. But the ref also knew it was the last round. The only way i would stop a fight in the last round is after a 10 count. Taylor deserved more than what he got.

 

Yeah but who's to say that he was going to get the decision?

 

I didn't say he would get the decision, but I think he deserved it to go to the cards. Not to be taken from him by the ref.

 

So you saying D if you were in the same situation that you wouldn't have stopped the fight?