I have just orderd Norris's career set and was wondering what people thought of the win. I realise that Meldrick was still a top quality boxer after the JCC fight, but he never amazed like he did before. How good was Meldrick (especially at the weight) when Norris stopped him. Has anyone seen anyone of his 154 fights around that time and saw what kind of shape he was in? Did he have something left or was this a case of Norris picking on a completely shot fighter past his best weight?
Meldrick was always in top shape/Body wise. Problem was above 140lbs his style didn't serve him as much. He lost some velocity on his punches & The opponents hit harder. It still hurts me to watch that Crisanto España fight Vs. Taylor. (The fight he took right after the Norris Fight, He lost his WW championship) I say at the time If I recall, Norris got about as much credit as Floyd did for the JMM fight.
Probably one the worst decisions of Taylor's career to take that fight. Taylor was good but he had no business at that weight. He was still good post-Chavez especially when he beat Aaron Davis but imo Norris put nail in the coffin for later success in Taylor's career. He gave Chavez a great scrap in the rematch but got stopped again. To Hatesrats, the fight wasn't all bad for Taylor but as soon as Espana toke control of it then it turned into a complete beating. Still hurts me as a Taylor fan to see the later parts of that fight.
Taylor was done. He'd looked awful before this and Terry Norris was a beast who would destroy anyone smaller then him. Not one of Terrible Terry's better wins IMO. Taylor should've been protected at this point of his career...in fights he had a chance of winning where he wouldn't take a lot of damage, not put in against a prime Norris who was vicious when he smelt blood. The tarzan shorts Meldrick was wearing should tell you all about his mental state.
What were Norris's better wins in your opinion. Evreyone has there own opinion as his best wins seemed to be agianst past there best little guys apparently.
Taylor was always going to have trouble above 140 with the talent level @ WW, along with Taylor's style, and his (lack of) power & size. Part of the reason why I think the "Chavez ruined Taylor's chance at ATG-ness" thing is overblown. Taylor, by his own admission, had weight problems at 140 and had to move up (this is not hard to envision given his stocky frame). To go up above WW just made it even worse. Taylor had a pretty good performance over Davis a year after losing to Chavez, it was the 2nd best win of his career, and alright in a non-title defense over an overmatched Ernie Chavez. But you could see the vulnerabilities Taylor had in next title defense, against Glenwood Brown. It was a good win in the sense that Taylor rose from 2 KDs to beat a bigger opponent and respectable fighter, but he looked shaky. Dropped twice, shaken a couple other times. The way he was reacting to some of the shots was troubling. When you see a fighter get hit and he kind of momentarily stops. I remember seeing that in addition to the KDs. You'd think after that fight, that his management wouldn't want to put him in there with Terry Norris. Maybe they knew his time at the top was short and it was a "cash-out" fight.
terry norris was one of my favourate fighters of all time. he had it all, the skills, talent, power, speed, and a fragile chin. he was also a hot headed and emotional fighter, he hit both ray leonard and don curry while they were on the canvas and lost by DQ 3 times. towards the end of his career his skills seemed to disappear overnight, his balance and footwork were poor and he became easy to hit. so much so, that the NSAC revoked his licence. he now lives in los angeles and sadly has parkinson's disease. outstanding fighter.
