The ESB British Forum Encyclopedia

I was sure that 'Man Flea' had done a Sumbu Kalambay one :huh

 

I'm posting this in 2 parts, so nobody ****ing post after I've done the first bit, kapeesh?

 

Name: Meldrick Taylor
Nickname: TNT
Born: 1966-10-19, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Stance: Orthodox
Height: 5′ 7½″ / 171cm
Reach: 66’’

Record: 38 (20) – 8(4) – 1

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Born and raised in north Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, home to great fighters such as ‘Smokin’ Joe Frazier, Matthew Saad Muhammad, Tommy Loughran, Sonny Liston, Bennie Briscoe and Jeff Chandler A city with a legendary fighting culture, Meldrick ‘TNT’ Taylor was enticed into the sport of boxing at an early age. Blessed with wonderous speed, of both hand and foot, the talented Taylor quickly built an excellent amateur record of 90-4, culminating with an Olympic gold medal in the Featherweight division at the age of just 17, during the 1984 games in Los Angeles. Besting Andrew Minsker to earn his place on the team (Lauded as one of the greatest in US history, with medals won in all but one division), Taylor comfortably beat every opponent put in front of him, remarkably without dropping a single round in the process. Meldrick outhustled the gifted Peter Konyegwachi in the final bout, displaying superb handspeed and movement in the process and earning the gold medal which would propel him into his much anticipated pro-career.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOzJ48_k2G0[/ame]


Meldrick debuted in the pro ranks the very same year, in the Lightweight division. In his first pro bout, he won with ease, stopping trial horse Luke Lecce in the first round, on a card which featured the debuts of 5 of Taylor's Olympic team-mates. Taylor compiled a record of 11-0 (7KO) before facing his first true test in the form of tough veteran Harold Brazier. Brazier, having never touched the canvas in 41 fights, and coming off an impressive 20 fight win streak, was seen as a man who could give the 19 year old Philly fighter a difficult contest. Brazier lived up to his billing, providing Taylor with a stern test, particularly in the middle rounds of the fight, however Taylor’s effective lateral movement won him the early rounds, and his sublime handspeed the late rounds, which was enough to secure him a Unanimous decision on the judges’ scorecards. Meldrick did display some signs of inexperience in the fight, particularly issues with pacing, which preceded his fight with Howard Davis Jr, a decorated amateur who had won Lightweight gold at the 1976 Olympic Games. Meldrick Taylor and Howard Davis fought to a 10 round draw on 1986-08-16, in what proved to be a very tricky fight for young Taylor as he attempted - and at times struggled - to cope with Davis’s excellent agility and movment. Despite the somewhat dissapointing result, Taylor showed signs of improvement as he pused the veteran fighter to the limit with his pace and blistering speed.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqRdRasj_d0[/ame]

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzPxdVbKhUM[/ame]

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQeh_LGg6Yw[/ame]


Taylor’s next big fight came at the 140 pound weight class in 1988, against the 38-1-1 IBF champion James ‘Buddy’ McGirt. McGirt was coming off arguably the best 2 wins of his career, a 12th round TKO over the unbeaten Frankie ****** (consequently the same man who took Buddy’s ‘0’ 2 years earlier) and a first round KO over Howard Davis Jr, the man who had fought Taylor to a draw in 1996. Many pundits doubted that the aggressive minded Taylor could overcome the technically proficient and defensively crafty Mcgirt, who knew his trade far better than anyone Meldrick had faced before. To the surprise of many however, Taylor fought an almost flawless fight against McGirt, dominating the experienced champion with hard, fast, unanswered combinations, eventually stopping his foe in the final round, as Buddy’s corner threw the towel in to save their exhausted and beaten fighter. It was a coming of age performance for Taylor, who at his young age had never shown such maturity, ability or temperment before in the ring.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZpPJrcpTY8[/ame]

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TukaQu1n2FM[/ame]

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHRu831pyX4[/ame]


Taylor defended his IBF title twice, agaisnt skilled contenders John Meekins and Courtney Hooper, earning a 7th round stoppage and a hard fought UD over the pair respectively. Then, in 1990, came what was to be the biggest fight of Meldrick Taylor’s career – A unification fight with unbeaten , 68-0 Mexican WBC Light Welterweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez, the man regarded as the best pound for pound fighter in the sport. Meldrick knew what he was up against, but was confident that he could best Chavez, a huge favourite pre-fight. The bout was seen as the biggest that could be made in boxing at the time, outside of the heavyweight division, and with neither fighter scared of a tear-up it was predicted to be a barnstormer.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fG0axXkv51w[/ame]


Taylor, a naturally quick starter, compared to the more methodical Chavez, started out very fast, throwing and landing combinations close up in high volume. Taylor would get close to Chavez, throw punches in bunches, most of which landed flush on the Mexican, then dart outwards before Julio could land a combination of his own. This worked a treat in the early and mid rounds, with Chavez losing almost every round handily before the ninth, being outlanded almost 5-1 with punches. It was starting to look like a masterclass from Taylor. He was effectively beating up the P4P number one and looking dominant in the process, landing many and taking few. However, it was the few shots that Taylor was taking which began to turn the tide of the fight. Though he was being outlanded to a massive degree, the few shots Chavez did land were hard ones, often hooks to the body or head which caught Meldrick coming in, causing the most damage they possibly could. For the majority of the fight, Taylor was able to ship the shots, but gradually as the match progressed, the young American began to wear down more and more, showing bad swelling around both eyes entering the championship rounds. By the time round 11 started, Chavez was in control of the fight. Taylor looked worn out, devoid of stamina, and physically damaged, despite appearing to land in significantly higher volume earlier in the fight. Chavez pressed his onslaught, chasing Taylor down and landing hard blows. Meldrick stood his ground, but couldn’t keep up with the champions pressure and was beginning to wilt. Once the bell to end the round sounded, Taylor was so beaten he could barely make it back to his own corner, nearly going to Chavez’s before being correctly directed by the referee. Beaten to a pulp, but still widely winning on the scorecards, Taylor only needed to make it to the end of round 12 to unify the titles and defeat the unbeaten Chavez. Strangely, his corner instructed him to go all out in the final round, instead of the seemingly smart option of moving about to reduce the risk of getting stopped.

What ensued was one of the most controversial incidents in the history of the sport. With around 15 seconds left in the 12th round, Chavez trapped Taylor in the corner and landed a hard right hand which dropped the IBF champ. Taylor, knowing that if he carried on he would win the fight, brought himself to his feet. Richard Steele, the referee, proceeded to ask Taylor if he was okay in order to judge whether he was ready to continue, and seemingly without answer from Taylor, waved the fight off with just 2 seconds remaining. This outraged both Taylor and his trainer Lou Duva, who both felt that the American was in a fit state to continue, they protested angrily, but to no avail, as Chavez was announced the unified champion and Taylor had lost his unbeaten record and IBF title.

 

**** so far.

 

Meldrick Taylor continued.........

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9zKwGeHIgM[/ame]



The ‘Fight of the Decade’

However, his record and belt was not the only thing Taylor lost that night, Meldrick was never the same after that loss. Both physically and mentally, he had been affected in unseen ways. The HBO legendary night feature on the fight explains it better than words ever could:

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFQ2oJ3asaM[/ame]

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dylwo0CPKKw&feature=related[/ame]

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4fkqBvP244&feature=related[/ame]


Not to be deterred, as one would expect from a Philly fighter, little under 5 months after the Chavez defeat, Taylor was back. This time campaigning at Welterweight. Meldrick made his debut at 147 pounds with a comfortable 10 round decision over Primo Ramos. Not feeling the need to test the waters anymore, Taylor was immediately thrust into his first title bout at the weight versus the unbeaten Aaron Davis. Davis, 32-0 had won his WBA world title with a stoppage over Mark Breland (an Olympic team-mate of Taylor’s) and was a quick, rangy fighter with a good jab and excellent stamina. If Taylor had lost anthing against Chavez, it wasn’t his lighting fast hand and foot speed, which was key in his beating of the game Davis. Taylor consistently beat Davis to the punch, and out-fought his taller counterpart with flashy combinations up close. The champ had his successes, but couldn’t frequent his jab on the smaller Taylor, therefore being unable to establish a rythm, he had little success in regularly finding his man, and had his title taken from him via Unanimous decision, winning no more than 4 rounds on any of the 3 scorecards.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1UW9BW7g28[/ame] [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umWnuKzBKtc&feature=related[/ame]

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKSbWqjOwoE&feature=related[/ame] [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qj8T51GJU7c&feature=related[/ame]

In the first defence of his newly acquired title, Taylor locked horns with the unbeaten Luis Gabriel Garcia. Garcia, a well travelled 22-0 Venezuelan fighter proved a tricky customer, at times surprising the champion with his sharp reflexes and prodding jab. Both fighters however were largely innacurate, missing a significant number of punches between them in the bout as neither was able to really establish their rythm. Taylor was the more active fighter, and his domination of Garcia in the middle rounds of the fight was enough to secure him a fairly comfortable victory on the judges scorecards, one of which oddly had the fight 117-114 in Garcia's favour, despite the Venezuelan being outfought closely in most rounds.

Taylor’s next big defence followed almost a year later against Glenwood Brown. Brown, a hard puncher with a respectable 34-2 record, was coming off a close split decision loss in an IBF title fight with Maurice Blocker. Taylor defeated Brown by Unanimous decision, outspeeding him and outworking him over the course of the fight, but it was by no means an easy match for the defending champ, as Brown dropped Taylor twice in the opening four rounds, including a particularly hard left hook knockdown at the end of the 1st. Taylor recovered quickly to outfight Brown down the stretch and earn himself a hard fougth victory. It was the first time Meldrick Taylor’s punch resistance was really brought into question during his career, though it would not be the last.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mGjnFRhdZE[/ame] [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFeHEGhQPr8&feature=related[/ame]

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0XeaYKbC_w&feature=related[/ame] [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZ5fujoc8vg&feature=related[/ame]

The Brown victory would prove to be the final significant win of Meldrick Taylor’s career. Shortly afterwards, Taylor (against his better judgement) moved up to the 154 pound division to face WBC light middleweight champion Terry Norris. In what was viewed as a strange move on Taylor’s handlers part, considering the trouble Taylor had at Welterweight in regards to size, Taylor challenged the 31-3 speedster in May of 1992. In a one sided bout from start to finish, Taylor was battered in four painful rounds by the dominant Norris, ultimately answering the question of whether Taylor’s punch resistance was under scrutiny as he made short work of the smaller fighter, handing Taylor his second professional loss in brutal fashion.

Though defeated, Taylor still had his WBA Welterweight title, and never one to back down from a challenge, he instantly tried to rebound from his loss with a big title defence against another unbeaten Venezuelan in Crisanto Espana. It was to be the last top level fight of Taylor’s career, as he was stopped in Eight by the powerful challenger, subsequently losing his title. It was the second loss in a row for Taylor, and one that he simply could not bounce back from. He was a fighter deemed to be past his best, stoppage losses to the Chavez and Norris, as well as several hard, gruelling fights at Welterweight, had taken their toll on Taylor. He had neither the reflexes nor punch resistance to compete at the top level anymore, and his career slid into obscurity.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtwf6zxVOZc[/ame] [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XI_4NjVgxdY[/ame]


Taylor went on to compile a record of 9-5 following the Espana defeat. His only notable fight being a second stoppage loss to Julio Cesar Chavez, this time coming via 8th round beat down. He finally retired in 2002. Fondly remembered as one of the fastest and most exciting fighters of all time, a talented and qualified combatant at both amateur and professional level, and a fighter who had not an ounce of ‘quit’ in him, to phrase a certain commentator. A true Philadelphia fighter, who embodied everything a man who steps into the squared circle should be.

Please watch this highlight vid if you haven’t seen it:


[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=porsK2f9emo[/ame]

 

Words don't express my rage.

 

Nice one, got a soft spot for Meldrick.

 

Sorry that I had to do the vids one on top of the other, if I did them next to each other, the text stretches across the page and it's harder to read.

 

It gets put into two parts on the OP, which is where people read them from, so a post in there has no bearing.

 

You're timing was impeccable, I'll give you that. I posted one after the other as fast as I could

 

If it hadnt been put into the opening page once it was posted, before moving on to the second half of the bio every future reader would have to read Pabs less than impressed opinion of the piece.

Good job btw, covers his career well:thumbsup

 

Thanks SPK :good

And jpab I just read your Augustus one for the first time, and it was great. Been on my phone last few weeks so couldn't see vids, so I thought I wait, and I really enjoyed it. Didn't know you were such a big fan.

 

And my word is gospel around here so people would have deemed it to be true almost instantly.

Agreed, not enough swearing for my taste, but still great.

Thanks Brah/Rasta/Euro-ite/Herbzgster/erm.........CunningTard?:blood

Yeah, don't know why, but the lunatic really grew on me. Weird, seeing as when I look back on certain fighters that I'd deem to be a waste of talent, Taylor being one of them, I'm more frustrated with them as opposed to being a big fan of them. Gotta love Augustus though, seems as though I have a partiality for fighters who judges like to screw over. Judges like DOUG TUCKER for instance.

 

Augustus got screwed more than a thai hooker (and that's not a subliminal shot at the Flea Man). I'd love to see his fight with Vernon Paris, you know. I heard that one was a bad robbery too.

 

:huh I'd swear I've used that joke before, definitely used it on Facebook anyways.

Wasn't that bad. As I said in the post though, just too wide really. It was close, but it was the inevitability as much as anything else that pissed people off.