This day in 1990, JC Chavez wrecked Meldrick Taylor

And he is right as 20/20 vision means you have standard vision; your vision at 20 feet, what the average person can visualise at 20 feet.


For the metaphor to work you should say hindsight is 20/1.

 

It's a great fight, and personally, I've never thought there was anything controversial about the stoppage aside from when it occured. If that had happened the round before, I don't think we'd here a peep about it being a stoppage.

Mel did amazing with his speed and short, precise shots. He also showed some unbelievable combinations in there as well as a big Philly heart. Also, I hate the narrative that Chavez was doing nothing while Taylor boxed his ears off. Taylor was aggressively throwing combo, stepping back and turning off. Chavez was landing some impressive tripwire hooks and cross-counters. He also managed to get off some of those vicious body shots, as well. He may have lost the rounds, but he broke Taylor down.

Great fight, round ten is incredible.

 

And we all know the real reason most are so sore about the stoppage...


Most people who thought they were smart enough to predict the result, saw a chance to make some money as Taylor on points was such an attractive price.


I thought I was one of them smart ones, but I was wrong, I do not blame Steele I think he made the right call at the time, and as the Taylor's injuries came to light, it was even clearer Steele had done the right thing.

 

A better corner wouldn't have sent Taylor out for the 12th. His face was a bloody mask, exhausted he had collapsed to the canvas throwing a punch in the 11th. He was a good young champion that had a future ahead of him. Live to fight another day. They sent him out there to stand toe to toe. He couldn't hurt him for 11 rounds but now the little PeaShooter is gonna back up the great Chavez?
The arrogance of the Duvas.

 

One of the best fights I've ever seen. Writer William Nack said that Taylor's prime was literally "beaten" out of him that night! Dr. "Flip" Homansky said that Taylor had a bad facial fracture...was peeing pure blood...and that his face was "grotesquely" swollen...and that he showed signs of disorientation and short term memory loss after the fight was over! Taylor said he was upset that Steele had stopped the fight without giving him a count...or asking him if he was "OK!" He was shown a replay of the last round! Taylor was never the same again!

 

I always saw the 8 count as serving the purpose of allowing a fighter to clear his head and giving him the chance to get back into the fight.

Like I said, I have no problem with a fight being stopped if a guy is completely dazed, wobbly, or unresponsive. The problem is some refs don't do that, they may stop a fight simply because of a black eye/the guy took a nasty shot he didn't recover from, etc. Yet other refs will allow a guy to get absolutely clobbered for a full minute straight being beaten from pillar to post before they finally decide to stop it. Hence why so many stoppages are controversial because it really boils down the taste and preference of individual referees which are completely subjective and as varied as the fighter's themselves.

So my question is why does boxing insist on leaving things open for interpretation instead of enforcing universal rules in regards to things like stoppages? Or at least narrowing it down to a limited number of options so that the fans aren't complaining that one fighter got to make a comeback while another was barely even hurt and stopped on his feet while protesting?

 

Uniformity would be great. Things like Jack Reiss giving Fury field sobriety tests, walking back and forth in the 12 rd of the first fight is a type of situation I think of that either needs to be implemented across the board or done away with across the board. things like that shouldn't be up to individual judgment calls

 

Yeah this forum hates Wilder with a burning passion but even Stevie Wonder could see Fury caught an amazing break in that 12th round. Many refs would have ended it the moment he hit the canvas, let alone wasted time having him walk around and ask questions. That was a vicious knockdown and 95% of heavyweights would have either been knocked out or unable to continue in that moment.

 

I think it’s a damn shame the fight ended that way. The stoppage is defensible (as Duva’s antics appeared to have distracted Taylor) but I still disagree with it. Taylor deserved to win that fight. He’d weathered the bad early eye injury and outboxed the legendary Junior Cesar Chavez round after round.

 

Taylor was never the same after this. Emotionally and mentally he was done. Such a shame, such a talented fighter.
Chavez was a killer.

 

I think the "Taylor deserved it on account of his performance to that point of the fight" argument, which is just as popular as the "Steele made the absolutely correct call" is the weakest argument those on the Taylor side of the fence make. At it's core, that opinion basically says that the rules should go out the window in the final moments of the fight if one fighter seemingly could/should be ahead by a wide margin if they are able to make it to the end. I just don't get that at all. Like it or not, victory by KO is just as legitimate as one by decision. Last, "buzzer beaters" are legit wins in every sport that has a running clock. It is heartbreaking in every sport to lose in the very last seconds but it is just one of many possible outcomes as legit as any other legally obtained win.

 

Even if Taylor got the decision, he would have lost the flight but won the boxing match

Would have been what Apollo Creed said in Rocky ... I won but I didn't beat him

 

Here we go again