What does it matter who was leading at the time of a KO?

Hearns vs Leonard # 1 is the poster child for this post.
From some points of view from this site if Hearns didn't get K'oed, he would've beaten Leonard, and was actually outboxing him for most of the fight. ( By the way, which of Hearn's opponents outboxed him,,,,, I'll wait)
They turn what should actually be credits for both fighters, which is having the ability to change tactics in the heat of a fight, to somehow a lucky break for Leonard.
Never got that rather short sited view of that fight.

 

Oh absolutely he wrecked Taylor, I just note it how extreme the circumstances were.

 

This fight is a great example of why fights are 12rds today.
Though Taylor clearly landed more punches on Chavez than Chavez landed on him, he took much worse punishment from Chavez's pinpoint accuracy and harder punches.
Because of the damage Chavez did, Taylor's career was pretty much over. He never looked quite as good as he did prior to their 1st fight.
It was a blessing in disguise the fight was only 12rds. Though the ending was controversial, it may have saved Taylor's life.
From rd 8 on to the end Chavez was wrecking Taylor, but it was very subtle .
Nothing flashy as Taylor was landing on him but far more effective and damaging.
If the fight had been for 15rds, we would've had a much more definitive and emphatic win for Chavez........
And very possible the death of Mel Taylor.
I'm old school, and loved the 15rd fights.
From the 10rd to the 15th were considered the championship rds back in the day.
But in this case, 12rds probably saved a man's life in my opinion.

 

It doesn't, it's a consolation prize for the fans of the loser................."he was winning.........until he lost". Ummmmmmmmmmmm ok.........

 

Another factor people never seem to think about going into a fight is which guy is going to absorb the opponents punches better.

Pretty simple with this bout where the wear and tear was going to be the 2nd half of the fight. And Chavez didn't necessarily get stronger as a bout went on, but he didn't weaken. Lots and most boxers are a lot different in the 10th round than they are in the 2nd. That becomes a big factor in some matches like this one. And Taylor was never going to stop this guy unless it was via cuts. So it was a matter of getting in great shape for 12 rounds. And the ability to absorb punishment for the duration of the fight. We knew the guy in the other corner could do it.

Like you said- 15 rounds and it's academic. Those are the championship rounds and a big subtraction from the sport with that rule change. Just think how much better some of these guys since would have been in the conditioning department. Because they had to be.

 

Chavez also opened a cut in Taylor’s mouth in round 2 I believe. Round 2 is the only round I gave to Chavez among the first 8 rounds, but he was indeed landing heavier shots throughout.

I usually think the “what if it was scheduled for 12/15?” fights are tough to gauge since fighters will pace and react differently, but I totally agree that JCC wins without controversy in a 15 rounder. It wasn’t as if Taylor was winning with great movement and defense. He was winning through amazing workrate, and taking hard shots throughout. He was going to be in range for JCC and take hard shots.

I also imagine that Philly gym wars took its toll on Taylor. He did look good a year after Chavez winning a title against Davis in a division he really wasn’t suited for, but he declined SO rapidly throughout 92’.

 

I don’t really think much of it.

So a guy was ahead on points before he lost? In the words of Derrick Coleman, “whoopty damn do”.

I’ll take note of it when it comes to a rematch or the guy’s future bouts. Like I figured Brewster would lose the rematch to Wlad. Can’t always count on the other guy to punch himself out or have a panic attack or whatever. Or if a guy has a tendency to fall behind on points and rally with late knockouts, well, sooner or later you’re not going to be able to pull it off if you keep falling behind.

Plus, he wasn’t even “schooling” Garcia that badly anyway. He won the first 2 rounds and threw some flashy flurries. He was hardly dominating Garcia, who was working on timing Khan with the left hook.

 

Excellent point about the Philly gym wars, So many fighters
over the years left a part of themselves in those gyms in that
city.
Espescially middleweights.

 

Gil Clancy talked about Philly gym wars during one of the Qawi-Saad fights and how it probably took a toll on Saad.

Saad already took enough punishment in fights and then you add the gym wars to it.

 

I've always thought like this @Saintpat .

Some fans can't handle the opposing fighter winning in unpredictable fashion.

 

Haha, was it you who said it?
Yeah I agree. There was a back and forth ebb and flow where Garcia was clearly adjusting to Khan's speed. It's almost as funny as when Brooklyn guys claimed Judah would school Tszyu in a rematch after he got ko'd at the end of the second.