Julio Cesar Chavez vs Meldrick Taylor 2

Julio Cesar Chavez settled his unfinished business with Meldrick Taylor by stopping the former champion in the eighth round at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on September 17, 1994. A left hook sent Taylor down midway through the round, and referee Mills Lane halted the contest after Chavez followed with a succession of unanswered blows. The official time was 1 minute 41 seconds. Chavez retained the WBC super-lightweight championship in the first defence of his second reign and improved his record to 91 victories, one defeat and one draw.

The rematch came four and a half years after their celebrated first contest. In March 1990, Taylor had outboxed Chavez for much of the fight before being dropped in the final round and stopped by Richard Steele with only two seconds remaining. The ending provoked years of argument, although Taylor had taken severe punishment and was badly injured by the time Steele intervened. Taylor subsequently won the WBA welterweight championship, but stoppage defeats by Terry Norris and Crisanto Espana in 1992 indicated that his best years had passed. Three victories earned him another opportunity against Chavez, who had recently regained the WBC title from Frankie Randall by a disputed technical decision.

Both men weighed 140 pounds. Chavez entered with a record of 90–1–1 and received a reported purse of $1 million, while Taylor, 32–3–1, was paid $400,000. A crowd of 15,222 attended a large Don King promotion that also included championship contests featuring Frankie Randall, Felix Trinidad, Gabriel Ruelas, Vincent Pettway and Ricardo Lopez. The main event was billed as “Unfinished Business,” although the four-year delay meant that neither boxer was quite the fighter who had entered the ring in 1990.

Taylor nevertheless began with much of his old purpose. Moving on his toes, he worked behind a quick jab and released combinations before turning away from Chavez’s reply. The champion advanced cautiously, keeping his gloves high and looking for openings to the body. Taylor took the first two rounds on two of the official cards, his speed and movement allowing him to score before Chavez could set his feet. The third was untidy, with infringements affecting the scoring, but Taylor remained active and continued trying to draw the champion forward.

Chavez began closing the distance more effectively through the fourth and fifth. Instead of following Taylor directly, he stepped across the challenger’s path and forced him to work harder to escape. Taylor still produced fast combinations, but he increasingly remained within range after punching. Chavez answered with hooks to the body and short rights to the head, making the exchanges more physical. The champion wasn’t dominating every round, but his punches carried more force, and Taylor’s movement was becoming less assured.

The decisive change came in the sixth. Taylor was penalised a point for a low blow, but a straight right from Chavez did the greater damage. The punch landed cleanly and left Taylor unsteady, his mouth open and his legs no longer responding with their earlier speed. Chavez pressed him towards the ropes and worked with both hands. Taylor continued throwing, but much of his response was instinctive and lacked the sharpness of the opening rounds. By the end of the session, the challenger appeared tired and physically diminished.

Taylor showed sufficient resolve to take the seventh on one official card and share it on another, but he could no longer maintain the distance for long periods. Chavez remained patient, guarding against Taylor’s quick leads and waiting for the opportunity to land cleanly. After seven rounds, judge Malcolm Bulner had Chavez ahead 69–64, while Daniel Van de Wiele and Dave Brown each had the contest level at 66–66. The unusual totals reflected point deductions and the varied scoring of several close rounds.

Midway through the eighth, Chavez found the decisive opening. He landed a sharp left hook to Taylor’s chin, sending the challenger staggering backwards across the ring before he fell heavily onto the seat of his trunks. Taylor rose before the completion of the count, but he was plainly dazed and bleeding from the mouth. Lane examined him and permitted the action to continue. Chavez moved in immediately and landed five or six heavy punches to the head. Taylor’s hands dropped, and he offered no effective return. Lane stepped between the fighters, placed an arm around Taylor and stopped the contest without hesitation.

There was no repetition of the controversy that had followed their first meeting. Taylor complained afterwards, but the circumstances were different. In 1990 he had regained his feet with only seconds remaining; this time more than half the round remained, and he was absorbing unanswered punches without defending himself. Lane’s intervention was both necessary and correctly timed.

The victory restored some authority to Chavez after a difficult period that had included the draw with Pernell Whitaker, his first professional defeat against Randall and the disputed return victory. Taylor had shown flashes of the speed and combination punching that once made him one of America’s leading fighters, but he could not sustain the old fluency. Chavez’s pressure, body punching and superior physical strength steadily removed his mobility before the left hook brought the contest to its conclusion. The first fight had ended with Taylor ahead and victory almost within reach; the rematch ended with Chavez unmistakably in command.

I never saw this as a true continuation of their first fight because it came four years too late. In 1990, Taylor was at his brilliant best and came within two seconds of beating Chavez. By the rematch, defeats to Terry Norris and Crisanto Espana had taken something permanent from him. The hands were still quick, but the legs and resistance were no longer the same.

Taylor started well, boxing on his toes and getting his combinations off before Chavez could answer. But Julio remained patient. He cut the ring down, worked the body and made Taylor expend energy every time he escaped. That was always Chavez’s real strength: not simply pressure, but pressure with purpose.

The sixth-round right hand changed the fight. Taylor’s legs became unsteady, his mouth hung open, and his punches lost their snap. From there, Chavez knew the finish would come. The left hook in the eighth sent Taylor backwards and down, and once he rose, Julio landed several unanswered punches.

Mills Lane’s stoppage was correct. Unlike the first contest, there was time left, and Taylor couldn't defend himself. No controversy this time. Chavez was also past his peak, but he still had his timing, strength and finishing instinct. Taylor showed courage and flashes of the old speed, yet the fighter who nearly beat Chavez in 1990 was no longer there.