By CompuBox, 25 years of Punch Stats and Still Counting

March 17, 1990 – Chavez KO 12 Taylor – Leaving It All in the Ring

For boxing and its fans, boxing in the 1990s already was off to a tremendous start. In February, James “Buster” Douglas became sports history’s most famous 42-to-1 underdog by stopping the “unstoppable” Mike Tyson to win the undisputed heavyweight championship.

Now – on St. Patrick’s Day – they would be granted the good fortune of seeing two of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world meet to unite two pieces of the junior welterweight title. Meldrick Taylor was the IBF champion, a man blessed with lightning hand speed and superb lateral movement but when push came to shove he loved to rumble. “It’s the Philly fighter in me,” he explained. Those tools led the 23-year-old to 24 wins along with a draw to Howard Davis Jr.

In the other corner was WBC king Julio Cesar Chavez, who at age 27 was a legend in the making. His strength-sapping aggression and pinpoint power punching propelled him to a wondrous 68-0 record, among the longest unbeaten streaks from the beginning of a career in boxing history. He previously captured belts at 130 and 135 before becoming a triple champion by stopping Roger Mayweather in the 10th round. In a fitting bit of symmetry, both men were making the third defense of their belts.

Both fighters’ strategies were hardly a secret. Taylor’s corner – consisting of Lou Duva and George Benton – wanted their man to fight at long range within a circle at ring center while Chavez’s brain trust preferred a chest-to-chest slugfest. Both would get their way.

As expected, Taylor started fast by landing 33 of 92 total punches in round one while the notoriously slow-starting Chavez was again mired in mud as he threw just 27 punches and landed nine. This pattern continued through round five and Taylor built an enormous statistical lead. Taylor’s totals read 166 of 488 (34 percent) to Chavez’s 78 of 206 (38 percent). During that timeframe Taylor landed 34 punches per round – nearly double the junior welterweight average – while throwing 98 per frame, 30 percent above the divisional norm. Meanwhile Chavez was throwing just 41 punches per round, no doubt inhibited by Taylor’s offensive onslaught. Still, Taylor’s hyperactivity was giving the man known as “JC Superstar” opportunities to land damaging counter punches.

Through eight rounds Taylor had landed 269 of 708 total punches to 137 of 172 for Chavez, but a slow and almost imperceptible shift of momentum was taking place. As Taylor’s pace started to ebb, Chavez’s engine found a new gear as his pace rolled into the mid-60s. Chavez was doing all the little things that only master in-fighters know and appreciate and the damage he wrought was mounting up on Taylor. The Philadelphian’s eye was swollen and a cut inside the mouth forced Taylor to swallow his own blood.

Still, the valiant Taylor continued to push the pace as he threw and landed more punches in round 10 but Chavez inflicted more damage as he hurt Taylor early in the round, then again with a four-punch salvo late in the stanza.

Possibly fearing some Don King chicanery, Benton and Duva urged their charge that he needed to win the last round to cement victory. Taylor responded as only a great champion would as he pushed his pain-riddled and exhausted body into throwing 116 punches, of which 39 landed. Chavez, who surely knew he needed to produce something dramatic, landed 23 of his 67 punches, but he made every one of them count. Midway through the round, Chavez hurt Taylor with a right hand. Then, in the final seconds, a Chavez right cross sent Taylor to the canvas in a heap. Taylor arose at five as referee Richard Steele administered the mandatory eight count. As he did so, Steele twice asked Taylor if he was OK with no obvious response. That was because he was looking at Duva, who inexplicably raced up to the ring apron. Because Taylor’s attention was diverted during the critical moments of Steele’s examination, the veteran referee felt justified to wave off the fight with just two seconds left on the clock.

The scorecards revealed that Taylor was tantalyzingly close to a career-transforming win. Entering the final round he was ahead 107-102 and 108-101 with Chavez up 105-104 on the other card. Had Taylor engendered even a minimal response, he would have captured a split decision and put to rest Chavez’s historic winning streak. He certainly had a definitive statistical lead, for Taylor landed 457 of 1,176 (39 percent) to Chavez’s 258 of 701 (37 percent). But it was not to be.

The stunning result would cement Chavez’s legendary status, for he demonstrated Hall of Fame-caliber grit by absorbing tremendous punishment while still having the ability and determination to mount a stirring rally in the 10th and score a dramatic knockdown in the bout’s final moments.

Taylor’s 457 connects – his 38 per round doubled the junior welterweight average – remains the 10th highest total landed in a championship fight. He paid dearly for his outstanding offensive effort as he spent four days in the hospital. He suffered a fracture of the bone behind his left eye, which caused blurred vision from the third round on. He received two pints of blood to replace what he had lost. There was blood in his urine and he was dehydrated.

Sadly, Taylor was never the same fighter after the disheartening loss to Chavez. He lost seven of his last 21 fights, including knockout losses to Chavez (KO by 8 in the 1994 rematch), WBC super welterweight champion Terry Norris (KO by 4) and Crisanto Espana, brother of former WBA lightweight champion Ernesto Espana (KO by 8). A 35-year-old Taylor lost the last fight of his career, a 10-round decision to journeyman Wayne Martell on an Indian reservation in Minnesota.

The theatrical victory also took its toll on Chavez. Though his undefeated string eventually grew to 89 fights, he played second fiddle to Tyson in King’s stable for the next five years and never won another superfight. On September 10, 1993 he received a gift draw against Pernell Whitaker despite being out-landed 311-220 overall. Three fights later he was upset by Frankie “The Surgeon” Randall and was twice stopped by Oscar de la Hoya (four rounds in 1996 and eight rounds in 1998). The latter loss saw Chavez quit on his stool after more than holding his own in a toe-to-toe war with the “Golden Boy.” He retired in 2005 at age 43 with a remarkable record of 107-6-2 with 82 knockouts and is a shoo-in to be a member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame’s Modern Class of 2011, where, coincidentally, he may be joined by Tyson.

Steele’s intervention would spark a debate that will probably burn forever. Chavez’s supporters would declare that their man’s final round surge was the ultimate demonstration of his greatness, for only the true legends can transform sure defeat into unforgettable victory. His detractors would reply that the luck of the Irish must have chosen to vacation in Mexico that year, for while it was a miracle it was one that should have never taken place with so little time left on the clock.

Whatever one thinks about the final result, all would agree that the action that preceded it was a worthy successor to the history that unfolded five weeks and thousands of miles away.