Seriously How Can You Stop That Fight?

[MindBat]

That fight was talked about for months after the controversial stoppage.

Taylor would have won that night had he responded with a simple "yes" or "no". The bell was a mere seconds away from ringing and as wrecked as Taylor looked, he would have been the winner by split or majority decision.

Steele didn't get the answer he was waiting to hear, and figured Taylor was
busy counting colorful stars and called the fight off.

[DLT]

That fight was talked about for months after the controversial stoppage.

Taylor would have won that night had he responded with a simple "yes" or "no". The bell was a mere seconds away from ringing and as wrecked as Taylor looked, he would have been the winner by split or majority decision.

Steele didn't get the answer he was waiting to hear, and figured Taylor was
busy counting colorful stars and called the fight off.

Thats probably ture but still..............

you have to know that its at the very end or atleast near the end. You have to give a great undefeated champ that respect. You cant do that to him in his biggest fight. Again, thats not even adding the fact that the fool shouldve seen the red light blinking behind Taylor

[CubanGuyNYC]

What a slick, young fighter Meldrick was. He was something to behold. Have you seen him lately? He's absolutely shot, not just as a fighter, either. Many say that the Chavez fight is primarily to blame. I agree.

Richard Steele's stoppage has been debated ever since. Some say he was in Don King's pocket. Whether that's true, I have no idea. But, if you consider the circumstances: Lou Duva distracting Taylor to the point that Steele might have thought Taylor was out of it; and the thrashing that Meldrick was taking, it's difficult to blame the referee.

To me, it was just one of those judgement calls that could've gone either way. Unfortunately, it came at a questionable time in a classic fight. Sure, Taylor would probably have finished on his feet and won the fight, had he been allowed to continue. He could also have taken just one more good shot from a legendary hitter like JCC and lapsed into a coma, dying sometime thereafter.

Bantamweight Francisco Rodriguez died on Sunday (11/22/09), two days after his fight with Teon Kennedy. Another Bantamweight, Z Gorres, was recently in a medically induced coma, after his victory against Luis Melendez. In light of these and many more tragedies, who can truly blame a referee for protecting a fighter's safety? It's best to err on the side of caution.

[Thread Stealer]

Meldrick's welterweight title win over Aaron 'Superman' Davis was one of his best performances outside of the JC Chavez I and Buddy McGirt fights.

Most welterweights were simply too big for him and he could no longer make 140. Taking the Terry Norris fight was just another "brilliant" move by Duva along with him distracting Taylor when Steele was asking Meldrick whether he was able to continue or not.

I've mentioned this as a big reason why I feel Taylor never would've had that much longevity at the highest level, Chavez or not. Taylor was still a very formidable fighter after Chavez even if not fully recovered, but Taylor had that stocky frame and weight problems at 140. He did make 140 in 1994, but he was probably desperate at that point for a big fight (and it only took one round of punishment for his legs to go).

147 was loaded in talent, with strong guys who could hit (Brown, Trinidad, Quartey) and skilled boxers (stablemate Whitaker, former Taylor victim McGirt). Unless Taylor's management protected him, he probably wouldn't have lasted long as a champ. And considering the fact that Taylor's management let him fight Chavez after 22 or so pro fights, and then let him fight Norris at 150 after his struggle with Glenwood Brown, they obviously were not the protective type.

Espada was a mandatory anyway, so Taylor had to fight him to keep his title. Espada always would've been a tough style matchup for Taylor.

I largely blame Duva for Taylor losing to Chavez. At least Taylor would have the win over Chavez on his ledger, even if he was going to have a quick reign at the top.