Chavez - Taylor stoppage

[cornerman]

I do think that Taylor was able to continue, however he didnt answer Richard Steele when asked if he was okay, so he was right to stop the fight. It just seems suspicious by the fact that there was only 2 seconds left in the fight, if Taylor had carried on he would definatley have won and also that Chavez was a Don King fighter on a Don King PPV.
IMHO Steele was in a no win situation, but he made the right choice.

[Rspen46]

Who Knows!

I have to believe the Ref, when he said it made no difference how much or how little time was ever left on the clock, he said he knew the round was close to ending, but exactly how close, he was not sure, so when he looked at Taylor, asked him questions & Taylor looked away to look at dumbass Duva jumping up on the ring without answering, & seeing his pummeled face & watching Chavez, chop him down the whole fight, yes he stopped it & I agree, of course as a Ref in that situation, you have some idea of the round coming to a close, but exactly how much, no, the ref like anyone else was caught up in the fight, & saw Taylor was beaten & he stopped it, it's just too bad, there was not more time on the clock, so we would not be talking about this.

Chavez, broke him down every single round of the fight, & by the end, he had taken years off Taylor & made a young super talented boxer, & aging older boxer, you won't see it often in 1 fight, but it happened in this one.

[mickey malone]

Taylor was ahead, no question, but Steel just doing his job when Meldrick ran out of gas.

[SBleeder]

Good stoppage. Taylor was cooked.

Tough break about the timing, but the fight was scheduled for 12 rounds, not 11.95 rounds.

[T.Horton]

Richard Steele was a corrupt, Don King ref. He knew exactly how much time was left (even though he denied it after the fight) because as a ref that's part of your job.

Bull**** stoppage. Taylor should have at least been able to say he won that fight seeing as he's completely ruined as a human being now.

[mickey malone]

Richard Steele was a corrupt, Don King ref. He knew exactly how much time was left (even though he denied it after the fight) because as a ref that's part of your job.

Bull**** stoppage. Taylor should have at least been able to say he won that fight seeing as he's completely ruined as a human being now.

Your hate for King overshadows the facts.. I know, because i've said the same thing myself, but the more i watch the fight, the more i think Taylor was spent.. Chavez, like it or not is an atg, and most of the time, you just need just a little bit more than a big heart & incredible handspeed, in order to beat a fighter like that.. The last few seconds of that bout, were reminiscent of a public stoning, Taylor's head was on a loose neck and being pivoted about like a ping pong ball.. The words, subdural haematona come to mind. Suffered by many a fighter, with far more oxygen flow than Taylor had in his tank.. Good stoppage, end of story

[young_robbed]

I can't see how this is such a great stoppage. If he had let him go on Taylor would have survived to the final bell no question.

[Anthony342]

Like Scott, I think how much time left SHOULD be a factor in stoppages, especially if the hurt fighter has a chance of winning. Taylor should have been allowed to continue, but only because it was the end of the round. Anymore time left and it's a good stoppage. Steele really didn't have much of a choice though, because Taylor didn't respond. Taylor's attention was distracted, so he probably didn't hear Steele as he wasn't listening to him. The corner shouldn't have distracted him or Steele should've made sure he had Taylor's attention before making his decision. This and the stoppage in the first Tyson-Ruddock fight have pretty much dogged Steele his whole career. At least with the Tyson fight, you could see Ruddock was about to be finished in a few punches and Tyson also won a rematch a few months later.

[joseph5620]

Your hate for King overshadows the facts.. I know, because i've said the same thing myself, but the more i watch the fight, the more i think Taylor was spent.. Chavez, like it or not is an atg, and most of the time, you just need just a little bit more than a big heart & incredible handspeed, in order to beat a fighter like that.. The last few seconds of that bout, were reminiscent of a public stoning, Taylor's head was on a loose neck and being pivoted about like a ping pong ball.. The words, subdural haematona come to mind. Suffered by many a fighter, with far more oxygen flow than Taylor had in his tank.. Good stoppage, end of story

"Public stoning" is more than a little hyperbolic. Taylor wasn't taking a one way beating in that round. If Steele was "just doing his job" Chavez would have been standing in a neutral corner opposed to the center of the ring. You can't have it both ways by claiming Steele was just doing his job while ignoring what he wasn't doing correctly.

[Scott9945]

I can't see how this is such a great stoppage. If he had let him go on Taylor would have survived to the final bell no question.

Of course. I can see if Taylor was getting battered with seconds left, but he was standing up straight and in no danger of being hit again.