Look, BOY, Meldrick Taylor was the greatest 16 and 17 yr old fighter in the world and proved it when he won the Gold Medal in the 1984 Olympiad in my hometown of Los Angelos. He debuted at Madison Square Garden and rose up the ranks faster than any of the members of "the greatest olympic boxing team in history". He was a TWO-time WORLD CHAMPION, in TWO different weight classes and challenged for a 3rd. He fought Julio Cesar Chavez life and death in Chavez' PRIME. The man is a fucking LEGEND.
Chavez was world's better than Taylor. Taylor was only a footnote in Chavez' career. If you know history, Chavez didn't lose until years after this fight. Meanwhile, Taylor's career was essentially over after the beating he took from Chavez. Then he was foolish enough to take a rematch and got KO'd again.
@@DIVISIONINCISIONLies. Chavez is a fraud. He got his beat vs Taylor. Taylor's mistake was that he should have just boxed Chavez a little more. He was robbed by Richard Steele.
This was the greatest fight of all time. IT was fought, by two great champions , in the center of the ring at all times. Everyone and anyone who experienced this fight live felt the residual energy blast through them for hours after the bout. From beginning to end this fight did not dissapoint and left a lasting impression on the boxing world forever.
brain damaged here, people don't talk like that unless they have a brain injury. He fought for 12 more years after this so god knows what state his brain is in now..
Uh this was before he took any serious damage in the ring.....no he isn't a linguist he is a boxer......and yes he did tragically developed brain damage but know your facts before you chime in...
@@beauyerks7413 he had over 100 amateur fights. people get little punch drunk just by sparring few years alot. i know many people who are like this and none of them have more than 30 amateur fights. some people can take the damage better than others, but the head is not meant to be hit. so he did already have heavy brain damage and anybody whose been around boxing can see this from mile away, people might not say anything but they know, they know the risks.
This second fight with Cesar Chávez should never have happened so soon after the devastating physical and psychological beating Taylor took in the first fight against Chávez. Instead, Duva and the rest of the people in Taylor's corner, friends and family should have done everything possible for Taylor to step away from the ring for at least six months and upon returning, Taylor should have fought inferior competition to recovery physically and mentally from the thorough beating Chávez delivered onto Taylor in their first fight. Upon losing that second fight, Taylor was a broken man, fighter and soul who went on a path of self-destruction (continuing to fight) trying to recapture what he once was (a great fighter), but could and would never be again. Taylor deserved better from those in his life because he gave everything in the ring for them and the fans of the fight game.
The second fight was 4 years later. But to be honest, he wasn't good enough for the first fight. Unless of course you are of the opinion that wearing flashy knickers and bouncing around like TIGGER THE TIGER wins fights. He barley laid a glove on Chavez. Certainly nothing meaningful. Whereas Chavez pounded him from the off. The damage he sustained bears testament to that. But I agree with you. A return was futile. Mills Lane saved him from another punishing beating.
@@stevefowler3398He was out boxing Chavez the whole fight. Taylor just shouldn't have traded with Chavez as much during the secomd half of the fight. I don't know what fight you were watching.
Up to date I think this dude was one of the fastest in boxing history, his hand speed was amazing! Chavez worked the body hard with deep hard punches once the body goes the speed fails thus chavez finally had a way to work upstairs and bring him down.
@@Pablito46 Taylor lost by KO. What you thought happened, didn't happen. What you wanted to happen, didn't happen. Losers look back with regret. Winners don't.
@@Pablito46 The way I look at it, Taylor was winning the boxing match, but he wasn't winning the "fight." Chavez's punches did way more damage. In the end Taylor's organs were cooked, he was pissing pure blood, he was slurring his speech, his face was literally broken, and he legit looked like the elephant man. Meanwhile, Chavez didn't have a mark on his face.
+Luca Brasi accept it greatest lightweight fighter ever!!! most championship fight one then any other boxer ever!!! its funny how everybody is still butt hurt over the Meldrick Taylor fight hahaha..LMAO!!
Luca Brasi miss 90% of his punches what fight were you watching!!! look at Julio Cesar Chavez face after the fight not a scratch 0 swelling !!! Meldrick Taylor did not look the same after the fight as when he did in the beginning!!!! Please comment about stuff you actually know about or seen because clearly you did not see the fighter know how a fight is supposed to be ford mildred taylor ended up with brain damage awful that loan lost and he was knocked out in the beginning of the fight in the second Mach!!!jajaja U funny!!! Common sense
MELDRICK is LEGEND Just watch (legendary nights:Taylor vs Chavez) This kid had such superrior technique,those 6 even 8 punch combinations,something unbelivable. He DESERVE so much more....(2seconds??!)coz of 2 seconds. i must say,he became one of my all time fav. boxers!
He was not showing brain damage here. Taylor spoke like this in most pre/post fight interviews. This was prior to the Chavez fight. The HBO documentary made it appear that he lost everything after the Chavez fight. However, this isn't true. Taylor won the WBA welterweight title 10 months later against Aaron Davis. His later defeats didn't help the damage that he did suffer in the 1st Chavez fight but it didn't end his career. He stayed in the sport past his prime and he fought at 154 where he had no chance in my view. He was also not managed properly throughout most of his career.
Rocky Mata88 Definitely brain-damaged here............about 100 amateur fights, tons of sparring, probably had significant brain-damage before he turned pro.
I just read an article where his trainers said they'd have to scream at him to hit the bag because if not, he would just spar all day everyday. Sparring is probably where people got most of their injuries over the years.
Taylor was brave, going toe to toe with Chávez. Whitaker on the other hand, mostly ran, hugged, and threw sissy punches that never hurt a Chávez who at that point was past his prime.
I dont know if i would call that brave. I think i would call that stupid. As you can see, Whitaker can still talk and Taylor now speaks like a vegetable..
Meldrick was one of the slickest fighters ever man, class speed, footwork and movement. He knew how to let them fly fast as fuck. Shocking what happened should of won man my opinion.
He fought too brave when he didnt have too, he could of have used that lighting speed and foot work to stay victorious but his heart was always bigger than his head.
Meldrick appeared to be the next Sugar Ray Leonard until that loss to Chavez.. He was never the same after that but the rematch had its moments, too...
This guy could’ve out boxed everyone he fought but he always decided to eventually slug with people, Even before the Chavez fight. It’s so sad, because it destroyed his health. I can’t stand Floyd but knowing what happened to Taylor , I completely understand why Floyd became such a defensive fighter. Not a single fan will be there to take care of you when you have brain damage.
and floyd still struggles to talk like a normal person. I thought about boxing as a kid, many years ago, but said fuck that when I saw what hitman, ali robinson and the rest sounded like. not for me.
@@hw5091 you are right….but I wonder if his lack of articulation comes from lack of education. IDK, but you are right , he has problems also and rarely took any punches.
@@dazeja I don't think so. Mayweather has to rhythmically talk to get the words out without a stutter or slur. He also loses his place a lot. It's too uniform, I can see he's trying to show everybody he's 100% ok, as that's been his schtick, when it's more like 80%. He has sparring, amateurs, all of his pro fights, etc. He took some punches, just not as many as others. Just like foreman took some hard shots, but sounds like he's been unharmed, or even mercer, and by much larger men. A lot more of the smaller weight class guys have brain damage that's noticable; likely because they don't have the tree trunk neck and mastiff head a lot of the heavyweights have for protection.
poor Taylor. Chavez sent him to the other side. He damaged his brain. That fight should have been stopped at round 11. Taylor was so damaged. His eyes closed, his face swollen.
All my admiration for Meldrick Taylor. He just saw Chavez his upcoming rival give a formidable performance and he is not scared at all. In fact he looks as if though he cant wait for the fight. MT was very courageous to go against a monster like Chavez and fight with no fear. Thanks MarvinDiggla!
Beautiful statement by MT. I don’t really look to run. I’ll stand right there. Awesome man. Big time respect. Too many times we see dancers and runaways.
the Chavez Taylor fight was one of the most exciting fights I have ever seen that Chavez Whitaker fight was one of the most boring fights I have ever seen
The cliche is that Taylor was all heart and no brains in this fight or atleast no brains in the last round. Truth is, Taylor was a very intelligent fighter and with the help of one of the greatest boxing masterminds in the history of the Sweet-Science, the Uncrowned Middleweight Champion of The World, from Philadelphia,PA,---GEORGIE BENTON as his trainer and advisor. It was Taylor's intelligence that brought him to the very brink of doing the impossible. defeat the Lion of Culican IN HIS PRIME!
I don't agree with that. Did you watch the fight? Taylor was taking bombs from the opening bell, especially when he was trying to box on the outside, which is why you hear Benton begging him to slow down and not let Chavez carry him too fast, and asked Taylor to dig in and settle in with Chavez and get respect. Taylor even managed to back Chavez up on occasion. Taylor's injuries were so severe by the 11th and 12th he REALISTICALLY couldn't have "just danced the last 2 rounds away.".
I admire Taylor for wanting to fight the best fighter in the sport. Other fighters like mayweather jr would dodge a match like this. Taylor was never a runner or hugger, very different from other typical fighters. Chavez fought like a warrior, I admire them both.
No need to get vile, I am just stating my opinion. He started fighting at a young age, about 100 amateur fights........all that sparring, it is just not good for the brain. This interview reminds me of the interviews Ali gave in 1980/1981...when he was obviously suffering from brain damage..same startled/confused expression, unclear/soft speech and what appears to be a hard time converting thoughts into speech. I don't believe the physician should have cleared him to fight Chavez the first time.
The REALITY of the matter is though he made it look as though he was inhuman, Taylor was a human-being with a human body, and the human body has its limitations and can only take so much punishment while simultaneously exert itself and dish it out. It takes a heavy toll. People mistakenly think that a man with 2 pints of swallowed blood in his belly, a blown out orbital bone (eye socket), fractured cheek bone, severely dehydrated, and bruised ribs, and seeing triple vision, CAN JUST BOX A MAN.
I love Julio he is my favorite fighter ever.... But no disrespect to Meldrick awesome in his own right... Too bad what happened to him... I wish that on no human being... Nuff Respect... Thank you guys for the entertainment...
Even here, though, you can tell Meldrick's speech skills are deteriorating. It's slight, but it is noticeable. He was a stand in there and bang kind of guy, which I respect. But I am wondering if he was already starting to lose it prior to his fight with Chavez, which utterly ruined him.
@amosbett Not the fact that Chavez put him down? Not the fact that Taylor could not react? Not the fact that the bell can't save a fighter? Not the fact that the referee can't anticipate the bell and has to call what he sees? It's unfortunate that it took hospital results to see the real damage Chavez did to this kid! No to mention the fact that his face looked like he took several baseball bats to it!
It's a helluva lot easier said than done. Have you ever had to fight somebody under those kind of circumstances? Have you ever had to fight a man under those circumstances who's been finding you all night on the outside when you did try to box, and who was one of the greatest fighters in history at cutting the ring and applying pressure, and atttacking from the outside as he moved in on you like Julio Cesar Chavez?
Richard steele is an embarresment to boxing he destroyed meldricks dreams that would of came true, this guy would of went down in history for beating chavez and might of even changed his career, but chavez did his him with alot of shots so i dont know what his career had of turned out,but this man is a real fighter.
Sorry to disagree gentlemen. But Chavez was knocking the stuffing out of Meldrick. The last 3 or 4 rounds did the damage, and if his handlers had any decency, they SHOULD have not let him come out for the 12th round. Richard Steele saw it. Tdaylor gave it everything, but he really was up against A MONSTER. Those handlers effectively caused his later condition. And Mills Lane also saved his life in the return match.
If he had it to do over maybe he trust 47 out or even just let that man be Chavez was not human ain't nobody supposed to be able to walk through punches the way he did and then put on top of that how hard he punch along with the best body puncher in the business
Listening to it again now, he actually reminds me of Ali in the early/mid 70s. With Ali the cracks were starting to show from around 73 (in his speech patterns) and Meldrick sounds the same here. I think the Chavez fight just amplified what was already going on. I'd never heard of MB, but just Googled and got that clip and man, he is WASTED. O.O. But look at his BoxRec and so many fights so close together, it could only end one way :-/.
@pkbosslac Uh, I am not really getting your point. I was trying to make the point that TAYLOR APPEARED TO BE SUFFERING FROM SOME FORM OF BRAIN DAMAGE BEFORE THE CHAVEZ FIGHT, watch the video again. The Chavez fight was just frosting on the cake. I wonder if the doctor who examined him before the Chavez fight picked up on this fact????
Damn, he does sound kind of punch drunk in this interview before fighting JCC the 1st time, he's sort of slurring his words and is glassy eyed like everyone says. JCC just exacerbated the situation after the fight. That's what you get for trying to be a Philly fighter instead of using ring smarts.
@parracatau What are you talking about BOTH never being the same after their fight? Chavez certainly seemed to be in great shape afterwards. After unifiying the titles by defeating Taylor, he beat the crap out of 18(!!!) fighters over 3 years. Among them Lonnie Smith, Hector Camacho, Greg Haugen, and Juan Soberanes Ramos.
I boxed for a while..well, I trained in boxing about 18 months. I worked out at a gym where there was a lot of amateurs and pros...got my ass kicked in sparring quite a bit. I was at the point where I was going to have my first fight.....but I was also pretty beat up and the punches hurt a lot more than when I first started. I evaluated and said it was not worth going on. Turns out I have a genetic form of Neuropathy.....nerves don't heal good when injured...that is why the punches hurt so much.
he took a terrible beating to the head and specially to the body, after the fight his uring was pure blood from those body shots, he spent 3 days in that condition and his head was damaged seriously, now julio was a beast but both were never the same after this fight... VIVA CHAVEZ
@tickyul yeah it is bad. do you think thats its mainly speech affected.. like if you asked him do you realise your speech is bad? would he understand? hes no that brain dead right? and could you send me a link to some recent interviews? i can only find the chavez hbo one? or is that the only one you seen?
Not that slight at all. He is stiff, wooden and slurring his words. It also looks like he is having a real hard time forming his thoughts and then verbalizing them.
but still I wonder if Paquiado would be match for those legend back then, I mean it seems to me that fights on that time were more heart than anything else. now on days I don't even watch any more box. you tell me if that's the case, or paquiado could handle any one.
Sad for Taylor.....he has obvious brain damage judging by THIS interview. And yes, this is BEFORE he fights Chavez for the first time. Growing less and less nimble....he gets hit more and more in the 21 fights to follow this one.
tickyul it aint just the fights that do the damage, its the sparring leading uptp..the head gear is a joke, you brain still bouncing around...and you are on average doign about 5 full fights worth of sparring at least and the worst is...cause its designed to train you again a certain weakness you may have i.e. working against the ropes...you actually training to get hit...which is f8kkin mental...
+uAlrdy KnwWhaItiz Yeah, you are very right.....getting punched in the head is not good for the brain......no matter what the situation. Taylor started boxing at age nine....all that sparring and over 100 amateur fights.......he probably had most of his brain damage before he even turned pro. I used to work out at a boxing gym and saw one of the local stars go from amateur to pro. This guy was an amateur champion....crap, the sparring he used to do was brutal. By the time he went pro...it appeared that all of those knocks had taken away much of his resilience, short pro career and he was done.
@Writeowl Well, have you seen the "Night Of The Champions" video??? In it Meldrick is a LOT worse than he is in this video. Stuttering, palsied, demented and truly looking like his damage is severe and permanent. Check out the Video on YT and tell me what you think. Taylor had his last fight in 2002.....the damage usually peaks around 10-15 years after the fighters last fight. Hope he does ok....heard he is broke.
Yeah, it is odd.....some get punch drunk....others nothing. Big George looks good, sounds clear as a bell. But then again, George had a ton of 1st and 2nd round KOs....saved him from a lot of punishment.
Yeah, that was the clip, he was really slurring his speech. The fact is, getting hit in the fricken head is bad, do it too long and you will have noticeable effects from the brain damage. The sad thing is Meldrick was OBVIOUSLY brain damaged before he fought Chavez for the first time (see the pre fight interview on YT...slurring big time). Then he went on to have 20 more fights.....that is just causing more and more damage, most of it permanent.
@tickyul Is that the Legendary Nights video? He literally couldn't string two coherent words together. I saw that one and that was basically a superb cautionary tale for any kid who thinks they can't get hurt in boxing. Sooner or later you'll come up against someone who'll clean your clock permanently. Sad to think that he was only in his thirties then and his life was basically over. If there's another vid could you please post the link? I'd like to see it. Cheers!
People who really have a life, don't write like you do on youtube. Like it or not, Meldrick is best known (in the world) for losing than for winning. See ya, I have a life.....
@CHINOVILLEZCAS You posted just what I was thinking, did not sound real good in the interview, you could hear/feel/see the damage that had already been done. Glassy eyed and hard to understand, he was done before the Chavez fight.
Meldrick Taylor is one of the most underrated fighters of all time and a class act. It's a shame to see him in his current condition.
Look, BOY, Meldrick Taylor was the greatest 16 and 17 yr old fighter in the world and proved it when he won the Gold Medal in the 1984 Olympiad in my hometown of Los Angelos. He debuted at Madison Square Garden and rose up the ranks faster than any of the members of "the greatest olympic boxing team in history". He was a TWO-time WORLD CHAMPION, in TWO different weight classes and challenged for a 3rd. He fought Julio Cesar Chavez life and death in Chavez' PRIME. The man is a fucking LEGEND.
@UCW-MVjT2jLrxEctJtNf83cA stfu u sensitive grub u better watch ur mouth because 1 of these days u will what u give
Chavez was world's better than Taylor. Taylor was only a footnote in Chavez' career. If you know history, Chavez didn't lose until years after this fight. Meanwhile, Taylor's career was essentially over after the beating he took from Chavez. Then he was foolish enough to take a rematch and got KO'd again.
🤷🤷🤷🤷✊✊✊✊💪💪💪🦾🦾🦾👀🇲🇽🇲🇽🇲🇽✨✊✊✊👆🤷
mike tyson.
@@DIVISIONINCISIONLies. Chavez is a fraud. He got his beat vs Taylor. Taylor's mistake was that he should have just boxed Chavez a little more. He was robbed by Richard Steele.
am Mexican and I go with Chavez but damn meldrick Taylor is a bad mother flower my respects to him
Taylor talks very respectful. Respect
This was the greatest fight of all time. IT was fought, by two great champions , in the center of the ring at all times. Everyone and anyone who experienced this fight live felt the residual energy blast through them for hours after the bout. From beginning to end this fight did not dissapoint and left a lasting impression on the boxing world forever.
meldrick was allready having problems as you can see him speaking and chavez just made ot worsrt
Tbh that almost makes it better.It wasnt just one fight fucked him up that bad.
Yes
Chavez didn’t even beat him like that
@@robertparnelll3373 LOL
Pretty sad
brain damaged here, people don't talk like that unless they have a brain injury. He fought for 12 more years after this so god knows what state his brain is in now..
Uh this was before he took any serious damage in the ring.....no he isn't a linguist he is a boxer......and yes he did tragically developed brain damage but know your facts before you chime in...
@@beauyerks7413 he had over 100 amateur fights. people get little punch drunk just by sparring few years alot. i know many people who are like this and none of them have more than 30 amateur fights. some people can take the damage better than others, but the head is not meant to be hit.
so he did already have heavy brain damage and anybody whose been around boxing can see this from mile away, people might not say anything but they know, they know the risks.
It's mush, Taylor can barely form an intelligible sentence.
This second fight with Cesar Chávez should never have happened so soon after the devastating physical and psychological beating Taylor took in the first fight against Chávez.
Instead, Duva and the rest of the people in Taylor's corner, friends and family should have done everything possible for Taylor to step away from the ring for at least six months and upon returning, Taylor should have fought inferior competition to recovery physically and mentally from the thorough beating Chávez delivered onto Taylor in their first fight.
Upon losing that second fight, Taylor was a broken man, fighter and soul who went on a path of self-destruction (continuing to fight) trying to recapture what he once was (a great fighter), but could and would never be again.
Taylor deserved better from those in his life because he gave everything in the ring for them and the fans of the fight game.
The second fight was 4 years later.
But to be honest, he wasn't good enough for the first fight.
Unless of course you are of the opinion that wearing flashy knickers and bouncing around like TIGGER THE TIGER wins fights.
He barley laid a glove on Chavez. Certainly nothing meaningful.
Whereas Chavez pounded him from the off.
The damage he sustained bears testament to that.
But I agree with you. A return was futile. Mills Lane saved him from another punishing beating.
@@stevefowler3398He was out boxing Chavez the whole fight. Taylor just shouldn't have traded with Chavez as much during the secomd half of the fight. I don't know what fight you were watching.
Up to date I think this dude was one of the fastest in boxing history, his hand speed was amazing! Chavez worked the body hard with deep hard punches once the body goes the speed fails thus chavez finally had a way to work upstairs and bring him down.
Yeah, but Taylor won that fight.
@@Pablito46 he did but only by one round and the only reason Chavez won was bc a knock down
@@Pablito46 Taylor lost by KO. What you thought happened, didn't happen. What you wanted to happen, didn't happen. Losers look back with regret. Winners don't.
@@DIVISIONINCISION Losers try to inflate their fragile ego and brittle sense of self by trying to start petty fights in the TH-cam comments section.
@@Pablito46 The way I look at it, Taylor was winning the boxing match, but he wasn't winning the "fight." Chavez's punches did way more damage. In the end Taylor's organs were cooked, he was pissing pure blood, he was slurring his speech, his face was literally broken, and he legit looked like the elephant man. Meanwhile, Chavez didn't have a mark on his face.
I respect Meldrick Taylor more than Whitaker.
Why?
I would say outclassing is stretching it. He was ahead but Chavez was always in the fight.
+Luca Brasi accept it greatest lightweight fighter ever!!! most championship fight one then any other boxer ever!!! its funny how everybody is still butt hurt over the Meldrick Taylor fight hahaha..LMAO!!
+enlighten09 whitaker beat Chavez at his own games on the inside bro
Luca Brasi miss 90% of his punches what fight were you watching!!! look at Julio Cesar Chavez face after the fight not a scratch 0 swelling !!! Meldrick Taylor did not look the same after the fight as when he did in the beginning!!!! Please comment about stuff you actually know about or seen because clearly you did not see the fighter know how a fight is supposed to be ford mildred taylor ended up with brain damage awful that loan lost and he was knocked out in the beginning of the fight in the second Mach!!!jajaja U funny!!! Common sense
MELDRICK is LEGEND
Just watch (legendary nights:Taylor vs Chavez)
This kid had such superrior technique,those 6 even 8 punch combinations,something unbelivable.
He DESERVE so much more....(2seconds??!)coz of 2 seconds.
i must say,he became one of my all time fav. boxers!
He was not showing brain damage here. Taylor spoke like this in most pre/post fight interviews. This was prior to the Chavez fight. The HBO documentary made it appear that he lost everything after the Chavez fight. However, this isn't true. Taylor won the WBA welterweight title 10 months later against Aaron Davis. His later defeats didn't help the damage that he did suffer in the 1st Chavez fight but it didn't end his career. He stayed in the sport past his prime and he fought at 154 where he had no chance in my view. He was also not managed properly throughout most of his career.
Rocky Mata88 Definitely brain-damaged here............about 100 amateur fights, tons of sparring, probably had significant brain-damage before he turned pro.
dude sounds a little punchy already!
I just read an article where his trainers said they'd have to scream at him to hit the bag because if not, he would just spar all day everyday. Sparring is probably where people got most of their injuries over the years.
bakedbean 75 yeah he took a lot of damage in the first Chavez fight
@bakedbean 75 chavez wasn't gifted in their first match taylor did not respond looking around and holding the ropes
@@Bryan-bd5kc Exactly, it sucks that he couldnt respond quick enough... but would he have gotten up if he wasnt near the ropes?
No this man was incredible
Taylor was too nice to fight. I love his slick punching though.
Taylor was brave, going toe to toe with Chávez. Whitaker on the other hand, mostly ran, hugged, and threw sissy punches that never hurt a Chávez who at that point was past his prime.
I dont know if i would call that brave. I think i would call that stupid. As you can see, Whitaker can still talk and Taylor now speaks like a vegetable..
77chonyc A brave vegetable.
Eugenio Fernandez LoL...
+Eugenio Fernandez Your just mad that whitaker ended the long, padded career of overrated Chavez sr.
Adrian Flores b
MELDRICK TAYLOR was very underrated
hypnocil10 what makes you say that
he was never underrated, that's why he fought Chavez
he wasnot, before the fight with Chavez he was the one that could stop Chavez., but he did not, you know the rest
I feel sorry how his career and personal life and health also went down after Chavez, they are legends!
Meldrick was one of the slickest fighters ever man, class speed, footwork and movement. He knew how to let them fly fast as fuck. Shocking what happened should of won man my opinion.
Yea I agree, Taylor would have beat all of the Welters today, Floyd 50 50 fight
I have great respect for Taylor, he had a very good heart.
He fought too brave when he didnt have too, he could of have used that lighting speed and foot work to stay victorious but his heart was always bigger than his head.
Meldrick appeared to be the next Sugar Ray Leonard until that loss to Chavez.. He was never the same after that but the rematch had its moments, too...
This guy could’ve out boxed everyone he fought but he always decided to eventually slug with people, Even before the Chavez fight. It’s so sad, because it destroyed his health. I can’t stand Floyd but knowing what happened to Taylor , I completely understand why Floyd became such a defensive fighter. Not a single fan will be there to take care of you when you have brain damage.
and floyd still struggles to talk like a normal person. I thought about boxing as a kid, many years ago, but said fuck that when I saw what hitman, ali robinson and the rest sounded like. not for me.
@@hw5091 you are right….but I wonder if his lack of articulation comes from lack of education. IDK, but you are right , he has problems also and rarely took any punches.
@@dazeja I don't think so. Mayweather has to rhythmically talk to get the words out without a stutter or slur. He also loses his place a lot. It's too uniform, I can see he's trying to show everybody he's 100% ok, as that's been his schtick, when it's more like 80%. He has sparring, amateurs, all of his pro fights, etc. He took some punches, just not as many as others. Just like foreman took some hard shots, but sounds like he's been unharmed, or even mercer, and by much larger men. A lot more of the smaller weight class guys have brain damage that's noticable; likely because they don't have the tree trunk neck and mastiff head a lot of the heavyweights have for protection.
poor Taylor. Chavez sent him to the other side. He damaged his brain. That fight should have been stopped at round 11. Taylor was so damaged. His eyes closed, his face swollen.
All my admiration for Meldrick Taylor. He just saw Chavez his upcoming rival give a formidable performance and he is not scared at all. In fact he looks as if though he cant wait for the fight. MT was very courageous to go against a monster like Chavez and fight with no fear.
Thanks MarvinDiggla!
The man was already slurring his words. Holy shit it's sad.
Beautiful statement by MT. I don’t really look to run. I’ll stand right there. Awesome man. Big time respect. Too many times we see dancers and runaways.
please post more interviews/ behind the cenes and ight build ups from the 1980's /90's
many thanks
mr pecker decker
He is talking about beating Chavez little did he know Chavez would not only beat him but take his career.
It's as sad as the break-up of NWA. Only Ice Cube still has a career from that group.
the Chavez Taylor fight was one of the most exciting fights I have ever seen that Chavez Whitaker fight was one of the most boring fights I have ever seen
Sweet feet.Akw sweet pea was truly boring.hence guillermo cant get a spotlight in boxing
Jesse Ortiz yup chavez was never the same after the camacho fight. he was on coke and aging
Both robberies if u think about it. That draw is a robbery in my book. And, I gave taylor the nod in the Chavez fight.
The cliche is that Taylor was all heart and no brains in this fight or atleast no brains in the last round. Truth is, Taylor was a very intelligent fighter and with the help of one of the greatest boxing masterminds in the history of the Sweet-Science, the Uncrowned Middleweight Champion of The World, from Philadelphia,PA,---GEORGIE BENTON as his trainer and advisor. It was Taylor's intelligence that brought him to the very brink of doing the impossible. defeat the Lion of Culican IN HIS PRIME!
I don't agree with that. Did you watch the fight? Taylor was taking bombs from the opening bell, especially when he was trying to box on the outside, which is why you hear Benton begging him to slow down and not let Chavez carry him too fast, and asked Taylor to dig in and settle in with Chavez and get respect. Taylor even managed to back Chavez up on occasion. Taylor's injuries were so severe by the 11th and 12th he REALISTICALLY couldn't have "just danced the last 2 rounds away.".
I admire Taylor for wanting to fight the best fighter in the sport. Other fighters like mayweather jr would dodge a match like this. Taylor was never a runner or hugger, very different from other typical fighters. Chavez fought like a warrior, I admire them both.
His speech here is very clear compared to his older years he is a Tremendous fighter with great heart he just fought the GOAT which is Chavez Sr
gv105468 Taylor is very clearly having a hard time in this video, already suffering from extensive
brain-damage.
Dude was never the same after that fight.
Damn is it me or does he sounds like Mike Tyson!
Smoke a joint and he'll sound more like Chavez to you.
Hit it and pass it...
thanks for sticking up for the fighters bro
No need to get vile, I am just stating my opinion. He started fighting at a young age, about 100 amateur fights........all that sparring, it is just not good for the brain. This interview reminds me of the interviews Ali gave in 1980/1981...when he was obviously suffering from brain damage..same startled/confused expression, unclear/soft speech and what appears to be a hard time converting thoughts into speech. I don't believe the physician should have cleared him to fight Chavez the first time.
thats my point, listen to him, then after the fight
Not me. I think you can grab a copy off Amazon, let me know what you think.
IT'S A SHAME BECAUSE YOU COULD TELL HIS COGNITION WAS DEFINITELY DAMAGED AFTER THE FIRST FIGHT.
The REALITY of the matter is though he made it look as though he was inhuman, Taylor was a human-being with a human body, and the human body has its limitations and can only take so much punishment while simultaneously exert itself and dish it out. It takes a heavy toll. People mistakenly think that a man with 2 pints of swallowed blood in his belly, a blown out orbital bone (eye socket), fractured cheek bone, severely dehydrated, and bruised ribs, and seeing triple vision, CAN JUST BOX A MAN.
Meldrick Taylor always had to fight the scale first and then his opponent and that is what his problem was
Chavez broke him badly and mayweather too
@S D Chavez look at the doctor report of Taylor vs Chavez
I love Julio he is my favorite fighter ever.... But no disrespect to Meldrick awesome in his own right... Too bad what happened to him... I wish that on no human being... Nuff Respect... Thank you guys for the entertainment...
that fight was the robery of the century. They stole that fight and meldricks career all in one night :(
Chavez beat Taylor and ended his career. That's more what happened. Then was foolish enough to fight him again!
Even here, though, you can tell Meldrick's speech skills are deteriorating. It's slight, but it is noticeable. He was a stand in there and bang kind of guy, which I respect. But I am wondering if he was already starting to lose it prior to his fight with Chavez, which utterly ruined him.
@amosbett Not the fact that Chavez put him down? Not the fact that Taylor could not react? Not the fact that the bell can't save a fighter? Not the fact that the referee can't anticipate the bell and has to call what he sees? It's unfortunate that it took hospital results to see the real damage Chavez did to this kid! No to mention the fact that his face looked like he took several baseball bats to it!
Gold medalist, world champion definetly a legand
@pkbosslac I think he had the fastest hand out of any boxer I have ever watched, quite incredible.
Meldrick was winning hands down
It's a helluva lot easier said than done. Have you ever had to fight somebody under those kind of circumstances? Have you ever had to fight a man under those circumstances who's been finding you all night on the outside when you did try to box, and who was one of the greatest fighters in history at cutting the ring and applying pressure, and atttacking from the outside as he moved in on you like Julio Cesar Chavez?
Richard steele is an embarresment to boxing he destroyed meldricks dreams that would of came true, this guy would of went down in history for beating chavez and might of even changed his career, but chavez did his him with alot of shots so i dont know what his career had of turned out,but this man is a real fighter.
The first man to beat Chavez.
No 😂😂😂😂😂
@@elchapoguz-man7286 Fight never should've been stopped and Taylor was clearly ahead on the scorecards.
Sorry to disagree gentlemen.
But Chavez was knocking the stuffing out of Meldrick.
The last 3 or 4 rounds did the damage, and if his handlers had any decency, they SHOULD have not let him come out for the 12th round.
Richard Steele saw it.
Tdaylor gave it everything, but he really was up against A MONSTER.
Those handlers effectively caused his later condition.
And Mills Lane also saved his life in the return match.
If he had it to do over maybe he trust 47 out or even just let that man be Chavez was not human ain't nobody supposed to be able to walk through punches the way he did and then put on top of that how hard he punch along with the best body puncher in the business
That man had pure speed,suburb fighter but Chavez was relentless
Can't get over this video, Taylor sounds fucked up, the Chavez fight was just icing on the cake.
Chavez fan all the way but I like Taylor doesnt seem too cocky.. sad what happened after tho...
Listening to it again now, he actually reminds me of Ali in the early/mid 70s. With Ali the cracks were starting to show from around 73 (in his speech patterns) and Meldrick sounds the same here. I think the Chavez fight just amplified what was already going on.
I'd never heard of MB, but just Googled and got that clip and man, he is WASTED. O.O. But look at his BoxRec and so many fights so close together, it could only end one way :-/.
His speech is reminiscent of Ali's in the 70s. The damage had definitely been done.
Un gran campeón! La verdad hay que reconocerle era un rayo! Una metralleta para tirar golpes!! De los mejores!!
UMMM, this video interview is BEFORE the first Taylor-Chavez fight.
@pkbosslac Uh, I am not really getting your point. I was trying to make the point that TAYLOR APPEARED TO BE SUFFERING FROM SOME FORM OF BRAIN DAMAGE BEFORE THE CHAVEZ FIGHT, watch the video again. The Chavez fight was just frosting on the cake. I wonder if the doctor who examined him before the Chavez fight picked up on this fact????
@ 00:26 jean pascal is a time traveler
Has anyone here read his book? Be interested to hear some feedback . . .
Damn, he does sound kind of punch drunk in this interview before fighting JCC the 1st time, he's sort of slurring his words and is glassy eyed like everyone says. JCC just exacerbated the situation after the fight. That's what you get for trying to be a Philly fighter instead of using ring smarts.
Post means after. This is pre his fight with chavez
Meldrick doesn’t sound good at all in this interview
@parracatau What are you talking about BOTH never being the same after their fight? Chavez certainly seemed to be in great shape afterwards. After unifiying the titles by defeating Taylor, he beat the crap out of 18(!!!) fighters over 3 years. Among them Lonnie Smith, Hector Camacho, Greg Haugen, and Juan Soberanes Ramos.
I boxed for a while..well, I trained in boxing about 18 months. I worked out at a gym where there was a lot of amateurs and pros...got my ass kicked in sparring quite a bit. I was at the point where I was going to have my first fight.....but I was also pretty beat up and the punches hurt a lot more than when I first started. I evaluated and said it was not worth going on. Turns out I have a genetic form of Neuropathy.....nerves don't heal good when injured...that is why the punches hurt so much.
he took a terrible beating to the head and specially to the body, after the fight his uring was pure blood from those body shots, he spent 3 days in that condition and his head was damaged seriously, now julio was a beast but both were never the same after this fight... VIVA CHAVEZ
He said his plan was to stand right in front of Chavez. He did that until the end.
Poor refereeing! Taylor would have won in the scorecards. But props to Chavez for giving it his all and continuing to push Taylor to the last seconds!
Preferías verlo muerto antes que derrotado? El referi no pensó lo mismo…
And he had lots of fights after the Chavez beating. Today he is seriously brain damaged.
Little did Taylor know that he was going to suffer a good physical beaten that he never recovered from 🥊
@tickyul yeah it is bad. do you think thats its mainly speech affected.. like if you asked him do you realise your speech is bad? would he understand? hes no that brain dead right? and could you send me a link to some recent interviews? i can only find the chavez hbo one? or is that the only one you seen?
So when all the humble black boxers like Taylor gone?
Not that slight at all. He is stiff, wooden and slurring his words. It also looks like he is having a real hard time forming his thoughts and then verbalizing them.
but still I wonder if Paquiado would be match for those legend back then, I mean it seems to me that fights on that time were more heart than anything else. now on days I don't even watch any more box. you tell me if that's the case, or paquiado could handle any one.
M Taylor wanted to say to boxing fans I didn't run I fought him his way and it cost him!!
+whiteside777 He fought too long, sad, but it was his decision!
Sad for Taylor.....he has obvious brain damage judging by THIS interview. And yes, this is BEFORE he fights Chavez for the first time. Growing less and less nimble....he gets hit more and more in the 21 fights to follow this one.
tickyul it aint just the fights that do the damage, its the sparring leading uptp..the head gear is a joke, you brain still bouncing around...and you are on average doign about 5 full fights worth of sparring at least and the worst is...cause its designed to train you again a certain weakness you may have i.e. working against the ropes...you actually training to get hit...which is f8kkin mental...
+uAlrdy KnwWhaItiz Yeah, you are very right.....getting punched in the head is not good for the brain......no matter what the situation. Taylor started boxing at age nine....all that sparring and over 100 amateur fights.......he probably had most of his brain damage before he even turned pro. I used to work out at a boxing gym and saw one of the local stars go from amateur to pro. This guy was an amateur champion....crap, the sparring he used to do was brutal. By the time he went pro...it appeared that all of those knocks had taken away much of his resilience, short pro career and he was done.
Some people close to him say he is starting to show signs of brain damage......he should hang it up!
He already did a long time ago.
Chavez changed him. Sad to see what a brutal beating can do to a man
@Writeowl Well, have you seen the "Night Of The Champions" video??? In it Meldrick is a LOT worse than he is in this video. Stuttering, palsied, demented and truly looking like his damage is severe and permanent. Check out the Video on YT and tell me what you think. Taylor had his last fight in 2002.....the damage usually peaks around 10-15 years after the fighters last fight. Hope he does ok....heard he is broke.
When he lost to Chavez i heard he was peeing blood god bless this man
chavez kicked his ass...and won the fight in his own right.
Yeah, it is odd.....some get punch drunk....others nothing.
Big George looks good, sounds clear as a bell. But then again, George had a ton of 1st and 2nd round KOs....saved him from a lot of punishment.
If only you knew......
You're right, ticky, he should never have been in there.
Yeah, that was the clip, he was really slurring his speech. The fact is, getting hit in the fricken head is bad, do it too long and you will have noticeable effects from the brain damage. The sad thing is Meldrick was OBVIOUSLY brain damaged before he fought Chavez for the first time (see the pre fight interview on YT...slurring big time). Then he went on to have 20 more fights.....that is just causing more and more damage, most of it permanent.
damn a mil and a half that ill tell you how boxing change the whole world period
Meldick Taylor was a beaten badly by Chavez, but damn they both had heart.
@tickyul Is that the Legendary Nights video? He literally couldn't string two coherent words together. I saw that one and that was basically a superb cautionary tale for any kid who thinks they can't get hurt in boxing. Sooner or later you'll come up against someone who'll clean your clock permanently.
Sad to think that he was only in his thirties then and his life was basically over.
If there's another vid could you please post the link? I'd like to see it.
Cheers!
a well spoken young man. Lebron James could learn a lot from boxers
He was not the same guy after the knockout ..poor guy.. He has mental problems now :(
8 seconds and he would of beat Chavez , that would ruin Any fighter mentally, imagine the pain being so close and then Steele stops ti, shame
It looks like MT was reading off the teleprompter.
his voice was kinda slurry in this. poor guy wat a legend
People who really have a life, don't write like you do on youtube. Like it or not, Meldrick is best known (in the world) for losing than for winning. See ya, I have a life.....
@CHINOVILLEZCAS You posted just what I was thinking, did not sound real good in the interview, you could hear/feel/see the damage that had already been done. Glassy eyed and hard to understand, he was done before the Chavez fight.