2 Seconds from Glory.....

Discussion in 'General Boxing Discussion' started by slystaff, Mar 9, 2010.

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Should Richard Steele have stopped the fight when he did?

  1. Yes

    12 vote(s)
    54.5%
  2. No

    10 vote(s)
    45.5%
  1. slystaff

    slystaff Im Banned

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    Should Richard Steele have stopped the Chavez-Taylor fight?
     
  2. Buddy Rydell

    Buddy Rydell Boxingpress Alumnus

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    I thought it was 4 seconds.
     
  3. slystaff

    slystaff Im Banned

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    You thought wrong.

    Official time at the end of the fight was 2 Mins and 58 seconds of the 12th round.
     
  4. Ugotabe Kidding

    Ugotabe Kidding WBC Silver Diamond Emeritus Champ

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    It was 4 seconds til the end when Steele made up his mind. The clock went two more seconds.

    And Steele's ruling was correct. Taylor was in no condition to continue and the fight was not over, therefore it is referees job to stop the fight.
     
  5. Buddy Rydell

    Buddy Rydell Boxingpress Alumnus

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    My bad.

    He was horribly beaten though. He didn't answer Steele when Steele asked if he were ok, bottom line.
     
  6. Hut*Hut

    Hut*Hut The Mackintosh of temazepam

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    I think there's a second angle to consider here beyond the fighters safety (which of course is paramount) - the fact that Chavez had done enough to practically incapacitate his opponent within the 36 minute fight limit. That being the case he'd done enough to have a W TKO next to his name. Conversely Taylor hadn't done enough to last the full 36 minutes.

    Correct decision, IMO.
     
  7. Buddy Rydell

    Buddy Rydell Boxingpress Alumnus

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    See, sly. I didn't think wrong. I'm just going from memory while you're going from Meldrick's book. :lol:
     
  8. Buddy Rydell

    Buddy Rydell Boxingpress Alumnus

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    If a ref asks you something and you can't or don't answer after having had the living shit beat out of you, he can stop it whenever he wants. Steele probably didn't know what time it was, and the fighter's safety did come first. :dunno:
     
  9. Irish

    Irish Yuge, Beautiful

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    Didn't Gene Pitney bring out a song about this?

    Pitney feat Taylor..."And I was Only 2 Seconds From Glory, Baby".
     
  10. slystaff

    slystaff Im Banned

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    For many years I was of the view that Steele was wrong to stop the fight...given the fact that both men were unbeaten, Taylor was winning the fight and there were less than 10 seconds left at that point and therefore Chavez probably wouldn't have landed even one more punch.

    But...I've changed my mind recently.

    Steele, being the Ref, was closer to both fighters and as such could see the punishment that taylor was receiving when the rest of us were wowed by taylor's flurries. Steele could see the blood and swelling up close...but more importantly...Steele's not keeping his eye on the clock or listening for teh 10 second warning.....and when Taylor got up from the canvas he didn't answer Steele's questions but rather looked away from Steele at his cornermen.

    A Ref's primary job is to protect the fighters...and if you ask a fightr a question after a hard knock down after a hard fight and his face is a bloody swollen mess and he doesn't respond...you have no choice but to stop it.

    Therefore..Steele made the right call......
     
  11. Irish

    Irish Yuge, Beautiful

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    Steele was wrong. There is no way Chavez could have landed another meaningful punch. Taylor was badly beaten and Steele was probably under instructions to make sure that Chavez got the W anyways. What use was a victorious bashed-up Taylor to Don King? About half as much as a victorious undefeated Chavez.
     
  12. Ugotabe Kidding

    Ugotabe Kidding WBC Silver Diamond Emeritus Champ

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    The only thing worth criticizing would have been that Chavez had left the neutral corner during the count and Steele didn't notice that. That however happens often and in this case Steele had a reason to concentrate on Taylor alone that it shouldn't matter IMO
     
  13. Hut*Hut

    Hut*Hut The Mackintosh of temazepam

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    If you don't mind taking the time to answer, out of curiosity, how would you respond to the point I made, Irish?
     
  14. Irish

    Irish Yuge, Beautiful

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    I usually just make my own point, refresh the screen, and then bask in the glory of my point. I didn't know you had made one.





    Seriously....your point is good, from a combat point of view, Taylor "winning" the fight was perverse. But those are also the rules, so I guess it works both ways.

    In that Taylor was standing, was cogent and conscious....we can argue thus that he was not truly incapacitated. If he was, he never would have stood back up and looked at Steele.
     
  15. Hut*Hut

    Hut*Hut The Mackintosh of temazepam

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    Well he was in no fit state to defend himself, standing or no. If it had happened at any other point in the fight, even 5-10s before then there would be ZERO debate about the stoppage.

    Personally, I think fair's fair, Chavez had achieved what the rules of boxing say is the objective of he sport, within the 36 minutes available, he deserved the W.
     
  16. Buddy Rydell

    Buddy Rydell Boxingpress Alumnus

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    If a ref thinks you're no longer able to defend yourself, he is right to stop it. Steele was up close and saw Taylor was bigtime screwed.

    Taylor spent at least a few weeks in the hospital and was pissing pure blood afterwards. That doesn't have anything to do with Steele's choice to stop it, but Steele was in the closest position to determine the fighter's health and he saw a fighter messed up from a prolonged beating who wasn't answering back.
     
  17. Xplosive

    Xplosive X-MOD Bad Motherfucker

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    Theres 4 sure things in life..... death, taxes, and that once every few months on FB someone will post a "Who really won Floyd-Castillo 1?" thread and "Should Chavez-Taylor been stopped?" thread.
     
  18. Anthony

    Anthony Admin Staff Member

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    2 seconds left, 1 second left, 0.5 seconds left it doesnt matter. If the fight was still going, it would be Horrific to rob chavez of that victory just because Chavez couldnt land another shot. Chavez beat that man. And the ref thought Taylor couldnt continue in the fight.
     
  19. Trplsec

    Trplsec Sleeps in a Cage

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    Safety of the fighter my ass. This is the same exact Richard Steele that let Tommy Hearns continue when he was almost asleep after Iran Barkley starched him. Tommy honestly didn't even beat the count and had his mouthpiece hanging out and was completely gone yet Steele let it go. Hearns was still loopy several minutes afterwards.

    That's my problem with Steele stopping Taylor-Chavez. No consistency.

    However, the stoppage didn't change Meldrick's career. After that beating he was still going to struggle with guys like Brown and Aaron Davis. And he was still going to get drilled by Terry Norris. The beating took it's toll regardless of who got the win.
     
  20. whiskey

    whiskey Czarcasm

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    What's your opinion on a Super Heavyweight division?
     
  21. slystaff

    slystaff Im Banned

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    why? :bangh:
     
  22. Erratic

    Erratic "Twinkle Toes" McJack

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    Yep. Not only the physical beating, but the move up in weight. He said he had weight problems at 140 and the talent level was really deep around that time at 147. Win or lose against Chavez, or no Chavez fight at all, I see him always being one of those guys who would've lacked longevity at the top level, as good as he was.
     
  23. Irish

    Irish Yuge, Beautiful

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    I think the lack of a really big punch hurt Meldrick a lot. If you are going to "Fight Philly" then having a punch helps.
     
  24. slystaff

    slystaff Im Banned

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    word.

    Very intelligent post.
     
  25. Irish

    Irish Yuge, Beautiful

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    He must the fastest stupid fighter ever:-

    "I have all this handspeed. Fuck it, let's slug":bangh:
     
  26. Buddy Rydell

    Buddy Rydell Boxingpress Alumnus

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    The stoppage may not have changed Meldrick's career, but the beating sure did.

    Still, sometimes a referee blows a call, and I would say that Steele did with the earlier Barkley-Hearns 1. Letting a guy take an unneeded beating after he goes down and can't respond is wrong. It doesn't matter what time it is. People should remember that the ref is not the timekeeper. The ref is the one who ensures fighters' safety and makes the tough call.
     
  27. Panchyprsss

    Panchyprsss Clogg's LORD PROTECTOR

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    For many years I thought that Taylor was robbed and that Steele was under contract by Don King to make sure Chavez got protected to get a win. However, recently I have changed my mind. Steele did the right thing. He asked Taylor TWICE "Are you okay?" and Taylor did not answered and was looking away. Boxers and refs knows the rules. He had to stop the fight. Americans and Chavez haters (like I used to be) despised Steele for that decision, but in fact the guy did exactly what he was supposed to do under those circumstances.
     
  28. Erratic

    Erratic "Twinkle Toes" McJack

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    I think Judah might have that title.
     
  29. Irish

    Irish Yuge, Beautiful

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    No, that's:- "I have all this handspeed....don't plaaaaaay with maaaaaathcceeeesss"
     
  30. mikE

    mikE "Twinkle Toes" McJack

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    I agree with this. But I also believe that a fighter shouldn't have to be able to continue if there is no more time left in the last round. He should only have to make it to his feet.
     

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