Julio César Chavez Exposes Meldrick Taylor’s Lost Durability

Julio César Chávez stopped Meldrick Taylor in the eighth round of their long-delayed rematch at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on September 17, 1994.

Billed as “Unfinished Business,” the fight carried the weight of their controversial first meeting. Taylor had outboxed Chávez for much of their March 1990 unification bout before being dropped late in the 12th. Referee Richard Steele stopped it with two seconds remaining, denying Taylor a points win and creating an argument that has lasted for decades.

The rematch came more than four years too late. Taylor had won the WBA welterweight title, but the fighter who returned to face Ch