- 2 days ago
Meldrick Taylor faces Ivan Gonazlez in a Jr Welterweight bout on Showtime Boxing
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00:00...of junior welterweights, former Olympic gold medal winner Mildred Taylor versus the man they call the rhythm Ivan Gonzalez.
00:23Hello again everybody, Steve Albert along with the fight Dr. Ferdy Pacheco and welcome to the Sports Pavilion at Las Vegas, Nevada.
00:29We've got a terrific fight card for you, including our main event, the battle for the undisputed Cruiserweight Junior Heavyweight Championship.
00:37And before we get to that, we have on the undercard a battle of junior welterweights.
00:41We've got Ivan Gonzalez. Ivan will be opposed by Mildred Taylor.
00:47And perhaps it is appropriate that this is an Olympic year because we've got two former Olympians on the card, Holyfield and Mildred Taylor.
00:56Holyfield, the first from the class of 84 to make it all the way.
01:01What do you think Ivan Gonzalez's opponent, Mildred Taylor's, chances are to go all the way someday soon?
01:06I think they're superior.
01:08Unfortunately, he got caught up in the shadow of Burnell Whitaker.
01:11Burnell lost in Paris in a disputed decision, I thought a robbery.
01:15But it is almost impossible not to give Mildred Taylor a title shot.
01:20A title shot which I believe he will win easily.
01:23All right.
01:24As far as Evander Holyfield is concerned, he has made no secret about his intentions to go heavyweight after this fight and perhaps take on Mike Tyson.
01:33But first things first, some unfinished business.
01:35He must win tonight and he must win impressively.
01:38He must do both those things, but only one of them must he have to do, and that is he must win.
01:43Impressively, he should win impressively.
01:46Tyson's here to see him.
01:47It's very important that he look good so that he can get a title shot.
01:51However, first things first, he must win.
01:54That's much more important than win impressively, and that is by no means a sure shot tonight.
01:59And first things first, as far as this undercard is concerned, Ivan Gonzalez is in the ring, 14-1 with 10 knockouts.
02:06And his opponent is Mildred Taylor.
02:09Of course, Showtime is now known as the network of upsets.
02:14Realistically, what kind of a threat does Ivan Gonzalez pose to Mildred Taylor?
02:19Well, he's undefeated.
02:20He can punch.
02:21Realistically, I don't think he belongs in the same ring as Mildred Taylor.
02:25However, because he's too young, because he doesn't have that experience.
02:27He brings the punch.
02:30He brings the confidence.
02:31If he upsets Mildred Taylor, it would indeed be one of the upsets of the decade, along with Hagler and Leonard, except, of course, not of that magnitude.
02:40And Taylor looking for a title shot, perhaps, at IVF champion Buddy McCurt down the road.
02:45Also working with us tonight is veteran sportscaster Dave Diles.
02:48He had a chance to chat with both Taylor and Gonzalez.
02:51He asked Ivan Gonzalez how he first got his start in the sport of boxing.
02:57I was just turning 18 when I was watching a late night.
03:02I don't know if you're familiar with the Sugar Ray Golden Gloves.
03:04I used to get on late nights, and I watched that, and I said, hey, I think I can go at that.
03:08I think I could do that.
03:09I'm always getting into fights anyway, so I'll give it a shot.
03:13I'm told that you had to almost fight to get a seat at your dinner table.
03:16One of how many children?
03:2019.
03:23Come from a very large family.
03:25Any fights there?
03:27Oh, every once in a while.
03:29What do you like most about fighting?
03:30Well, what I like most about it is I like a lot of things about it.
03:36I can show off my talent, which I think has been overlooked a lot.
03:43I like, how you say, being around the crowd.
03:48Just enjoy fighting.
03:50It's something you have to love or you can't really do it.
03:53I know he's a tall, tall fighter, boxer.
03:58You know, I don't think he's a great deal of a puncher.
04:01You know, but anybody can hurt you if they hit you, you know.
04:03And I'm looking, I'm in a 110% own condition.
04:06I'm not open looking at this guy, Irvin.
04:09And I look for it to be an entertaining fight for me.
04:11I don't look to be, I don't look to be dethroned.
04:14I don't look to lose.
04:15I think I can put him away, but there's a certain way I want to go by doing that.
04:21Wow.
04:21And, you know, I just want to give it on people their money's worth.
04:26Nice workout.
04:27Yeah.
04:28Work up a good sweat, look exciting, look impressive, and I don't want to get hit.
04:33So we are getting ready for a battle of junior welterweights scheduled for 10.
04:38Meldrick Taylor against Ivan Gonzalez.
04:40We're going to go up to ring announcer Chuck Hull for the introductions of tonight's first bout.
04:44Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.
04:45Welcome to Caesars Palace Sports Pavilion, where tonight, main events monitor and Don King production
04:51in association with Caesars Palace presents World Championship Boxing.
04:57These bouts are sanctioned by the Nevada State Athletic Commission,
05:00Herb Santos Chairman, Chuck Minker Executive Director.
05:04The commissioners at ringside this evening are Freddie Little, Dr. James Gunnam,
05:08Dwayne Ford, and Dr. James Nade.
05:11The officials are signed by the Nevada State Athletic Commission for the next bout of the evening.
05:17The judges are Jerry Roth, Bill Graham, and Cindy Barton.
05:21Your referee is Richard Steele.
05:24The next bout of the evening, ladies and gentlemen, featuring 10 rounds of boxing in the junior welterweight division.
05:32Introducing, in the red corner, fighting out of Miami, Florida, weighing in at 141 pounds,
05:39with a professional record of 14 wins, one defeat with nine tails.
05:43Ladies and gentlemen, introducing Ivan Gonzalez.
05:50And in the blue corner, from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he too weighs 141 pounds.
05:58His professional record consists of 17 wins, no defeats, one draw with nine tails.
06:04He was a gold medalist in the 23rd Olympiad, is rated number two by the IVF.
06:11Here is the undefeated, Meldrick Taylor.
06:19Yeah, I spoke to both of you fighters in your dressing room.
06:23I want to caution you again, obey my commands at all times.
06:26Shake hand and good luck.
06:26Richard Steele with the final instructions as we take a look at the tail of the tape.
06:33Gonzalez with a three-inch height advantage.
06:36They're all even in weight.
06:39And a decided reach advantage for Gonzalez.
06:43Completely different physiques on both fighters.
06:46Very tall, very skinny Ivan Gonzalez.
06:50He should use that reach advantage early to pop the jab out.
06:53Meldrick Taylor in the white trunk, 17-0-1 with nine knockouts.
06:58That one draw with Howard Davis, 21-year-old out of Philadelphia.
07:02Ivan Gonzalez, 14-1 with 10 knockouts out of Miami, born in Richmond, Virginia.
07:09The scoring on the 10-point must system here in Nevada with three scoring judges and a non-scoring referee.
07:14The standing eight count is in effect.
07:16The three-knockdown rule is in effect.
07:19The ring physician with the authority to stop a fight, as does the ref.
07:22A fighter may not be saved by the bell except in the final round.
07:28Right now, feeling out round.
07:30It's always odd to me that a man with that long a reach can't out-jab a shorter man.
07:36Meldrick able to cross over this jab with a right hand.
07:39Just sort of measuring right now.
07:41Tall, lanky, Ivan Gonzalez from Miami.
07:44Reminds me of another Miami fighter, Bobby Dykes, except he's not a left-hander.
07:48And he doesn't look like he's ready to fight Kit Gavilan.
07:50Meldrick Taylor, aggressive, a good pressure fighter.
07:55Hard puncher with good speed.
07:57And devastating hooks to the body.
08:00Those punches were blocked by Gonzalez.
08:02Meldrick is just starting to get the reins with the right hand as he starts coming in.
08:10He is sharpening up the right.
08:12That's what's going to do the damage in subsequent rounds.
08:14He's just feeling his way around.
08:17As he said in the interview, Meldrick likes to hit and not be hit.
08:21That's an art in itself.
08:22Taylor rated at number three by the WBA, number five by the IVF, and number six by the WBC.
08:34Right cross by Gonzalez, but no damage to Taylor.
08:37Richard Steele, the referee, keeps talking to the fighters.
08:45No holding.
08:46Keep those punches up.
08:48Big right hand there by Taylor, but a glancing blow.
08:53Meldrick Taylor looking to remain undefeated.
08:56His last fight, November 4th of 87, a second-round knockout over Richard Fowler and Corpus Christi.
09:02And the left by Taylor scored.
09:05Great hooks by Taylor.
09:08His superior hand speed is already evident in this first round.
09:12He is so fast.
09:13He punches and he's out before you can really get to him.
09:17Gonzalez able to duck under that big right by Taylor.
09:26Gonzalez, supposed to be a pretty big banger himself,
09:28has not been able to get set to punch this elusive target.
09:34I don't know what it is that Meldrick Taylor keeps banging against his protector there.
09:38Either his hand is hurting, the protector is not adjusting right.
09:42Something's wrong.
09:45And that'll do it for round one.
09:47We'll follow former gold medal winner Meldrick Taylor into his corner.
09:52Lou Duva, George Fenton and company.
09:56Let's take a listen.
09:58Now let's go over to the other corner.
10:21Ivan Gonzalez, Alvin Oni.
10:25Okay.
10:26Ali Ridgeway is a story right here.
10:27That little old man in the red was Lou Duva's first trainer and worked in the corner with Lou Duva.
10:33Now he's working opposite and he's the grand old man of Miami boxing is Ali Ridgeway.
10:37Much beloved man.
10:39You better come harder this time.
10:42Keep your hands up.
10:44And round two.
10:46We are scheduled for ten.
10:49Ivan did not do very badly.
10:53Well, he lost the round, but he stayed in there with Meldrick Taylor.
10:56Meldrick still keeps pounding on that.
10:58That must just be a nervous tick because they did nothing in the corner for it and he didn't complain in the corner.
11:03Many of the greats had that.
11:05Elgin Baylor, Gordy Howe, just to name a few.
11:09They weren't getting punched while they were doing that, didn't they?
11:11True.
11:11Those little ticks have a way of getting you nailed.
11:14Gordy had a way, though, of throwing a few elbows from time to time.
11:17That was a tough man.
11:18Gonzalez likes to jab and move.
11:23Depends on his jab and straight right hand as his most effective weapons known for his graceful movement around the ring.
11:31Meldrick has given him a splendid opportunity.
11:34He's standing straight in front of him.
11:35He's not giving him any movement.
11:38And if Ivan's ever to get his artillery off, now's the time.
11:40Look at this.
11:47Right in front of him is Meldrick Taylor.
11:51And he keeps going to the belt.
11:58It's hard to come from a city like Miami and come right into Caesar's Palace where the champions have fought.
12:05Or in your first fight in the big time and face Meldrick Taylor.
12:08I mean, that's got to freeze him up a little bit.
12:11He's not quite warmed up yet.
12:13He's not fighting his fight, Ivan Gonzalez.
12:15He's sort of still stiff.
12:18Ivan Gonzalez, just an incredible background story.
12:21One of a family of 21 children.
12:27He was kidnapped by his divorced father at the age of three.
12:31Taken to Puerto Rico where he was found.
12:34Four years later, abused, malnourished, and suffering from pneumonia.
12:38He made a miraculous recovery after being returned to his mother in Miami.
12:42Has anybody bought the film rights to that story?
12:47I have a feeling you're already drawing up the contracts.
12:53That jab that Meldrick Taylor puts to the belly is really having an effect on Ivan Gonzalez.
13:05He's almost flinching when he goes under.
13:07When Meldrick goes under with a jab, watch that right cross immediately afterwards.
13:12Taylor with that shotgun jab as he doubled up.
13:21There's the combination by Meldrick Taylor.
13:23The tether corner urging him to use the jab.
13:32More right connects by Meldrick Taylor.
13:34And now he goes in to finish.
13:36Gonzalez, but Gonzalez able to spring away.
13:39His legs buckled.
13:40There was an effect to that punch.
13:42At least, very least, should wake up Ivan.
13:44Saved by the bell.
13:45A ferocious punch delivered by Meldrick Taylor, the punch of the fight thus far, as we have
13:52just completed round two.
13:53So Taylor and his corner have to be very happy.
14:00Take another look at this thunderous punch by Taylor.
14:06That's the right hand he's been sharpening up since the first.
14:11You see the buckling of the legs, but Ivan came back, and fortunately, it was close enough
14:16to the end of the round that he could survive.
14:19Not a lot of feverish activity in the corner.
14:21We see it from different angles, but it always lands flush on the jaw.
14:26That could well have taken Ivan out of the picture.
14:28That's stupid thing, too, about how he hit it so much.
14:31That's football.
14:31The right one's on.
14:33He's the four.
14:33He's the four.
14:33He's the four.
14:33He's the four.
14:33He's the four.
14:33He's the four.
14:33He's the four.
14:33He's the four.
14:34He's the four.
14:34He's the four.
14:35A lot of credit goes to Ivan Gonzalez for surviving.
14:44And round three scheduled for 10.
14:52Let's see if that punch continues to have any effect on Gonzalez here in the third round.
15:00Keeping his distance.
15:01Gonzalez just about knows where he's at.
15:18That was the right hand, and he wanted a combination.
15:21It's a perfect combination, but that right hand was hard.
15:24And now Taylor again goes in for the finish.
15:27And now Taylor again goes in for the finish.
15:28Gonzalez just trying to elude Taylor.
15:29And now it's just a chase.
15:31And now it's just a chase.
15:33Furious assault by Meldrick Taylor.
15:42A barrage as he continues to chase him down.
15:48Ivan trying to throw something to discourage Taylor, but he will not be discouraged.
15:53He knows he can finish here.
15:55Hard body punches by Meldrick Taylor, relentless attack here by Taylor.
16:04And Gonzalez goes down.
16:07Gonzalez folded like a deck of cards.
16:10Just too many punches at one time.
16:11Not one punch, but too many punches.
16:13Okay.
16:14And still a minute and a half and counting here in round three.
16:19Gonzalez's eyes bulging wide open.
16:22Steele has to take a very sharp look at Gonzalez.
16:25One more knock down.
16:26Oh, a left by Gonzalez that tagged Taylor in the Adam's apple.
16:30But Taylor comes right back.
16:32Gonzalez trying to put anything together to keep Meldrick off.
16:38Meldrick Taylor determined to knock his man out.
16:41The assault continues.
16:43Gonzalez's punches have no steam.
16:45And Meldrick Taylor is just furious.
16:53What's ahead?
16:54Now Gonzalez again folds down to the knees.
16:58At first, Steele was waving it off.
17:01It was more from a push.
17:03It's more from a push and a slip.
17:05That wasn't really a knock down.
17:06It gave him some seconds, but that's about it.
17:12Now Gonzalez able to spin away from his own corner.
17:15Can he survive round three?
17:27Even these seemingly harmless clenches are doing damage to Gonzalez as Taylor connects.
17:32Oh, yes.
17:33He'll go back to his corner hoping to be kidnapped again because he's going to have to come out for the next round.
17:38As time runs out in round three.
17:41We will follow a battered and beaten Ivan Gonzalez.
17:51He's tired from punching.
17:52I want to see you make him a little hurt.
17:53Okay?
17:54Let's go.
17:55You've got to punch.
17:56You've got to jab and put your combinations together.
17:57You hear me?
17:58Well, trying to give Gonzalez some confidence by saying that Taylor's tired from punching.
18:00The worst kind of confidence.
18:01Put your face up and out of the work.
18:02Well, you have to say almost anything to give this young man a little bit of encouragement because he knows what's waiting for him the next round.
18:06Meldrick Taylor's fresh.
18:07The bad news is he can go like that for ten rounds as we've seen him on many fights.
18:13Well, you have to say almost anything to give this young man a little bit of encouragement
18:18because he knows what's waiting for him the next round.
18:20Meldrick Taylor is fresh.
18:22Bad news is he can go like that for 10 rounds, as we've seen him on many fights.
18:25And the fact is Ivan Gonzalez is overmatched and outclassed.
18:30Okay?
18:31Come on, use that jab.
18:33All right?
18:34If you go past four, he's going to be tired.
18:36Let's go.
18:37Here we go.
18:39Back to the thousand.
18:40Amazingly, we go to round four, scheduled for 10.
18:48Ivan Gonzalez in the black trunks so far has been able to survive just a brutal attack by Meldrick Taylor.
19:00And that nervous habit continues by Meldrick Taylor, but not nervous enough for Ivan Gonzalez.
19:06The good thing that you can see in Meldrick, he's settled down.
19:12He's not that blur of punches that he was in the Olympics.
19:15And what you learn from that last round is that he will go to the body.
19:18Oh, two great shots by Meldrick.
19:20Right hand is set up, left hook.
19:23A one-two punch in reverse.
19:27He will go to the body.
19:28He'll slow his man down.
19:30He's got him completely outclassed.
19:31Now it's a question of putting him up.
19:34And Taylor showing his entire repertoire here.
19:36Uppercuts, combinations.
19:38Oh, a wide hook by Taylor that connected to the head of Gonzalez.
19:46Gonzalez just seems mesmerized by Meldrick Taylor.
19:51Not able to get any punches off to discourage Taylor from coming in.
19:55Taylor's coming in with impunity.
19:56Taylor stalking Gonzalez.
20:06Showing everything in his arsenal.
20:14Another combination by Meldrick Taylor.
20:18Remember Meldrick's buddy from the 84 L.A. Summer Games, Evander Holyfield,
20:23will be coming up later in the undisputed Thruiseway Championship fight.
20:27Punch, Mark!
20:29Punch it, get off.
20:30Punch!
20:31A smile from Meldrick Taylor.
20:34Ivan Gonzalez tried to spin him by his elbow.
20:36And, of course, he's too chunky and too ring smart to have that done to him.
20:41So he just smiled at him.
20:42Nice try and he went right back to pound it.
20:45And Taylor says, come on, Ivan.
20:46It is difficult to knock out a man that's running at full speed.
20:56And again, Gonzalez able to slip away.
21:05This fight has become a gym workout.
21:07Punch, punch, punch, punch.
21:09Punch it out.
21:10No holding out.
21:14Now Taylor just throws Gonzalez into the ropes.
21:16Come on, you guys.
21:18Good, clean fight.
21:19Let's go.
21:23Richard Steele, the third man of the ring, encouraging the cleanliness.
21:34Another good rally by Taylor.
21:36Taylor had him pinned in the corner.
21:38It looked like he was going to cut him off and let him get out.
21:40There he goes again.
21:41And heading for the bell.
21:42You mentioned Lou Duva and his trainer, 81 year young, Ali Ridgway, who is now in the corner
21:53of Ivan Gonzalez.
21:56Let's take a closer look at these two good, close personal friends in the world of boxing.
22:01As years go by and you get into the same line of business that he was in at that time, then
22:08you understand what he's trying to teach you.
22:10And I've done the pickup from that.
22:12And I think anything that I've learned so far, Ali Ridgway has taught me.
22:17He was easy to train, but maybe hard to keep after he left the gym, where he was going,
22:25what he was doing.
22:27But he proved to himself that if he wasn't going to take it seriously, he wasn't going
22:33anyplace.
22:34And that's what he did.
22:36He was a good, good student.
22:38Let me put it that way.
22:39A few years ago, Ali Ridgway's pupil was in the other corner.
22:43Lou Duva, now it's Ivan Gonzalez, and Lou Duva handling this man, Meldrick Taylor, who
22:49right now is creaming Ivan Gonzalez as we enter round five.
22:59Taylor believes that a victory tonight would give him a shot at the IVF champion Buddy McGirt.
23:07That would be a blazing fight.
23:12Down goes Gonzalez once again.
23:14That's a body shot that got him down.
23:15A rip shot.
23:17He's favoring his left side.
23:19He got a thumping body shot.
23:22Gonzalez says he's all right.
23:27He is very game.
23:32And Taylor, once again, the effective aggressive.
23:37A shot to the ribs by Taylor.
23:40Combination to the body by Taylor.
23:45Another blistering attack by Meldrick Taylor.
23:50And down goes Gonzalez again.
23:52And Taylor has to go to a neutral corner.
23:54Now, Taylor, I believe, was hit below the belt.
23:57And a time is full.
23:58That was a strange sequence.
24:07Yes.
24:08I think he got hit in his protector by the head.
24:12Odd as that may sound.
24:13Of Ivan Gonzalez as he went down.
24:16He pushed him down.
24:17And he got struck.
24:18Gonzalez looking to elude that barrage by Taylor.
24:22Ducked his head down too low.
24:23All credit to Ivan Gonzalez.
24:29He's taken a pummeling.
24:30He's gone down in the third.
24:33Gone down in the fifth.
24:34And here he is.
24:36Still at it.
24:37I'll tell you, judging from his unbelievable background that we talked about before,
24:42it's easy to understand how he's hanging in there.
24:44Yeah, he's certainly been through enough adversity in life.
24:49Let's go now.
24:50He's getting tired.
24:51Punch.
24:54Meldrick Taylor putting on a display here tonight.
24:57His most surprising victory was in July of 87.
25:00A lopsided win over Cubanito Perez.
25:02The experts predicted a very close fight.
25:04Taylor won every round.
25:06He handled him easily as he's handling Ivan Gonzalez.
25:09He's won every round.
25:10One round, a 10-8 round because of the knockdowns.
25:13So he's way ahead, 40-35 for those of you who are still keeping score in this one-sided contest.
25:19Now Gonzalez cracked between the ropes.
25:23Oh, there again.
25:25Something is happening with his ribs.
25:28Something is happening with his ribs.
25:30He should say it.
25:33He's cracked the rib.
25:35He should say it to his corner, and they should stop it.
25:37Once again, Richard Steele with an official time here.
25:40Hey, hey.
25:41It's the Dr. Romeo.
25:44Dr. Romeo talking to him however he...
25:47But fighters won't tell you what's wrong with him.
25:50Dr. Donald Romeo.
25:52Meldrick.
25:56One time.
25:57One more time.
25:58No time.
25:58You do it one more time.
26:00Okay, Donald?
26:00He wants to stop it.
26:01Boy, they're giving him every opportunity.
26:04Every opportunity to take a beating.
26:05Something's wrong on him.
26:06Either the shoulder or the ribs.
26:08He won't say.
26:10Steele said one more time you react like that.
26:12I'm stopping you.
26:12It is easy to realize that he might have a broken rib.
26:17And that is it.
26:19That is it.
26:20Mercifully, this bout ends in favor of Meldrick Taylor with just an assault.
26:27He just pummeled Gonzalez.
26:29Gonzalez, you're right.
26:30Either has something wrong with the ribs or the shoulder.
26:34I mean, he is in pain.
26:35He's carrying that shoulder very low, the left shoulder.
26:38And it might be dislocated.
26:41He is really in agony.
26:44And he took a beating.
26:45I'll tell you, it's the unexplainable phenomenon of boxing.
26:49When things are hot, you would think that a fighter would say,
26:52Look, something's happening.
26:53I've cracked something.
26:54Let me get out of the way.
26:55Let's take a look at the shot.
26:56The shot is to the head, yet his shoulder is what's hurting him.
27:01You can see here, there's no way to protect himself.
27:03That's correct to stop it.
27:04Might have been correct to stop it before that one, but the fighter insisted.
27:10Showing a lot of heart.
27:12Ivan Gonzalez hanging tough, but totally overpowered by Meldrick Taylor.
27:18And Richard Steele says that is enough.
27:22He let it go far enough.
27:24I think it was a good workout for Meldrick Taylor.
27:26He got to work very hard.
27:27He certainly accomplished what he wanted to.
27:30It wasn't an easy cookie.
27:31He certainly stayed there and took the punishment.
27:33But there is a difference in class of these two fighters.
27:36You cannot put them in the same room together.
27:39Ali Ridgway consoling Ivan Gonzalez.
27:43He's the man of the orange.
27:47Rubbing the head of Ivan Gonzalez.
27:51Meldrick Taylor with a dominating effort here tonight.
27:56Ladies and gentlemen, the time.
27:59Two minutes, 47 seconds of the fifth round.
28:03The winner by a TKO and still undefeated, Meldrick Taylor.
28:08Meldrick Taylor, winner by technical knockout.
28:14Lifting his racket to 18-0-1, 10 KO's.
28:22Can we talk?
28:22Dave Dials is in the center of the ring.
28:25And he is getting set to chat with the fighters.
28:29Ivan, it was obvious you were taking a pretty good beating there.
28:35But also obvious you were not yourself.
28:37What was the problem?
28:38Well, my last fight, December 18th, I dislocated my shoulder.
28:42And two weeks before this fight, I was training.
28:45Actually, I've been training five weeks for this fight.
28:46And the two weeks before the fight, I took it back out of place.
28:51And I've been training kind of easy for this fight.
28:53But I was hoping that it wouldn't affect me.
28:56But it did right about the second round.
28:58Why in the world would you go on with this fight knowing you weren't yourself?
29:02Well, because I knew I had nothing to lose.
29:04I had everything in the game.
29:05And I knew that if I hit him good in the first few rounds with a good shot,
29:11I knew I could become a star overnight.
29:14But I took the fight.
29:15You know, I fought gainly.
29:16I had nothing to lose.
29:17And I thank the Lord, Jesus Christ, for me not really getting hurt.
29:22He's a good fighter.
29:23But I don't think he really hit me with anything hard.
29:26He only hit me because I had my hand down.
29:28Yeah.
29:28Well, is this shoulder over here?
29:30No, it's my left shoulder.
29:31Your left shoulder.
29:31Yeah, it's been hurting since December.
29:33Don't fight again until you get it fixed.
29:35No, no.
29:35I'm going to take some time off, spend some time with my family, my wife and kids.
29:39And we'll decide when again.
29:41Okay.
29:42Good luck.
29:42Meanwhile.
29:43Enjoyed being with you this week.
29:44Let me get Meldrick Taylor in here now.
29:48Meldrick.
29:51The two fighters commending each other.
29:52I know you felt he put up.
30:00All right.
30:01You saw that last hit there.
30:02You knew he was hurting, didn't you?
30:04Yeah.
30:04I knew everything I was throwing him was hurting him.
30:08He was just in there trying to survive.
30:10But I just try to keep up the pressure.
30:12I should have threw more jabs.
30:13And I wanted to get a better workout.
30:15I don't know if that's right, but, you know.
30:18Overall, you're happy with your performance?
30:20Yeah, I'm happy.
30:21It was a good workout.
30:23I got to use a lot of my skills on my defense.
30:26In the third round, I heard Lou Duva yelling, and I'm sure you must have.
30:30Everybody else in here did.
30:32Saying, settle down.
30:34Settle down.
30:34Did you hear that?
30:35Yeah, I heard it.
30:36Were you being immature or impatient or what?
30:39I guess you could say I was being a little impatient, you know.
30:41I really wanted to get him out of here.
30:43I was too anxious to try to get him out of here.
30:45I think I should have settled down more and been a little patient.
30:48Maybe if I would have settled down on the jab and then set up things,
30:51then I would have got him out a lot quicker.
30:52After this workout, this impressive victory, you're ready for a title fight?
30:56Yeah, I'm ready for Buddy McGirt.
30:57Bring on Buddy McGirt.
30:57I'd like to say back home and say hello to my mother, my parents,
31:01and my family, and my friends back home.
31:03Okay, that's it.
31:04Meldrick Taylor, an impressive victor here tonight.
31:07Steve?
31:08Coming up, the WBA and IBF.
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