On St. Patrick’s Day, 1990, in what would later be named ‘Fight of the Year’ by ‘The Ring’ magazine, WBC light welterweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez fought IBF light welterweight champion Meldrick Taylor in a unification bout, billed as ‘Thunder Meets Lightning’, at the Hilton Hotel, Las Vegas. In a contest fought at a furious pace, Taylor took advantage of superior hand speed to throw, and land, lightning-fast combinations, while Chavez continued in dogged, determined pursuit of his younger, less experienced opponent.
The fight followed a similar pattern until round ten, by which time Chavez was so far behind on points that a knockout was his only hope of victory. The Mexican increased his work rate, inflicting more damage on a tiring Taylor in the tenth and eleventh rounds than he had in the preceding nine. In round twelve, Chavez continued on the attack, trapping Taylor in a corner late on and landing a left-right combination, followed by a tremendous right hand that knocked him to the floor. With the aid of the ropes, Taylor regained his footing but, following a mandatory eight-count, was unresponsive when asked, more than once, by referee Richard Steele, if he was fit to continue. Left with little choice, Steele signalled the end of the fight with just two seconds on the clock, handing victory to Chavez by technical knockout.