Boxing icon Julio Cesar Chavez was nothing short of incredible over the course of 115 fights.
As one of the greatest Mexican boxers of all time, Chavez truly changed the sport with a global impact.
From Chavez bouncing back from his first defeat immediately, to being a three-division champion, few will ever reach the standards set by the Mexican.
In what was one of the most dramatic fights of his life, Chavez was just seconds away from losing his world title.
Julio Cesar Chavez scored a round 12 knockout in world title fight
In May 1989, Chavez defeated Roger Mayweather to become the WBC World Super Lightweight champion. After two defenses of his title, Chavez would welcome a challenge from Meldrick Taylor (24-0-1) in a unification bout.
Chavez’s WBC title would be on the line in the fight in March 1990, while Taylor was the IBF Super Lightweight champion.
However, it seemed as if Chavez was heading to the first defeat of his professional career as the two met in Las Vegas.
Although both men had success in the fight, Taylor’s output was the component of the bout that would see him ahead in the contest. In relentless pursuit of Chavez with excellent work in the pocket, Taylor seemingly had a significant lead after 11 rounds in the fight.
One judge had the bout scored 105-104 in favor of Chavez after 11 rounds. However, the other two judges had Taylor ahead by five and seven points each, meaning a loss was imminent for the Mexican.
Remarkably, Chavez would sting Taylor with just 25 seconds left on the clock, before knocking his opponent down 10 seconds later.
Although Taylor would return to his feet, the referee deemed him unable to continue. The fight was stopped at 2:58 seconds of the 12th round, as Chavez snatched victory from the jaws of defeat.
The epic brawl was named Ring Magazine’s 1990 ‘Fight of the Year’.
Julio Cesar Chavez and Meldrick Taylor rematched in 1994
Despite the nature of their first meeting, Chavez and Taylor would not meet again until September 1994, four years after their first meeting.
Again, Chavez was looking to defend his WBC World Super Lightweight title, as he had a record of 90-1-1. Taylor went into the bout with a professional record of 32-3-1, having suffered another two knockout losses since meeting Chavez.
Taylor would not be able to get redemption for his last-gasp loss to the Mexican. This time, it would be the eighth round where Taylor was stopped, as Chavez retained his title.