Thunder Meets Lightning

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Thunder Meets Lightning was the boxing world championship fight held on March 17, 1990 between WBC Jr Welterweight world champion Julio Cesar Chavez of Mexico and IBF world champion Meldrick Taylor of the United States.

The fight was held in Las Vegas, Nevada, and was a world title unification bout, nicknamed "Thunder Meets Lightning" in allusion to Chavez's punching power and Taylor's speed.

Taylor held a small but steady lead on the scorecards (106-103, 104-105 and 106-103, which would have given him a split decision win even with the final two point round for Chavez added on) but Chavez rallied with 12 seconds to go, dropping Taylor with a right hand. Taylor was on his feet after taking the mandatory 8-count, but was unable to respond to referee Richard Steele, who stopped the fight in favor of Chavez with only 2 seconds to go in the bout.

To this day, Steele's decision remains controversial. Many fans believe Taylor should have been allowed to continue due to the fact that there were mere seconds remaining in the fight and that he was ahead on the scorecards, or that he should have been allowed to continue because he gave a slight nod to the referee when asked "Are you okay?" Others agree with the decision, arguing that another good punch would have caused irreversible damage to Taylor, considering his eye socket was already broken, his face swollen and he had swallowed much of his own blood during the fight.

Either way, the exciting matchup was declared the Ring magazine Fight of the Year for 1990 and later the Fight of the Decade. Taylor briefly held the WBA welterweight title afterwards but was never the same fighter. Chavez, on the other hand, had solidified himself as a boxing legend.