Friends, Family Help Taylor Cope With Painful Loss

PHILADELPHIA - Meldrick Taylor, whose dream of becoming the greatest fighter in the world was shattered by two ticks of the clock, knows both the curse and the value of time.

He knows that time will help to heal the pain that it caused in the first place. Time and the support he has received since the most disappointing fight of his career.

Taylor, who was stopped by Julio Cesar Chavez with only two seconds left in their fight March 17 in Las Vegas, said that friends, relatives and fans have been treating him as if he had won the fight - and that that has helped him recover from what ABC commentator Alex Wallau called ``the most heartbreaking loss I have ever seen.''

``I was flabbergasted that the referee (Richard Steele) stopped the fight,'' said Taylor, who lost the International Boxing Federation version of the junior-welterweight title. ``But it was out of my control. It was a very painful experience, because I had fought 12 perfect rounds, and he (the referee) snatched victory away from me. . . . But I have to accept what happened. I have to put this fight behind me.''

Taylor made those remarks at Philadelphia City Hall, where Mayor W. Wilson Goode presented him with a citation honoring him for his accomplishments in the ring.

The ceremony, attended by about 20 friends and relatives, took place in a reception room - a much friendlier environment than the mine field his opponent created last month.

Taylor, a 1984 Olympic gold medalist from Philadelphia, received the kind of warm applause usually reserved for winners.

``Meldrick, in my book, is still the champion, because he won that fight, and he whippped him (Chavez),'' the mayor said.

It was not a ticker-tape parade - which Taylor would have received if he had won - but the fighter was not complaining.

``The night (after the bout) was very traumatic for me,'' said Taylor, who spent the night in the hospital after suffering from dehydration and a lacerated tongue that caused him to lose two pints of blood. ``But when I got back to Philadelphia, I realized there was a perception that I was still the champion. If it wasn't for that, it would have been a lot tougher for me to deal with what happened.''

Taylor, comfortably ahead on two of the three scorecards when the bout was stopped, lost his bid to unify two-thirds of the junior-welterweight title - the IBF version, which he owned, and the World Boxing Council version, which his opponent owned.

``I want the title back - and I want to win it back in the ring,'' Taylor said.

Taylor should get his chance.

The IBF, which received a protest from the Taylor camp two weeks after the fight, ruled that Chavez must grant Taylor a rematch within six months.

Dan Duva, who promotes Taylor, said that his fighter probably would take a tuneup fight in August, and that the Chavez match probably would be scheduled toward the end of the year.

``I think the fight gave Meldrick more confidence,'' Duva said. ``Any doubts he may have had were erased by this bout. And I think the opposite is true for Chavez. Now he knows what he has to deal with in Meldrick.''

Don King, who promotes Chavez, said he was ``looking forward'' to staging a rematch.

``I understand that everyone has a different idea of what a referee should do,'' King said. ``I had one in Tokyo.''

King was referring to the controversy over the so-called long count when Mike Tyson floored James ``Buster'' Douglas in the eighth round of their bout on Feb. 11 in Tokyo - a bout in which Douglas overcame the knockdown to win the undisputed heavyweight title.

``But that is over,'' King said. ``There is no hesitation on my part for a Chavez-Taylor rematch. I think the public deserves to see it. If Meldrick Taylor can perform up to the caliber of what he did before - without going down this time - then it'll be one and one. That means a third fight . . . and that means more money for everyone.''

Lloyd Remick, a lawyer who represents Taylor, said the fighter should get $2 million for a rematch. Taylor earned $1 million for the first fight.

``But that's still to be negotiated,'' he said. ``There's still time.''

Despite the loss, Taylor believes the fight will boost his career, both in terms of money and recognition from the public.

``I fought on national television (HBO), and the people saw what I could do.''