Today in Boxing History: Meldrick Taylor decisions Aaron Davis

On this day in 1991, Meldrick Taylor won the WBA welterweight title with a 12-round unanimous decision over Aaron Davis in Atlantic City.

Only eight months earlier, Taylor had lost his IBF light welterweight belt to Julio Cesar Chavez in one of the must brutal and controversial bouts in boxing history. The general consensus among boxing aficionados is that Taylor was never the same after that fight.

However, he bounced back with a decision-win over Primo Ramos in August of 1990 and then signed to fight Davis in January of 1991. Davis, then 32-0, had won the WBA belt with a knockout of Mark Breland in July of 1990. Taylor would be his first title defense.

From the opening bell, Taylor wasted no time in his attempt to disprove the notion that he was a ruined fighter. He attacked Davis with his sustained lightning-fast assault for 12 straight rounds. The final judges’ scorecards read 115-112, 116-111, and 116-111, all in favor of Taylor.

Davis retired in 2002. His only other title bout was a majority decision loss to WBA light middleweight champ Julio Cesar Vasquez in 1993. Taylor successfully defended his welterweight belt twice before losing it to Crisanto Espana via an 8th-round knockout in 1992.