Arnold Taylor


Arnold Taylor was a South African boxer who held the Lineal and WBA bantamweight championships in 1973.

Background

Taylor lived during the apartheid era|apartheid] period; Born to Muriel and Joe Taylor on 15 July 1945. White South African. Taylor was a qualified confectioner, he used to work at a local bakery in Johannesburg during the day before training at night.

Pro career

Arnold Taylor made his professional boxing debut on 20 May 1967, against Ray Buttle, against whom he drew after six rounds in Transvaal. His first three fights were against Buttle; he won the Transvaal Bantamweight title with a ninth-round knockout of Buttle in his second fight, held on 30 June of the same year, at Johannesburg. On 11 December, he outpointed Buttle over eight rounds in a non-title bout, also at Johannesburg.
On 19 February 1968, he won the South African Bantamweight title; in only his fourth fight, beating Andries Steyn over twelve rounds by decision. After two non-title wins, he lost the title, and suffered his first career defeat, when he was knocked out in the first round by Dennis Adams on 1 July of the same year.
After that defeat, he had eight wins in a row, including three against Herby Clark, and one each over Edward Mbongwa and one in Lesotho over Anthony Morodi. His third win over Clark, a twelve-round decision on 12 May 1969, actually gave him the South African Lightweight division, 15 pounds over his natural fighting weight.
Next was a rematch with Adams. Taylor lost weight to fight Adams for the South African Featherweight title, and he avenged his first defeat, conquering his third regional title along the way, by knocking Adams out in round eight, exactly twelve days after conquering the Lightweight title. He decided to vacate the Featherweight title and concentrate on defending his Lightweight title, but he lost that title on his first defense, when rematched with Steyn, on 4 July 1969, by a knockout in round eight also.
Two wins and one defeat later, he fought Ray Buttle's brother, Mike Buttle, in a rematch for the South African Bantamweight title, on 6 December; he had beaten Mike Buttle by a fifth-round knockout three weeks before. The rematch lasted one more round, as Taylor regained the title with a sixth-round knockout.
Taylor began the 1970s with an upgrade in opposition quality, when he fought fellow world Bantamweight champion Johnny Famechon, of Australia, on 11 April 1970, at Johannesburg. In his first fight against a former or future world champion, Taylot lost a ten-round decision. In his next fight, he faced Ray Buttle once again, this time winning again with a ninth-round knockout, on 15 August, to regain the South African Featherweight title. This began a streak of nineteen wins in a row, including five in Australia, and one in Zimbabwe. After he had reached sixteen wins in a row, he was given his first world title shot.
On 3 November 1973, Taylor met the Lineal and WBA World Bantamweight champion, Mexico's Romeo Anaya, in a match refereed by Stanley Christodoulou. The fight is considered by many one of boxing's classic fights. One South African sportswriter called it "the bloodiest fight in South African boxing history". Taylor suffered a cut and was knocked down once in round five and three times in round eight. Nevertheless, Taylor also cut the champion, and, in round fourteen, he connected with a right hand to Anaya's jaw, sending him to the floor. Feeling that this was his moment to become a world champion, Taylor screamed to his trainers: "He's gone!" from a neutral corner. It took Anaya two minutes to get up, and Taylor won the World Bantamweight crown.
After two non-title wins, Taylor defended his title for the only time, against Soo-Hwan Hong, on 3 July 1974, also at Durban. In what is also considered by many to be another boxing classic, Taylor was once again dropped four times. He was dropped three times early in the fight, and he staged a rally from rounds ten to fifteen, constantly pinning the challenger against the ring's corners and ropes, but he was dropped for a fourth time in round fourteen, and ended up losing the title by a fifteen-round unanimous decision.
The rest of his career was mostly undistinguished. He won four fights in a row, but, after losing two fights back to back, he decided to retire. Two fights that stand out among his last six fights were a rematch with Anaya, whom he beat again, by knockout in eight rounds at Johannesburg on 27 June 1975, and his last fight, when he was knocked out in eight rounds by Vernon Sollas, on 24 November 1976. His last two fights took place in Norway and England, respectively.

Death

Taylor died on 22 November 1981. While driving a motorcycle belonging to his eldest daughter Charmaine, he was involved in an accident in which he was knocked over and he died at the scene of the accident.

Professional boxing record

No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRoundDateLocationNotes
50LossVernon SollasRTD8 24 Nov 1976Anglo-American Sporting Club, Mayfair, London, England
49Loss40–7–1 Svein Erik PaulsenPTS1021 Oct 1976Messehallen, Oslo, Norway
48Win40–6–1 Dave NeedhamPTS108 May 1976Ellis Park Tennis Stadium, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
47Win39–6–1 Romeo AnayaKO8 27 Jun 1975Ellis Park Tennis Stadium, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
46Win38–6–1 Lothar AbendRTD3 5 May 1975Ellis Park Tennis Stadium, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
45Win37–6–1 John MitchellTKO4 22 Feb 1975Ellis Park Tennis Stadium, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
44Loss36–6–1 Hong Soo-hwanUD153 Jul 1974West Ridge Tennis Stadium, Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South AfricaLost WBA and The Ring bantamweight titles
43Loss36–5–1 Lorenzo TrujilloPTS1031 May 1974Showgrounds Hall, Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape, South Africa
42Win36–4–1 Paul FerreriPTS1018 Mar 1974Goodwood Showgrounds, Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa
41Win35–4–1 Guy CaudronPTS1016 Feb 1974Rand Stadium, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
40Win34–4–1 Romeo AnayaKO14 3 Nov 1973Rand Stadium, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South AfricaWon WBA and The Ring bantamweight titles
39Win33–4–1 Billy WaithPTS1016 Jun 1973Portuguese Hall, Turffontein, Gauteng, South Africa
38Win32–4–1 Jimmy BellPTS1028 Apr 1973Ellis Park Tennis Stadium, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
37Win31–4–1 Evan ArmstrongKO4 28 Oct 1972Ellis Park Tennis Stadium, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
36Win30–4–1 Hansie van RooyenKO6 13 May 1972Ellis Park Tennis Stadium, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
35Win29–4–1 Hansie van RooyenPTS1227 Mar 1972Wembley Stadium, Johannesburg, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South AfricaRetained South African featherweight title
34Win28–4–1 Ugo PoliKO4 29 Jan 1972Ellis Park Tennis Stadium, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
33Win27–4–1 Chris NelRTD7 27 Nov 1971 Glamis Stadium, Harare, Rhodesia
32Win26–4–1 Luis AisaPTS1030 Oct 1971Ellis Park Tennis Stadium, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
31Win25–4–1 Alberto JangalayPTS1030 Aug 1971Festival Hall, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
30Win24–4–1 Memo EspinosaPTS103 Aug 1971Festival Hall, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
29Win23–4–1 Turori GeorgePTS1014 Jun 1971Festival Hall, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
28Win22–4–1 Willie CordovaPTS1017 May 1971Festival Hall, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
27Win21–4–1 Willie CordovaPTS103 May 1971Festival Hall, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
26Win20–4–1 Chris NelTKO10 29 Dec 1970Amphitheatre, Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
25Win19–4–1 Chris NelRTD7 21 Sep 1970City Hall, Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
24Win18–4–1 Ray ButtleTKO8 15 Aug 1970Ellis Park Tennis Stadium, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South AfricaRetained South African featherweight title
23Loss17–4–1 Johnny FamechonPTS1011 Apr 1970Ellis Park Tennis Stadium, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
22Win17–3–1 Mike ButtleTKO6 6 Dec 1969Ellis Park Tennis Stadium, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South AfricaWon South African bantamweight title
21Win16–3–1 Mike ButtleTKO5 15 Nov 1969Ellis Park Tennis Stadium, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
20Loss15–3–1 John O'BrienPTS1030 Aug 1969Ellis Park Tennis Stadium, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
19Loss15–2–1 Andries SteynRTD8 4 Jul 1969Allan Ford Stadium, Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South AfricaFor South African lightweight title
18Win15–1–1 Dennis AdamsRTD8 24 May 1969Ellis Park Tennis Stadium, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South AfricaRetained South African featherweight title
17Win14–1–1 Herby ClarkePTS1212 May 1969 City Hall, Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa Won vacant South African lightweight title
16Win13–1–1 Herby ClarkeDQ6 11 Apr 1969 City Hall, Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa Clarke disqualified for biting
15Win12–1–1 Henri NesiPTS1015 Feb 1969Ellis Park Tennis Stadium, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
14Win11–1–1 Colin LakeDQ3 2 Nov 1968Ellis Park Tennis Stadium, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
13Win10–1–1 Robert TrottTKO3 7 Oct 1968City Hall, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
12Win9–1–1 Anthony MorodiPTS65 Oct 1968Lesotho National Stadium, Maseru, Lesotho
11Win8–1–1 Edwin MbongwePTS67 Sep 1968Swaziland National Stadium, Mbabane, Swaziland
10Win7–1–1 Robert TrottPTS826 Aug 1968City Hall, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
9Win6–1–1 Herby ClarkeTKO9 12 Aug 1968City Hall, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
8Loss5–1–1 Dennis AdamsKO1 18 Jun 1968City Hall, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South AfricaFor South African bantamweight title
7Win5–0–1 Gerry Joey McBridePTS103 Jun 1968City Hall, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
6Win4–0–1 Bobby DaviesPTS1029 Apr 1968City Hall, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
5Win3–0–1 Andries SteynPTS1219 Feb 1968City Hall, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South AfricaWon South African featherweight title
4Win2–0–1 Ray ButtlePTS811 Dec 1967City Hall, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
31–0–1 Robert TrottND425 Nov 1967Ellis Park Rugby Stadium, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
2Win1–0–1Ray ButtleTKO9 30 Jun 1967City Hall, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South AfricaWon vacant South African Transvaal 'white' bantamweight title
1Draw0–0–1Ray ButtlePTS620 May 1967 Piet Potgieter High School Grounds, Mokopane, North-West, South Africa