Terry Norris vs. Meldrick Taylor
Terry Norris vs. Meldrick Taylor was a professional boxing match contested on May 9, 1992, for the WBC super welterweight title.
Background
A fight between WBC super welterweight champion Terry Norris and WBA welterweight champion Meldrick Taylor had been in the works for nearly a year. On June 1, 1991, Norris and Taylor co-headlined a boxing card in which the two fighters successfully defended their titles against Donald Curry and Luis Garcia respectively. After the event, Norris' manager Joe Sayatovich explicitly stated that he and Norris were interested in facing Taylor, telling the media "we're looking for somebody to fight who is credible. We want Meldrick Taylor." However, as Taylor had only recently moved up from the 140-pound light welterweight division to the 147-pound welterweight division and Norris fought at the 154-pound super welterweight limit, Taylor's manager Dan Duva denied that Taylor would be able to face Norris 154 pounds stating that Taylor was "barely a welterweight. If Terry Norris wants to fight at 147, then we'll talk." With a Norris–Taylor fight not happening for the time being, Norris and Taylor would continue with their respective careers, but with pressure from Norris due to receiving big money fights, Sayatovich struck a deal with Duva in early March 1992 that would see Norris and Taylor meet on May 9, 1992, at The Mirage in the Las Vegas Valley.In an effort to split the difference between their respective normal weight classes, Taylor's camp successfully negotiated a catchweight of 150.5 pounds, exactly midway between the welterweight and super welterweight divisions. Though Norris had to shed pounds from his normal fighting weight, he remained unconcerned as he was still naturally larger than Taylor, he stated "I'm much bigger and much stronger. He has nothing to hold me off with."
Norris was a 2–1 favourite to win.