Thunder Meets Lightning was the boxing world championship fight held on March 31, 1990 between WBC Jr Welterweight world champion Julio Cesar Chavez of Mexico and IBF world champion Meldrick Taylor of the United States. Joe Louis and Rocky Marciano at Madison Square Garden, 1951 Julio Cesar Chavez and Ivan Robinson at the Staples Centre, Los Angeles, 2005 Amir Khan of Britain and Mario Cesar Kindelan Mesa of Cuba at the Athens Olympics, 2004 Boxing, nicknamed the sweet science and the sport of kings and... This article is about the World, meaning the Earth. ... March 31 is the 90th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (91st in Leap years), with 275 days remaining. ... This article is about the year. ... The World Boxing Council (WBC) has operated since 1963 as a competitor to Venezuelas World Boxing Association (WBA) and, according to its founders, a way to improve professional boxings standards. ... Julio César Chávez (born July 12, 1962 in Culiacán, Sinaloa) is a Mexican world champion boxer who won world titles in 3 different divisions, went undefeated for 89 bouts before originally retiring with a record of 104-5-2, with 80 knockouts. ... The International Boxing Federation, or IBF, is one of many organizations which sanction championship boxing bouts, alongside the WBA, WBC, WBO, and a dozen or so others. ... Meldrick Taylor (born October 19, 1966) is a former Olympic gold medalist and world boxing champion in two weight classes. ...

The fight was held in Las Vegas, Nevada, and it was a world title unification bout, nicknamed like that in allusion to Chavez's punching power and Taylor's speed. Nickname: The Entertainment Capital of the World Motto: Official website: http://www. ...

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 if he had lost the last round in all scorecards) but Chavez rallied with 12 seconds to go, dropping Taylor with a right hand, and referee Richard Steele stopping the fight in favor of Chavez with only 2 seconds to go in the bout. There is also the Irish politician Richard Steele Richard Steele (born 1944) is a former member of the United States Marine Corps and famous boxing referee. ...

The controversy over the end of the bout came because of boxing regulations established in 1983 imposing a mandatory eight count, where a downed fighter must take an eight count, even if he rises immediately. Steele's stoppage of the fight, to many fans, was an unnecessary decision because Taylor had risen, and the bout would have ended with the bell during the mandatory eight count. Some have charged fight-fixing as Steele's stoppage took place before the Taylor was given the full count.