Arnold Taylor
| Arnold Taylor | |
|---|---|
| Statistics | |
| Weight(s) | bantamweight |
| Height | 5 ft 7 in (170 cm) |
| Reach | 69 in (175 cm) |
| Nationality | South African |
| Born |
July 15, 1943 Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa |
| Died | November 22, 1981 (aged 38) |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 49 |
| Wins | 40 |
| Wins by KO | 17 |
| Losses | 8 |
| Draws | 1 |
Arnold Taylor (15 July 1945 – 22 November 1981) was a South African boxer who held the Lineal and WBA bantamweight championships in 1973.
Taylor lived during the 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.
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 (one by knockout, one by disqualification in six rounds and one by decision), and one each over Edward Mbongwa (on 7 September 1968, in what was his first fight abroad, fought in Swaziland) 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 (about 1.1 stone) 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.
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