HBOs Tapia begins with an overhead shot of the New Mexico desert. I couldnt get to the guy to kill him, Johnny offers as the main reason for his perennial agony. His wife somehow stayed. Tapia stirred from the coma, sobbing, with tubes attached to his tattooed body. AboutPressCopyrightContact. At 38, Tapia faced little-known Sandro Marcos in Chicago. Relatives raised him and he followed in the footsteps of his grandfather, who had himself been a boxer. She became his manager. Tapias father had vanished before he was born, and Tapia had thought he was dead until he turned up in 2010 after being released from a federal penitentiary and DNA tests confirmed his paternity. Using DNA evidence, investigators solved the crime, pinning it on the last man to have been seen with her. Tapia down in round 6, Pastrana down in round 8. appreciated. After a standout, Golden Gloves-winning amateur career, Tapia turned pro. It is a city of fights and fighters, of hockey and heroes, of broken dreams and immortal glory, a city unlike any other. With Johnny its hard to decide what is best for him but, as a wife, Id love to see him retire and be a husband and a father first and foremost.. One in particularwas his 1997 bout with fellow Albuquerquian Danny Romero. On April 15, 2005, he sustained an injury to his left eye, but was able to continue and win a repeat match-up with Frankie Archuleta. Tapia never ran from his own darkness so much as he perpetually hovered over it. Tapia was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Boxersk rekord pro Arthura Johnsona z BoxRec; Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; . Tapia ruled down in round eleven. With no father to watch over him, Tapia lived with his grandparents. Johnny heard her screams as she was taken away, chained to a pickup truck, but his cries for help were ignored. Teresa Tapia looks at Johnny, her husband of 18 years and the father of her three children, and smiles gently. His first pro fight was in 1988. Fed up, she said, she locked him in her apartment, whose windows were covered with bars, and refused to let him out for six weeks while he broke free of the drugs grip. To make money he sometimes participated in underground fights at a local bar, where apparently the only prohibited weapon was a gun. Their marriage lurched wildly up and down, as Mrs. Tapia struggled to provide stability. He was famous for being a Boxer. Johnny Tapia, a prizefighter who won world titles in three weight classes in a chaotic life that included jail, struggles with mental illness, suicide attempts and five times being declared. Press conferences about the Super Six have just taken place and Tapias eyes twitch as Arthur Abraham and Carl Froch amble past. Their rivalry had begun many years earlier when Romero's father trained both boxers. [7], On January 17, 2007, Tapia held a press conference stating that he would face Ilido Julio on February 23 in his home town of Albuquerque, New Mexico, then retire. Out of it, their influence held sway. Johnny Tapia, left, in 2007 during one of his comebacks. In 1996, he fought six more times, keeping his undefeated record and defending the title five additional times during that period, which included wins against Giovanni Andrade, Ivan Alvarez, future champion Hugo Rafael Soto, Sammy Stewart and Adonis Cruz. Glen Tapia (born December 11, 1989) is an American professional boxer. The murderer had died in 1983 after stumbling drunk into the middle of a busy Albuquerque street where he was hit by three cars and dragged to his death. Johnny sees things well, Freddie Roach, Tapias trainer and a member of the World Boxing Hall of Fame, said in an interview with Sports Illustrated in 2002. [10], The next day, on the morning of March 13, Tapia's brother-in-law and nephew were killed in an automobile accident on U.S. Highway 550 near Bloomfield, New Mexico, apparently en route to the hospital to visit Tapia. That was a very, very emotional time and the hardest time for me, and for him, because he knew he had gone too far. He was born on Feb. 13, 1967, so he will turn 46 in -10 month and -11 day. Co-caine. He hangs on the name of the white powder and sighs, remembering the dangerous euphoria that rushed through his body and infected his mind. And many more times I came close to dying. Tapia down in round 6, Pastrana down in round 8. His last fight was in June 2011. He won a unanimous decision. You tell me. He wrote an autobiography by that title. Grand Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S. Bally's Las Vegas, Paradise, Nevada, U.S. La Mancha Athletic Club, Phoenix, Arizona, U.S. Convention Center, Phoenix, Arizona, U.S. Centre Plaza Holiday Inn, Fresno, California, U.S. world championships in three weight classes, Albuquerque Hosts National Golden Gloves Tournament, "Johnny Tapia Fails Drug Test in Rehab - Boxing News", "Tapia to fight Julio in New Mexico, then retire - boxing - ESPN", "Five-time world champion in serious condition - boxing - ESPN", "Boxer Johnny Tapia's brother-in-law dies in wreck: Local: Albuquerque Tribune", "Fightnews New Mexico Boxing.com - Fight Results", "Five-time champ Tapia to remain in rehab after testing positive for drugs", "Man who claimed to be Johnny Tapia's father will pay thousands for fraud", "DNA test results rule out Padilla as father of late boxer Tapia", "Johnny Tapia, Champion Boxer Amid Chaos, Dies at 45", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Johnny_Tapia&oldid=1117030003, International Boxing Federation champions, International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees, Pages with login required references or sources, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 19 October 2022, at 15:29. Thats the love of my life. His 1999 loss by decision to Paulie Ayala was named the Fight of the Year by The Ring magazine. On their wedding night, in 1993, Teresa found the man she had pledged her life to injecting drugs. Boxer Johnny Tapia was found dead Sunday in New Mexico, this according to local police. Id love to think that in 30 years, well be old together and surrounded by family. He has been the editor of Boxing News since 2015. The torment threatens to break his voice but he manages to resist. He was a 21-year-old flyweight prospect when he covered one nostril and used the other to snort back his first heavenly line of cocaine through a tightly rolled dollar bill. Less than a year after his mothers death, he recounted, his uncles were making him fight older boys in matches they bet on. A metropolis where hundreds of young warriors train and battle each day in its many gyms, it is where Archie Moore, Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran and Bernard Hopkins all found greatness. Your email address will not be published. I mean, Ill take him until 80 or 90 years old.. Johnny Tapia lands a punch against Antonio Ruiz during the fight at the Olympic Auditorium, in May 5,1994 in Los Angeles, California. Tapia won his first 22 professional fights, then was suspended from boxing after failing three drug tests. Known in years past as "Sin City" and "Babylon on the St. Lawrence", it saw more than its share of ring legends over the decades. from host boxrec.com from host www.boxrec.com: Linked from: fr.wikipedia.org Johnny Tapia. HOW LONG HAS TAPIA BEEN FIGHTING? He is easily distracted as we all sit together deep inside the mysterious green labyrinth that is the MGM Grand. Scores: 98-92, 96-94, 99-93. In his autobiography, Mi Vida Loca: The Crazy Life of Johnny Tapia, the fighter says that his father was murdered before he was born and that he was eight when he saw his mother murdered. That same day, Tapia was upgraded from critical to serious condition. Tapia claimed what the police found was only a soap bar, and the charges were eventually dropped. As the needle sank into his arm and loaded his veins with toxins, Tapia drifted into a coma. Tapia went to jail, struggled with depression, and attempted suicide. Tapia returned home to prepare for bouts in 2001, when he went up in weight and beat Famosito Gomez by a knockout in six, and former WBC featherweight champion Cesar Soto by knockout in three. Theres times when I look at him and I think to myself, I believe were going to grow old together, I believe were going to see our kids and our grandkids and were going to beat the odds. The 45-year-old has been clean for over two years now, since being released from prison and embarking on a comeback. So why not try and get over the bad stuff and try to make it a good ending?. He passed away on May 27, 2012 at the age of 45. Foul play is not suspected. No great fighter ever runs from the darkness that lies ahead of him, states narrator Liev Schrieber. Tapia claimed two Golden Gloves awards in addition to professional titles in several weight classes. Then theres other times when I look at him and I think I probably wont have this man in my life for much longer because if youve lost your will to live then what do you have?. He won eight fights that year, five by knockout, of which four were in the first round. She wrestles with her unconditional adoration for Johnny every single day. Updated V roce 1995 se stal dritelem titulu super flyweight WBO Johnny Tapia, ale ztratil vtinov rozhodnut. The indelible writing has always been on the wall for this twisted love story. Erik Morales: First Mexican to Win 4 in 4, Top 12 Reasons Why Muhammad Ali Is Forever The Greatest, Top 12 All-Time Greatest Heavyweight Punchers. After that, the fight with Romero was set for Las Vegas. Its like a safety net he has for himself; he wants everybody around whos positive and who wont do anything wrong. His father had reportedly been murdered while his mother was pregnant with him. The widow of former world championJohnny Tapia has remarried. Sometimes by the book, it would be wrong to do the things Johnny does, but hes such a natural fighter, he gets away with it., John Lee Tapia liked to point out that he was born in Albuquerque on Friday the 13th in February 1967. **This site uses cookies and other technologies, so we can remember you and understand how you and other visitors use our site. I dont have a temptation because if I want it [drugs] I can get it, wherever I am. Cocaine became my mistress. When Johnny was only eight-years-old, his mother and only parent was raped and murdered at the age of 33, stabbed 22 times with an ice pick and left to die on the side of the road. Scores: 98-92, 96-94, 99-93. Las Vegas is a City of Sin, the best and worst of humankind, mixed together to form a sickly but irresistible trail of destruction. I tried to find him, right before the Paulie Ayala fight. Boxing, he tells the camera, saved my life., Your email address will not be published. Tapia's next bout, for the IBF featherweight title, was versus Manuel Medina. Johnny always makes sure were with him when he goes anywhere. In 1990, he had just won a $1 million commercial for Pepsi when he tested dirty and got kicked out, losing his boxing license, said his wife and manager, Teresa Tapia, in the same 2004 interview. That is to say, he possessed the rare medley of talent, charisma, and recklessness that leaped through the screen to seize the viewer's heart. Hes like a walking contradiction, Teresa tells me while Johnny is out of earshot. Five-time WBO world champion who had a record of 59-5-2. Tapia's dad was murdered while his mom was pregnant with him. He became a two time world bantamweight champion by beating Jorge Eliecer Julio by a decision at Albuquerque on January 8, 2000. A police officer told him that his mothers killing had been solved. But he went on with his careerand was paid two million dollars to face legendary champion Marco Antonio Barrera in 2002. His disproportionately large knuckles bulge through the skin as he twists his palm skywards. Tapia never ran from his own darkness so much as he perpetually hovered over it. His life was marked by tragedy. He held multiple world championships in three weight classes, including the unified IBF and WBO super flyweight titles between 1994 and 1998, the unified WBA and WBO bantamweight titles between 1998 and 2000, and the IBF featherweight title in 2002. [3], Tapia was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico to Mexican American parents. Albuquerque, he says, Im still your champion.. When he was eight years old, his mother, Virginia, was kidnapped, raped, repeatedly stabbed, and left for dead by her assailant.