Tapia had recently wed Teresa Chavez, who would exercise a calming and supportive influence in his life, and wins came quickly for the newly married man. He suffers from bipolar disorder and it makes it very difficult the highs are very high and the lows are very low. Tapia's dad was murdered while his mom was pregnant with him. After four rounds of boxing the fight was called a draw. Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube. I was raised as a pit bull, he wrote in the book, which was co-authored by Bettina Gilois. If a human being is a vessel of emotions, Tapia was a powder keg, perpetually on the verge of implosion. Updated Ipse editor vice-Magazine ab Octobre 2002 usque ad Decembrem 2010 princeps fuit, et figuras insignes intermisit ut David Lynch, Marina Abramovi, Bret Easton Ellis, David Simon et Johnny Knoxville. No great fighter ever runs from the darkness that lies ahead of him, states narrator Liev Schrieber. Though an active professional, Tapia belonged to a street gang and began using cocaine as a young man. But when I ask Johnny how he sees himself in the future, he says hes not even sure hell wake up tomorrow., Johnny Tapia, Champion Boxer Amid Chaos, Dies at 45, https://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/29/sports/johnny-tapia-champion-boxer-amid-chaos-dies-at-45.html. Required fields are marked *. According to Johnny, his grandfather was a rugged, tough, macho man and his influence resonated with his grandson, who quickly gained a reputation as a fearsome street fighter. The tragedy of life was venomously harassing the Tapias, and Johnny, more miserable than ever, edged his finger towards the self-destruct button. Seven years later Johnny was on a bus that crashed, killing the pregnant woman who sat alongside him. Tapia said the news about his mothers killer upset him and might have contributed to his loss in the fight, but he considered it a blessing to finally know the truth. I killed them both.. Johnny clearly still adores boxing. Tapia, who was 5 feet 6 inches, said the raw fury he displayed in winning his world titles came from the horrific memory of seeing his mother being kidnapped and murdered when he was 8. V roce 1995 se stal dritelem titulu super flyweight WBO Johnny Tapia, ale ztratil vtinov rozhodnut. You tell me. If you change your mind, go to Notifications in the menu to enable browser notifications. A 21-year-old Tapia made his professional debut on March 28, 1988 against Efren Chavez. I have a reputation, I can just make a phone call. Using DNA evidence, investigators solved the crime, pinning it on the last man to have been seen with her. He passed away on May 27, 2012 at the age of 45. The widow of former world champion Johnny Tapia has remarried. Bout made at a catchweight of 124 pounds. He was born on Feb. 13, 1967, so he will turn 46 in -10 month and -11 day. Everybody has their faults, I have them, and I could move on and find somebody else, and you know, they might not have an addiction but how do I know they wont be a womaniser, they wont be an abuser? He did everything illegal that he could to make money. His father had reportedly been murdered while his mother was pregnant with him. In his first defeat, Tapia lost the bantamweight crown to Paulie Avala in June 1999 in what The Ring magazine called the fight of the year. He narrowly defeated Manuel Medina in 2002 to win the featherweight (126 pounds) title. The indelible writing has always been on the wall for this twisted love story. 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. His first pro fight was in 1988. Her killing would not be solved for almost 25 years. Johnny Tapia vs. Paulie Ayala (1st meeting) - BoxRec Johnny Tapia vs. Paulie Ayala (1st meeting) Paulie Ayala 118 lbs beat Johnny Tapia 118 lbs by UD in round 12 of 12 Date: 1999-06-26 Location: Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA Referee: Joe Cortez Judge: Guy Jutras 115-114 Judge: Duane Ford 116-113 Judge: Fernando Viso 116-113 2012527 () . But I found out hed been killed, hed been run over twice. During this time, Tapias wife, Teresa, had authorities re-open his mothers murder case. His 1999 loss by decision to Paulie Ayala was named the Fight of the Year by The Ring magazine. If he lost, they beat him, he said. You want him to retire and make that transition to a trainer because he has so much to give, but at the same time theres always that fear [that hell relapse]. vacant International Boxing Council Americas Lightweight Title, New Mexico Highlands University, Las Vegas, International Boxing Federation World Featherweight Title, World Boxing Organisation World Bantamweight Title, World Boxing Association World Bantamweight Title, International Boxing Federation World Super Flyweight Title With tragic irony, it was his heartwhich had never once let him down inside the ringthat failed him. Showing Editorial results for johnny tapia. At 38, Tapia faced little-known Sandro Marcos in Chicago. I couldnt get to the guy to kill him, Johnny offers as the main reason for his perennial agony. The son slipped into a lifelong pattern of binging on cocaine and alcohol, struggling with bipolar disorder, and cycling in and out of jail and drug rehabilitation programs. Press conferences about the Super Six have just taken place and Tapias eyes twitch as Arthur Abraham and Carl Froch amble past. In boxing, Tapias aggression was rewarded; on the street it brought him to the edge of death. I would have, believe me, if I could have had him in front of me. Johnnys cocaine habit has caused his heart to stop beating on five separate occasions, he has been in three comas, and he has been in and out of prison. Tapia's next bout, for the IBF featherweight title, was versus Manuel Medina. Two controversial defeats to Paulie Ayala introduced a new dimension to his experience as a professional, that of losing, and it didnt sit well with Tapia, who felt he was robbed in both fights. Less than a year after his mothers death, he recounted, his uncles were making him fight older boys in matches they bet on. 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. The last fight of Johnny Tapia took place on June 4, 2011 against Mauricio Pastrana. 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. There is a real openness that invites you to step inside his world and be his friend. In a performance that summoned all of his skill, showmanship and gall, Tapia outfought and outlasted Romero and won a unanimous decision. They were united by grief, welded with misery. From the age of eight, he has wanted to die. But lacing the incessant promises not to rekindle his affair with his mistress is uncertainty and fear that hell stray again. I tried to find him, right before the Paulie Ayala fight. World Boxing Organisation World Super Flyweight Title, World Boxing Organisation World Super Flyweight Title, vacant World Boxing Organisation World Super Flyweight Title, Caesars Palace, Sports Pavilion, Las Vegas. Blanco lost one point in round nine for low blows. My wife could have killed me, she could have turned off the machine, Johnny says, his voice quivering under the weight of shame. 1967213 () . Am I lucky or unlucky?. 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. Tapia was deducted 1 point in round 2 for a deliberate head butt. He has been the editor of Boxing News since 2015. . 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. Investigators said there were no indications of a drug overdose or alcohol use but that the 45-year-old former fighter likely developed medical complications from past illegal drug use. Cops say the death does not appear suspicious, but an official cause has not been determined. Johnny Tapia, left, in 2007 during one of his comebacks. On May 27 of 2012, Johnny Tapia was found dead. Johnny Tapia was an American boxer, who competed in the super flyweight division. Webpage Screenshot: share download .zip report bug or abuse donate . Tapia, a five time world champion, might be one of the greatest television fighters ever, a distinction he shares with fellow 90s legend Arturo Gatti. Five days later the Albuquerque Police claimed they found cocaine after the fight in a bag carried by Tapia. He retained the title with a nine-round technical draw with Ricardo Vargas and a decision in twelve against his onetime nemesis in the amateur ranks, Arthur Johnson. All Rights Reserved. He had many tattoos, which were prominent when he was fighting. When he was eight years old, his mother, Virginia, was kidnapped, raped, repeatedly stabbed, and left for dead by her assailant. [15] After Tapia died in 2012, his widow briefly married his alleged half-brother, Jeffrey Padilla, in 2014. Fortunately, he was allowed to resume his career in 1994. Matt Christie has been hooked on boxing since he picked up a copy of A Pictorial History of Boxing in 1985 as a seven-year-old. Relatives raised him and he followed in the footsteps of his grandfather, who had himself been a boxer. 2. It doesnt matter where I am, Tapia tells me the following day when I ask if the city is the best place for a reformed drug addict to hang out. When at his best, Johnny Tapia met the world with the finest smile. Miguel, an amateur boxing champion, taught him pugilistic skills. Tapia was inducted during 2017, posthumously, to the Internation Name: Johnny Tapia Alias: Mi Vida Loca Birth Name: John Lee Tapia Hometown: Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA Birthplace: Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA Died: 2012-05-27 (Age:45) Stance: Orthodox Height: 168cm Reach: 165cm Pro Boxer: Record Amateur Boxer: Record Managers: Paul Chavez (1988-1995) Teresa Tapia, his wife (1995-2011) He won eight fights that year, five by knockout, of which four were in the first round. A family member came home, found him deceased and called us, Officer Robert Gibbs, an Albuquerque, New Mexico, police spokesman, said Monday. Tapia turned to drugs in 1988, 11 years before he lost to Ayala. Blanco lost one point in round nine for low blows. I was so angry I thought I was going to stay in prison for life, but I ended up doing 23-hour lockdown [every day] for a whole year so I could get out.. Tapia ruled down in round eleven. But without prizefighting, life for an impulsive, troubled, and angry young man on the New Mexican streets might have ended much sooner. She got stabbed 22 times with an ice pick and raped, he told In This Corner With James Smith in a 2004 interview. He won a unanimous decision. The 45-year-old has been clean for over two years now, since being released from prison and embarking on a comeback. The next day, he was in a hospital with an overdose. 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. In 1989, he won seven more fights, including a first-round knockout of Abner Barajas and an eight-round decision against John Michael Johnson. He became a two time world bantamweight champion by beating Jorge Eliecer Julio by a decision at Albuquerque on January 8, 2000. She was subsequently stabbed 22 times with a screwdriver, and left for dead. 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