johnny tapia boxrec

Or stabbing anybody, or fighting anybody, or killing anybody? Her killing would not be solved for almost 25 years. 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. Tapia was banned from boxing for three years and he describes his suspension as one of the lowest times in his life. *Links to streaming, pay-per-view or ticketing platforms provided on this page, if any, are affiliate links. She didnt survive. Tapia is 5' 6" (5 Foot and 6 inch) which is 168 cm (1 meter and 68 centimeters). 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. Johnny Tapia died, for the final time, of heart failure at 45, an age much too young for a final exit. That was a very, very emotional time and the hardest time for me, and for him, because he knew he had gone too far. In a statement, Teresa Tapia said she decided thatmarryingPadilla would be best for the children, for a continuation of their sense of family. His father had reportedly been murdered while his mother was pregnant with him. I wanted to get him and stab him the same way he did my mom. 1967213 () . On their wedding night, in 1993, Teresa found the man she had pledged her life to injecting drugs. In his next fight, he defeated Puerto Rico's Andy Agosto via decision. He did everything illegal that he could to make money. The camera pans across the yellow landscape and settles on a solitary man, walking with his head down as though ruminating on a dark memory. Talking to Tapia, the little boy lost who craves his dear mother, its impossible not to root for him. He passed away on May 27, 2012 at the age of 45. [15] After Tapia died in 2012, his widow briefly married his alleged half-brother, Jeffrey Padilla, in 2014. "I was offered a fight against Johnny Tapia (which took place on June 26 of that year) and I was super-excited considering I was called over six months after the loss," Ayala told BoxingScene. Four times they wanted to pull life support. In 1989, he won seven more fights, including a first-round knockout of Abner Barajas and an eight-round decision against John Michael Johnson. 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]. Benitez first won the 140-pound WBA light-welterweight title from Antonio Cervantes on March 6, 1976, at the age of 17. All Rights Reserved. From the age of eight, he has wanted to die. Tapia never ran from his own darkness so much as he perpetually hovered over it. The crazy life of Johnny Tapia a five-time world champion boxer who once wrote that he had been raised to fight to the death ended this week at age 45. Thats the love of my life. Still undefeated after 18 more bouts, he beat Nana Konadu to win the bantamweight title (118 pounds) and become a two-division world champion. On February 11, 2009, Tapia was taken into custody in Albuquerque for a violation of parole related to cocaine use. WHAT IS TAPIA'S REACH? He quit the ring several times, but could not seem to give it up. I have a reputation, I can just make a phone call. Within weeks of Johnny being incarcerated, Teresas mother and grandmother passed away, and Johnnys grandfather died. An explosive combination puncher who backed up his suicidal tendencies with athleticism, he repeatedly waged all-out war in the ring and punctuated each miraculous victory with his trademark back-flip. His father was murdered before he was born. He left the title vacant so he could face Lineal & The Ring champion Marco Antonio Barrera, who beat Tapia by unanimous decision. She was subsequently stabbed 22 times with a screwdriver, and left for dead. By continuing to browse, cookies will be set on your device. If a human being is a vessel of emotions, Tapia was a powder keg, perpetually on the verge of implosion. HOW TALL IS JOHNNY TAPIA? The damage wreaked on him by his mothers murder and the degree to which it informed his worldview is extraordinarily sad, and for those of us who havent endured the same trauma, equallyimpossible to understand. Webpage Screenshot: share download .zip report bug or abuse donate . Mi vida loca, or my crazy life, were the words tattooed on his belly. Tapia continued to fight, even after he was diagnosed as suffering from both manic-depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, but boxing hadceased to be a reliable refuge. Family members say Albuquerque police were summoned to Tapia's house at 7:45 PM Sunday by a family member who discovered the body. 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 heart simply stopped beating and, unlike his previous brushes with death, this one was for real. But despite his early success, his life was anything but ordered, as he escaped the streets only when physically in the ring. Tapia was married to Teresa Tapia in 1994 and had three boys. Required fields are marked *. Hes like a walking contradiction, Teresa tells me while Johnny is out of earshot. 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. . Data may be incomplete and inaccurate. Teresa suddenly felt fierce hatred towards husband but, even as his constant drug possession resulted in him being sent to prison, she couldnt bring herself to untie the knot. His life, which ended at just 45, was spent trying not to fall into the abyss. But they didnt make it. While the Martinez title-winning fight might be his greatest moment, there were other notable wins. KOB-TV reports representatives for Teresa Tapia confirmed Sunday that she married Johnny Tapia's half-brother, Jeffrey Padilla. But I have lived and had it all. The fight took place on July 18. On December 5, 1998, Tapia defeated WBA bantamweight champion Nana Konadu by decision to become a two-division world champion. I hurt, Im old, Im done, he says, almost poetically. Cops say the death does not appear suspicious, but an official cause has not been determined. Tapia doesnt dwell on their relationship for long, nor does it detail how strongly it developed prior to Johnnys death, but it must have been astonishing, and perhaps astonishingly sad, for Johnny to realize, after four decades, that he was not alone in the world, and that the man responsible for his creation had been close by all along. According to his wife, no drugs were found in his system. His emotional transparency popularized him but he was doomed by his lack of control. 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. He was at his lowest, he was living on the streets. I have been famous and infamous. Teresa was waiting for him when he was released. Tapia ruled down in round eleven. When he finally returned to the ring on March 27, 1994, he beat Jaime Olvera by a knockout in four rounds in Tulsa, Oklahoma. When at his best, Johnny Tapia met the world with the finest smile. Your email address will not be published. In 2007 Johnny overdosed again and was taken to hospital where he lay in a coma. [8] Tapia won the fight by majority decision, 9892, 9694, 9595. Five times I was a world champion. 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. Tapia returned on the night of October 4, 2003, defeating Carlos Contreras by ten round unanimous decision at Albuquerque. The investigation had been reopened at the behest of Tapias wife. 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. He sniffs twice and swallows the build up of tears that bubble beneath the surface. In 2010, at age 43, Tapia learned that apparently, his father was alive. Johnny Tapia had an incredibly tragic early life, the details of which are difficult to transcribe, to say nothing of experiencing them firsthand. He fought seven times in 1994 and in October he took the WBO super flyweight title from Henry Martinez in his hometown of Albuquerque. Johnny Tapia. Tapia beat Jorge Alberto Reyes by a knockout in the 4th round on March 6, 2010, at the Ohkay Casino, San Juan Pueblo, New Mexico, United States, in front of a sold-out crowd. Teresa nearly walked away from her man in 2007. He hasnt moved on, not properly, from his mothers dreadful demise. He won eight fights that year, five by knockout, of which four were in the first round.In 1989, he won seven more fights, including a first-round knockout of Abner Barajas and an eight-round decision against John Michael Johnson. His father had reportedly been murdered while his mother was pregnant with him. On October 12, 1994 at The Pit, Albuquerque, New Mexico, Tapia defeated Henry Martnez in eleven rounds to win the vacant WBO super flyweight title. He suffers from bipolar disorder and it makes it very difficult the highs are very high and the lows are very low. Scores: 98-92, 96-94, 99-93. A car crash killed them both as they were on their way. On the drive to visit him, his brother-in-law and nephew were killed in a car accident. Updated 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. Did you encounter any technical issues? Home 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 As a wife, as a woman, Ive learnt theres good and bad in everyone and you have to accept them. Five days later the Albuquerque Police claimed they found cocaine after the fight in a bag carried by Tapia. Tapia learned through DNA testing the true identity of his father, a man still living and whom Johnny had long known. If I didnt have her Id be dead in a heartbeat.. 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. His first pro fight was in 1988. It was a cruel blow for wife Terese to take. Am I lucky or unlucky?. Not included in the police report was young Johnnys memory of being awakened by screaming and looking out the window to see his mother chained in the back of a pickup truck driving by the house, Sports Illustrated said. HBOs Tapia begins with an overhead shot of the New Mexico desert. Johnny heard her screams as she was taken away, chained to a pickup truck, but his cries for help were ignored. 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. A Warner Bros. Tapia claimed what the police found was only a soap bar, and the charges were eventually dropped. 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