Tapia claimed what the police found was only a soap bar, and the charges were eventually dropped. Not from a drug overdose, but from heart failure. Tapia returned on the night of October 4, 2003, defeating Carlos Contreras by ten round unanimous decision at Albuquerque. After a standout, Golden Gloves-winning amateur career, Tapia turned pro. Boxing He wrote an autobiography by that title. Ive got a good wife. 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. The indelible writing has always been on the wall for this twisted love story. He was 45 years old. 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. *Links to streaming, pay-per-view or ticketing platforms provided on this page, if any, are affiliate links. If a human being is a vessel of emotions, Tapia was a powder keg, perpetually on the verge of implosion. Tapia died at his Albuquerque home in 2012. Updated 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. The family lived in Albuquerque, NM.[13]. According to the criminal complaint, Tapia was on his motorcycle. Both sport dozens of tattoos, having used their skin as parchment on which to inscribe their own dramas. The Albuquerque police said an autopsy would be done in the next few days. Jerry Padilla, who Tapia already knew, was supposedly intrigued by the similarities in their mannerisms, and the two decided to submit to a DNA test, which proved they were father and son. Tapia won a dubious decision, becoming a world title holder in three different divisions. [14] He was a born-again Christian. Teresa was waiting for him when he was released. appreciated. Tapia's next bout, for the IBF featherweight title, was versus Manuel Medina. But lacing the incessant promises not to rekindle his affair with his mistress is uncertainty and fear that hell stray again. She survives him, along with their three children. Speaking to the press at his gym in the wake of his. In a statement, Teresa Tapia said she decided thatmarryingPadilla would be best for the children, for a continuation of their sense of family. 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. Like so many athletes once their careers have ended, Tapia returned to the only real vocation hed known and opened a boxing gym in Albequerque. His father had reportedly been murdered while his mother was pregnant with him. Though boxing would provide no more thrills, there was a surprising development in his life. It was almost the last straw when Tapia was again hospitalized for drug abuse and his wifes brother and nephew died in a car crash on the way to visit him in the hospital. 2023 EHM PRODUCTIONS,INC. He was 45. Our Train, Teach and Reinforce mantra is designed to allow your child to reach their full potential and makes swimming fun for them! Anchored in the chaos is a slight man, clear-eyed and full of life, gleefully posing for photographs. 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. 45. Contents 1 Personal life 2 Amateur career 3 Professional career 4 Professional record 5 Sparring partners 6 References 7 External links Personal life [ edit] Tapia was born and raised in Passaic, New Jersey to Dominican immigrants from Santo Domingo, DR. He drew in his first bout but his career soon exploded, and Johnny wouldnt lose until his forty-ninth prizefight. 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. So why not try and get over the bad stuff and try to make it a good ending?. Tapia won by unanimous decision (UD). Johnny Tapia was born in Albuquerque. "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. Johnny always makes sure were with him when he goes anywhere. Ive never said this to anybody, I dont want it no more. On their wedding night, in 1993, Teresa found the man she had pledged her life to injecting drugs. 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. In 1999, Tapia suffered his first loss in his 48-bout career, losing a decision and the WBA title to Paulie Ayala in what The Ring Magazine called its "Fight of the Year." That was his life.. He was still getting high and was now training under Freddie Roach (whose speech is demonstrably clearer in documentary footage than it is today). V roce 1995 se stal dritelem titulu super flyweight WBO Johnny Tapia, ale ztratil vtinov rozhodnut. Then I outlived her after I said I wouldnt. 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? As a wife, as a woman, Ive learnt theres good and bad in everyone and you have to accept them. After four rounds of boxing the fight was called a draw. Tapia's heart simply stopped beating and, unlike his previous brushes with death, this one was for real. The next day, he was in a hospital with an overdose. His first pro fight was in 1988. I dont miss her, Tapia claims. On February 11, 2009, Tapia was taken into custody in Albuquerque for a violation of parole related to cocaine use. [17] Tapia died of heart failure. [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. He said he saw every opponent as his mothers killer. Tapia never ran from his own darkness so much as he perpetually hovered over it. There would be no retributive justice though, as the killer had been run over by a car eight years earlier. He started boxing at age 9 to escape a troubled childhood. Thanks God I have her. If he lost, they beat him, he said. Tapia never ran from his own darkness so much as he perpetually hovered over it. The last fight of Johnny Tapia took place on June 4, 2011 against Mauricio Pastrana. At the end of the film he is at a local radio station, accompanying one of his young fighters to promote an upcoming card. HOW OLD IS JOHNNY TAPIA? His 1999 loss by decision to Paulie Ayala was named the Fight of the Year by The Ring magazine. Tapia spent much of his adult life yearning to meet the man who destroyed her. This is perhaps the documentarys most poignant moment. In May 2011 Matt Christie stumbled across Johnny Tapia in Las Vegas and discovered a twisted and tragic love story that was destined for trouble from the start, Chris Eubank Jnr vs. Conor Benn is officially OFF, Chris Eubank Jr v Conor Benn: The story of a grim day for British boxing, Chris Eubank Jnr says there was no phone call with Conor Benn, but does expect their fight to still go ahead. > But I found out hed been killed, hed been run over twice. Tapia was inducted during 2017, posthumously, to the Internation 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. 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. Cocaine became my mistress. 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. BLEACHED smiles and engineered chests bounce past beggars slurring their way through rehearsed pleas for money. KOB-TV reports representatives for Teresa Tapia confirmed Sunday that she married Johnny Tapia's half-brother, Jeffrey Padilla. May he rest in peace. Ayala won by unanimous decision in a fight that ring observers largely felt Tapia won; following the fight, Showtime commentators said that Tapia "put on a clinic" and "something's not right," nearly labeling the decision as rigged. It is said he was declared clinically dead five times in his life, a life that was ceaselessly, stubbornly, incurably difficult. 1967213 () . I dont want it and theres the difference. 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. The 45-year-old has been clean for over two years now, since being released from prison and embarking on a comeback. Johnny Tapia. 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. His father had reportedly been murdered while his mother was pregnant with him. From the age of eight, he has wanted to die. On May 27, 2012, Tapia was found dead in his Albuquerque home. He was brought up by his grandfather Miguel with eight other family members in a three-bedroom house in Albuquerque. 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 He passed away on May 27, 2012 at the age of 45. This is the documentarys most triumphant moment, and it was probably the apex of Johnny Tapias career. He took the wedding cash and dumped her in a cheap hotel. A wedding photo showed Teresa Tapia and Jeffrey Padilla joined by Johnny's sons, Johnny Tapia Jr. and Lorenzo Tapia. A family member came home, found him deceased and called us, Officer Robert Gibbs, an Albuquerque, New Mexico, police spokesman, said Monday. Tapia went to jail, struggled with depression, and attempted suicide. 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