Teresa was waiting for him when he was released. The denial of any possibility to exact vengeance stung Johnny. 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. In 2010, at age 43, Tapia learned that apparently, his father was alive. 2023 Cable News Network. Teresa nearly walked away from her man in 2007. She got me where she wanted me and she gave me everything. According to the criminal complaint, Tapia was on his motorcycle. I killed them both.. He knows it will be the end of his marriage if that happens. If a human being is a vessel of emotions, Tapia was a powder keg, perpetually on the verge of implosion. All my goal is to see Johnny reach this ripe old age, she said. He was 45. But despite his early success, his life was anything but ordered, as he escaped the streets only when physically in the ring. He wrote an autobiography by that title. Johnny always makes sure were with him when he goes anywhere. Its my fault, Tapia said. In boxing, Tapias aggression was rewarded; on the street it brought him to the edge of death. His laughter is curly and instantly infectious. A family member came home, found him deceased and called us, Officer Robert Gibbs, an Albuquerque, New Mexico, police spokesman, said Monday. Tapia spent much of his adult life yearning to meet the man who destroyed her. Tapia died at his Albuquerque home in 2012. The indelible writing has always been on the wall for this twisted love story. All fights list 2023, champion titles, age, height, reach and weight, KO ratio of the boxer Johnny Mi Vida Loca Tapia. It was a cruel blow for wife Terese to take. After two more wins, he gave Willy Salazar a title shot, knocking him out in nine rounds. Though successful between the ropes, Tapia hadnt divested himself of his drug habit. 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. According to his wife, no drugs were found in his system. Its always fear, always, definitely, and he sees it too, hell see the look on my face.. 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. Johnny Tapia was an American boxer, who competed in the super flyweight division. 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. After the Barrera fight, Tapias problems with drug abuse became more acute. Benitez first won the 140-pound WBA light-welterweight title from Antonio Cervantes on March 6, 1976, at the age of 17. The intoxicant was perhaps the only thing capable of ordering his thoughts. You tell me. Press conferences about the Super Six have just taken place and Tapias eyes twitch as Arthur Abraham and Carl Froch amble past. I dont have a temptation because if I want it [drugs] I can get it, wherever I am. Then I outlived her after I said I wouldnt. Tapia was married to Teresa Tapia in 1994 and had three boys. The last fight of Johnny Tapia took place on June 4, 2011 against Mauricio Pastrana. I dont want it and theres the difference. On May 27, 2012, Tapia was found dead in his Albuquerque home. 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. That was a very, very emotional time and the hardest time for me, and for him, because he knew he had gone too far. Retained IBF and WBO super flyweight titles. Mi vida loca, or my crazy life, were the words tattooed on his belly. CNN Sans & 2016 Cable News Network. Tapia never ran from his own darkness so much as he perpetually hovered over it. Realizing his habits, she at first resisted. His emotional transparency popularized him but he was doomed by his lack of control. Johnny Tapia looks to get back into title contention following yet another disputed loss to Paulie Ayala, taking on Famosito Gomez in the main event of Showt. After he defended his belt with a decision over Javier Torres, a rematch with Ayala to unify the belt was set up. She is happy to be his side, observing and listening. Tapia was inducted during 2017, posthumously, to the Internation Raised thereafter by his grandmother, Tapia turned to boxing at the age of nine.[4]. 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. When he was eight years old, his mother, Virginia, was kidnapped, raped, repeatedly stabbed, and left for dead by her assailant. There is a poignant moment toward the end of the film in which father and son sit together. Foul play is not suspected; an autopsy and toxicology tests will be carried out, Gibbs said. Tapia was hospitalized in critical condition from an apparent cocaine overdose at Albuquerque Presbyterian Hospital. His wife somehow stayed. He left the title vacant so he could face Lineal & The Ring champion Marco Antonio Barrera, who beat Tapia by unanimous decision. Highlights of Johnny Tapia's best combinations & knockouts.Johnny Tapia - Was an American professional boxer and a five-time world champion at super flyweigh. 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. Johnny was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA, on February 13, 1967. With tragic irony, it was his heartwhich had never once let him down inside the ringthat failed him. He suffers from bipolar disorder and it makes it very difficult the highs are very high and the lows are very low. Tapia won a dubious decision, becoming a world title holder in three different divisions. The bout was being promoted as The Final Fury and Tapia promised he would win. 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. Updated If he lost, they beat him, he said. During this time, Tapias wife, Teresa, had authorities re-open his mothers murder case. I have been wealthy and lost it all. Relatives raised him and he followed in the footsteps of his grandfather, who had himself been a boxer. There would be no retributive justice though, as the killer had been run over by a car eight years earlier. He experienced frequent relapses over the next few years and several overdoses. Thanks God I have her. None of it occurred on Teresas watch. 1997 saw Tapia fend off a challenge from Jorge Barrera in three rounds. A wedding photo showed Teresa Tapia and Jeffrey Padilla joined by Johnny's sons, Johnny Tapia Jr. and Lorenzo Tapia. Family members say Albuquerque police were summoned to Tapia's house at 7:45 PM Sunday by a family member who discovered the body. Tapia was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico. His first pro fight was in 1988. With no father to watch over him, Tapia lived with his grandparents. "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. He quit the ring several times, but could not seem to give it up. But I have lived and had it all. Tapia's dad was murdered while his mom was pregnant with him. His 1999 loss by decision to Paulie Ayala was named the Fight of the Year by The Ring magazine. 2. 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. He won 59 fights, 30 by knockout; lost 5; and drew 2. 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. Wladimir Klitschko (en ukrainien : ; transcription franaise : Volodymyr Volodymyrovytch Klytchko) est un boxeur ukrainien, n le 25 mars 1976 Semipalatinsk (actuel Seme) en RSS kazakhe.. Thats when I met him, she said. Tapia turned to drugs in 1988, 11 years before he lost to Ayala. The tragedy of life was venomously harassing the Tapias, and Johnny, more miserable than ever, edged his finger towards the self-destruct button. But he insists the best of him is still to come, writes Declan Taylor. In his first title defense, Tapia defeated Jose Rafael Sosa by decision. After that, the fight with Romero was set for Las Vegas. The 45-year-old has been clean for over two years now, since being released from prison and embarking on a comeback. That win came by ten round split decision in Albuquerque. One of them said Mi Vida Loca ("My Crazy Life"), the nickname he adopted. Thats the love of my life. 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. Glen Tapia (born December 11, 1989) is an American professional boxer. 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]. He was at his lowest, he was living on the streets. This is perhaps the documentarys most poignant moment. [14] He was a born-again Christian. 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..
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