John Lee Anthony TapiaHBO Tapia documentary. 2013. (February 13, 1967 – May 27, 2012) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1988 to 2011. He was a three-division world champion, having held titles at super flyweight, bantamweight, and featherweight. His 1999 loss by decision to Paulie Ayala was named the Fight of the Year by The Ring magazine.
Tapia was posthumously inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2017.
Early life Tapia was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico to Mexican American parents. His father had reportedly been murdered while his mother was pregnant with him. When he was eight years old, his mother, Virginia, was kidnapped, raped, repeatedly stabbed, and left dead by her assailant. Raised thereafter by his grandmother, Tapia turned to boxing at the age of nine.
Amateur career Tapia had an outstanding amateur career, winning the 1983 New Mexico State Golden Gloves,Albuquerque Hosts National Golden Gloves Tournament, The Hobbs Flare, March 10, 1983, p. 10. the 1983 and 1985 National Golden Gloves tournaments at light flyweight and flyweight, respectively.
Professional career
Super flyweight
Early years Tapia's professional boxing career began on March 25, 1988, when he fought Effren Chavez in Irvine, California. After four rounds of boxing the fight was called a draw. 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.
In 1990, he won seven bouts, including an eight-round decision over Jesus Chong, an eleventh-round technical knockout of Roland Gomez in Reno that gave him the USBA super flyweight title, and a twelve-round decision over Luigi Camputaro, to retain that title. Tapia was, by the end of the year, a known boxer, his name often appearing in magazine articles. However, his career came to a halt for the next three and a half years after being suspended from boxing for testing positive for cocaine.
When he finally returned to the ring on March 27, 1994, he beat Jaime Olvera by a knockout in four rounds in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He won three more fights by knockout, and then he faced Oscar Aguilar on the Michael Carbajal–Josué Camacho undercard in Phoenix for the NABF super flyweight title, winning in three rounds. Five days later the Albuquerque Police claimed they found cocaine after the fight in a bag carried by Tapia. Tapia claimed what the police found was only a soap bar, and the charges were eventually dropped.
First world title On October 12, 1994 at The Pit, Albuquerque, New Mexico, Tapia defeated Henry Martínez in eleven rounds to win the vacant WBO super flyweight title. He then knocked out former champion Rolando Bohol in the second round. In his first title defense, Tapia defeated Jose Rafael Sosa by decision.
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. After two more wins, he gave Willy Salazar a title shot, knocking him out in nine rounds. 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. By then, a heated rivalry was cooking up between him and IBF champion Danny Romero. Their rivalry had begun many years earlier when Romero's father trained both boxers. Tapia's split with the Romero family had not been on good terms.
Tapia vs Romero unification 1997 saw Tapia fend off a challenge from Jorge Barrera in three rounds. After that, the fight with Romero was set for Las Vegas. The fight took place on July 18. Tapia won by a unanimous twelve-round decision, adding the IBF title to his WBO belt. In his next fight, he defeated Puerto Rico's Andy Agosto via decision to retain the titles. Tapia began 1998 by successfully defending his championships for the 11th time against former world champion Rodolfo Blanco of Colombia via decision, and then he vacated his world titles in order to move up in weight.
Bantamweight On December 5, 1998, Tapia defeated WBA bantamweight champion Nana Konadu by decision to become a two-division world champion.
Tapia vs. Ayala 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." Later that year, Tapia tried to commit suicide with a drug overdose and required hospitalization. Back quickly after that, he was given a shot at the WBO title. He became a two time world bantamweight champion by beating Jorge Eliecer Julio by a decision at Albuquerque on January 8, 2000. After he defended his belt with a decision over Javier Torres, a rematch with Ayala to unify the belt was set up. 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.
Featherweight 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 2002, Tapia traveled to London, where he knocked out Eduardo Enrique Alvarez in the first round; after the bout, he was interviewed by former rival Romero. Tapia's next bout, for the IBF featherweight title, was versus Manuel Medina. Tapia won a dubious decision, becoming a world title holder in three different divisions. He left the title vacant so he could face Lineal & The Ring champion Marco Antonio Barrera, who beat Tapia by unanimous decision.
Comeback Tapia returned on the night of October 4, 2003, defeating Carlos Contreras by ten round unanimous decision at Albuquerque.
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. That win came by ten round split decision in Albuquerque.
At 38, Tapia faced little-known Sandro Marcos in Chicago. In the second round, Marcos connected with a left hook to the body. Tapia fell to the canvas, clutching his ribcage, as referee Genaro Rodriguez reached the count of 10.Boxing News by 15rounds.com
Later career and problems 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. The bout was being promoted as The Final Fury and Tapia promised he would win. Tapia won the fight by majority decision, 98–92, 96–94, 95–95.
Tapia was found unconscious and not breathing in a hotel room early on the morning of March 12, 2007. Tapia was hospitalized in critical condition from an apparent cocaine overdose at Albuquerque Presbyterian Hospital.
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 same day, Tapia was upgraded from critical to serious condition.
Tapia was scheduled to make a comeback on May 2, 2008, in El Paso, Texas, but pulled out due to contractual disputes with promoter Ron Weathers.
On February 11, 2009, Tapia was taken into custody in Albuquerque for a violation of parole related to cocaine use.
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.
Personal life Tapia was married to Teresa Tapia in 1994 and had three boys. The family lived in Albuquerque, NM.
He had many tattoos, which were prominent when he was fighting. One of them said Mi Vida Loca ("My Crazy Life"), the nickname he adopted. He wrote an autobiography by that title. He was a born-again Christian.
In 2010, at age 43, Tapia learned that apparently, his father was alive. 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. After Tapia died in 2012, his widow briefly married his alleged half-brother, Jeffrey Padilla, in 2014. However, she felt it wrong that the senior Padilla had “jokingly” mingled his DNA swabs with Tapia in 2010, getting a court order to compare a new and controlled swab with some of Tapia's tissue, proving in 2017 that they were not father and son.
Death On May 27, 2012, Tapia was found dead in his Albuquerque home. He was 45 years old. Tapia died of heart failure.
Professional boxing record
ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes66WinMauricio PastranaUD8Jun 4, 201165Win58–5–2Jose AlonsoTKO4 (10), Sep 24, 201064Win57–5–2Jorge Alberto ReyesTKO4, Mar 6, 201063Win56–5–2Evaristo PrimeroMD10Feb 23, 200762Loss55–5–2Sandro MarcosKO2 (10), Sep 16, 200561Win55–4–2Frankie ArchuletaUD10Apr 15, 200560Win54–4–2Nicky BentzSD10Jan 22, 200559Loss53–4–2Frankie ArchuletaSD10Mar 5, 200458Win53–3–2Carlos ContrerasUD10Sep 26, 200357Loss52–3–2Marco Antonio BarreraUD12Nov 2, 200256Win52–2–2Manuel MedinaMD12Apr 27, 200255Win51–2–2Eduardo Enrique AlvarezTKO1 (10), Jan 19, 200254Win50–2–2César SotoKO3 (10), Jun 30, 200153Win49–2–2Cuauhtemoc GomezRTD6 (10), Mar 17, 200152Loss48–2–2Paulie AyalaUD12Oct 7, 200051Win48–1–2Pedro Javier TorresUD12May 6, 200050Win47–1–2Jorge Eliécer JulioUD12Jan 8, 200049Loss46–1–2Paulie AyalaUD12Jun 26, 199948Win46–0–2Alberto MartinezKO1 (10), Apr 24, 199947Win45–0–2Nana KonaduMD12Dec 5, 199846Win44–0–2Carlos Francis HernandezUD10Aug 29, 199845Win43–0–2Rodolfo BlancoUD12Feb 13, 199844Win42–0–2Andy AgostoUD12Dec 13, 199743Win41–0–2Danny RomeroUD12Jul 18, 199742Win40–0–2Jorge BarreraTKO3 (12), Mar 8, 199741Win39–0–2Adonis CruzUD12Nov 30, 199640Win38–0–2Sammy StewartTKO7 (12), Oct 11, 199639Win37–0–2Hugo Rafael SotoUD12Aug 17, 199638Win36–0–2Ivan AlvarezTKO8 (12), Jun 7, 199637Win35–0–2Ramon GonzalesTKO2 (10), Apr 30, 199636Win34–0–2Giovanni AndradeTKO2 (12), Feb 3, 199635Win33–0–2Willy Salazar9 (12), Dec 1, 199534Win32–0–2Raul RiosUD10Oct 19, 199533Win31–0–2Jesse MirandaUD10Sep 9, 199532Win30–0–2Arthur Johnson12Jul 2, 199531Draw29–0–2Ricardo Vargas8 (12)May 6, 199530Win29–0–1Jose Rafael SosaUD12Feb 10, 199529Win28–0–1Rolando BoholKO2 (10), Dec 8, 199428Win27–0–1Henry MartínezTKO11 (12), Oct 12, 199427Win26–0–1Oscar AguilarTKO3 (12)Jul 15, 199426Win25–0–1Rafael GranilloTKO9 (10), Jun 24, 199425Win24–0–1Antonio RuizUD10May 5, 199424Win23–0–1Arturo EstradaTKO2 (10), Apr 15, 199423Win22–0–1Jaime OlveraKO4 (8), Mar 27, 199422Win21–0–1Santiago Caballero7 (12)Oct 26, 199021Win20–0–1Luigi CamputaroUD12Sep 20, 199020Win19–0–1Jose MontielTKO9 (12), Jul 27, 199019Win18–0–1Pablo ValenzuelaKO5 (12), Jun 21, 199018Win17–0–1Roland GomezTKO11 (12), May 10, 199017Win16–0–1Abraham GarciaTKO1 (10)Mar 16, 199016Win15–0–1Jesus ChongUD8Feb 16, 199015Win14–0–1Martin Perez RamirezUD8Dec 1, 198914Win13–0–1Prudencio De JesusTKO1Nov 17, 198913Win12–0–1John Michael JohnsonUD8Oct 17, 198912Win11–0–1Hugo PartidaKO2 (10)Aug 19, 198911Win10–0–1Josefino SuarezUD8Jun 17, 198910Win9–0–1Fred HernandezUD8Mar 23, 19899Win8–0–1Abner BarajasTKO2 (8)Feb 17, 19898Win7–0–1Simon ContrerasUD8Dec 1, 19887Win6–0–1Jorge SalinasTKO1, Oct 14, 19886Win5–0–1Manuel MartinezKO1 (6)Sep 29, 19885Win4–0–1Miguel MartinezKO1 (6), Sep 16, 19884Win3–0–1Martin Perez Ramirez1 (6), Jun 30, 19883Win2–0–1Norberto Ayala4 (4)May 16, 19882Win1–0–1James Dean6Apr 11, 19881Draw0–0–1Efren Chavez4Mar 28, 1988
Titles in boxing Major world titles IBF super flyweight champion (115 lbs) WBO super flyweight champion (115 lbs) WBA bantamweight champion (118 lbs) WBO bantamweight champion (118 lbs) IBF featherweight champion (126 lbs)
Regional/International titles