Johnny Tapia
| Johnny Tapia | |
|---|---|
| Statistics | |
| Real name | John Lee Anthony Tapia |
| Nickname(s) |
Baby-faced Assassin Mi vida loca ("My crazy life") |
| Rated at |
Super flyweight Bantamweight Featherweight |
| Height | 5 ft 6 in (168 cm) |
| Reach | 65 in (165 cm) |
| Nationality | American |
| Born |
February 13, 1967 Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S. |
| Died | May 27, 2012 (aged 45) Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S. |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 66 |
| Wins | 59 |
| Wins by KO | 30 |
| Losses | 5 |
| Draws | 2 |
Baby-faced Assassin
John Lee Anthony "Johnny" Tapia (February 13, 1967 – May 27, 2012) was an American professional boxer and a five-time world champion at super flyweight, bantamweight and featherweight.
Tapia was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico. 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, hanged, repeatedly stabbed, and left for dead by her assailant. Tapia was awakened by her screams and saw her chained to the back of a pickup truck. He tried to alert others in his household, but no one believed him. His mother was later found by the police and taken to the hospital after she had crawled 100 yards to a road. She died four days after the attack without regaining consciousness. Raised thereafter by his grandmother, Tapia turned to boxing at the age of nine.
Tapia had an outstanding amateur career, winning the 1983 and 1985 National Golden Gloves tournaments at light flyweight and flyweight, respectively.
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.
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