Boxing’s Greats of the States | New Mexico: Johnny Tapia

Boxers come from every corner of the globe. Sometimes, fighters are products of their environment, favoring styles prevalent in the country or state from which they hail. Various regions of the United States are considered factories for great fighters, though that certainly is not the case with each state. In this weekly Sherdog.com series, the spotlight will shine on the best boxer of all-time from each of the 50 states. Fighters do not necessarily need to be born in a given state to represent it; they simply need to be associated with it.

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Johnny Tapia was one of the great fighters of his generation. “Mi Vida Loca” was involved in so many memorable fights between the mid-1990s and the early 2000s that he seems a lock for induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

Tapia balanced a wild, chaotic personal life with a tremendous career inside the ring that saw him capture world titles in three weight divisions. The Albuquerque, New Mexico, native claimed the vacant WBO super flyweight crown by knockout out Henry Martinez in the 11th round of their Oct. 12, 1994 clash. He defended the title a dozen times and added the IBF championship to his collection along the way. From there, Tapia moved up in weight and snatched the WBA bantamweight belt by edging Nana Yaw Konadu and later got his hands on the WBO bantamweight crown. He brought home his final world title in 2002, when he outslugged Manuel Medina for IBF featherweight gold.

In a career that spanned nearly a quarter century, Tapia engaged in mesmerizing battles with Danny Romero, Marco Antonio Barrera and Paulie Ayala (twice), among others, and compiled a record of 59-5-2 with 30 knockouts. However, he never conquered his demons outside the cage. Tapia struggled with drug addiction and was found unconscious from a cocaine overdose in 2007. He died five years later of heart failure at the age of 45.

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