Today in Boxing History: Johnny Tapia born in Albuquerque

On this day in 1967, Johnny Tapia was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Tapia’s alias is “Mi Vida Loca,� which is Spanish for “my crazy life.� The nickname is fitting. His mother was murdered when he was eight years old, and he was forced to live with his grandparents and a dozen relatives in an Albuquerque ghetto. Drug use was so common in his family that he would help relatives shoot heroin by gripping their arms to help them locate a vein. As an adult, he became a drug addict himself, and has died four times, attempted suicide, and spent time in prison.

Through most of it, he managed to stay unbeaten and win titles. Tapia’s career got off to 21-0-1 start before he was sidetracked for three and a half years by drug addiction and a prison sentence.

He returned to the ring in 1994 and won the WBO Super Flyweight title with an 11th-round stoppage of Henry Martinez. He successfully defended the belt 12 times, his most notable win being a unanimous decision over IBF champion Danny Romero.

Tapia then won the WBA Bantamweight title with a majority decision over Nana Konadu in December of 1998. In his first defense, he lost his first bout, dropping a decision to Paulie Ayala. Tapia then won the WBO Bantamweight title with a decision over Jorge Eliecier Julio in January of 2000.

Following another loss to Ayala, Tapia again moved up another division and won the IBF Featherweight belt with a majority decision over Manuel Medina. He never defended the title.

In November of 2002, Tapia lost a lopsided decision to Marco Antonia Barrera and has not challenged for a belt since then. Although he has not fought since 2005, Tapia is scheduled to return to the ring on February 23rd of this year.