Tapia ready to begin quest to regain title

Story by Felix Chavez, Las Cruces Sun-News
Photo: Chris Cozzone

EL PASO — At 41, most boxers don’t have much of a future in the ring.

Johnny Tapia hopes that isn’t true for him.

Tapia, who hails from Albuquerque, but who currently lives in Las Cruces
begins his quest for a championship at 126 pounds on May 2 in El Paso against an opponent to be named.

He wants to fight three or four more times and hopes to land a world title bout sometime later this year.

“I’m anxious to get back into the ring, this is what I love to do,” said Tapia, who owns a 56-5-2 record, but hasn’t fought since Feb. 23 of 2007. “I feel good, I just want to see how this goes. I’m financially fine, but I’m going to give it my best.”

Tapia has won world titles at 115, 118 and 126 pounds and over the course of his career has defended his various titles 28 times. Tapia has been known over the years to be a tremendous boxer with good hand speed, good defensive skills and good footwork. Now at the age of 41, Tapia said he is settling down on his punches and is looking to be more of a power puncher.

“I want to see how this new form of attack works, I want to throw good, hard punches,” he said. “If I get hit hard, I’ll have to cover up quicker, but then again if the crowd gets into it, I’ll have to attack. I’ll still be aggressive. But I’m focused and ready. I’ll have to be smart in there and use all my skills. I’m in good shape, not great shape, but good shape.”

Tapia, who has beaten the likes of Danny Romero, Manuel Medina and Nana Konadu said he isn’t worried about his legacy in the sport if his quest for another world titles fails.

“I’m not worried about what I’ve accomplished, why should I?,” Tapia said.“I’ve done a lot in the ring. I just like boxing and this is what I do. I’ve won a lot of fights, I’ve beaten some great fighters. I just want to leave something positive on the sport, I want to help others. If I can be of help to others, that would be great.”

Also on the May 2 card are Las Cruces fighters Ricky Vasquez and Austin Trout. The 2-1-1 Vasquez fights at 122 pounds, while the 13-0 Trout is 13-0. Trout is in Big Bear, Calif., training with Shane Mosley, who is getting ready for his May 31 fight with Zab Judah.

Meanwhile, Vasquez hasn’t fought since last August and has been training with Tapia for several weeks in preparation for the May 2 fight.

“I’ve learned a lot and have gotten in some very good work,” Vasquez said.“I’ve learned a lot about using different angles and using more of my boxing skills. The time off from fighting has been beneficial. Initially, I wasn’t sure if the long layoff was good, but I’ve had a chance to work on a lot of things and I’m ready to fight. It’ll be good to be in the ring.”

Also expected to be back on the May 2 are Abie and Jennifer Han, a brother/sister combo out of El Paso. Abie Han trains in Las Cruces under the tutelage of Louie Burke and is 1-0, while Jennifer Han will be making her debut. She is also an accomplished kickboxer.

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