We’re getting real sick of losing not only great people, but great boxers. Johnny Tapia was an especially gruesome member of boxing’s seemingly endless hard luck cats. His father was murdered before Johnny’s birth and an eight year old Johnny later witnessed his mother brutally murdered. It’s hard to imagine someone ever getting past that but Tapia was able to find solace and a place to release his aggression and frustration in the cold unforgiving environment of a boxing gym. It’s a great irony that in these sort of surroundings so many troubled kids find their first real home. Johnny quickly showed an elite talent level at both the amateur and professional levels and was certainly one of the best in the weight classes he battled in throughout his career. But as one might imagine with a cat who had such a brutal upbringing Johnny battled drug and alcohol problems throughout his career and they continued on after it. Life in the ring ain’t nothing compared to what Johnny battled through. Unfortunately on Sunday that battle ended and boxing lost yet another one of it’s greats.
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