Johnny Tapia

Johnny Tapia, a highly esteemed boxer, had a career spanning over two decades, from 1988 to 2011. Over the course of his career, he fought a total of 66 fights, winning 59 of them with 30 coming by way of knockout. He had five losses, with only one coming via KO, and two draws. Tapia never suffered a No-Contest during his fighting career.

Tapia's debut fight was against Efren Chavez on March 28, 1988, resulting in a draw. He subsequently won 29 consecutive fights, including 18 by stoppage, before suffering his first loss against Paulie Ayala via unanimous decision on June 26, 1999. Ayala's victory ended Tapia's 46-fight win streak, a remarkable accomplishment.

Tapia's first world title fight took place at the age of 27 against Henry Martinez on October 12, 1994, after 27 professional fights, for the super-flyweight WBO (vacant) title. He won the fight, and the championship, via 11th round TKO. He was now one of the world's top super-flyweights.

Tapia became a unified super-flyweight world champion by beating Danny Romero via 12 round unanimous decision on July 18, 1997. He held both the WBO and IBF super-flyweight world-champion belts after defeating Romero. Tapia's career had turned a corner, and he continued to fight at a high level.

One of Tapia's career highlights occurred when he won the IBF featherweight title from Manuel Medina on April 27, 2002. He defeated Medina via 12 round majority decision after an intense battle. In his next fight, he lost to Marco Antonio Barrera via unanimous decision; he was fighting for The Ring featherweight title on November 2, 2002.

Throughout his career, Tapia continued to exhibit his excellent boxing abilities, winning five world titles across three weight classes. He was a one-time unified super-flyweight world champion, and his total title wins amounted to five with 13 title defenses. He also won six of his title fights via knockout.

Tapia's numerous notable victories earned him immense praise in the boxing world, with notable wins over Jorge Barrera, Giovanni Andrade, Cesar Soto, Alberto Martinez, Rolando Bohol, Cuauhtemoc Gomez, and Eduardo Enrique Alvarez being the most memorable.

Tapia's final professional fight was a non-title bout against Mauricio Pastrana on June 4, 2011, when he was 44 years old. Despite his age, he was able to emerge victorious, winning via an 8 round unanimous decision. Johnny Tapia's professional career ended with 59 victories, five losses, and two draws, with 30 by way of knockout.

Tapia's career was an incredible one, with his remarkable abilities and natural talent setting him apart. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) in 2017, cementing his legacy as one of the greatest boxers of all time.

Johnny Tapia Fight Record