- 3 months ago
Johnny Tapia moves up to challenge Nana Yaw Konadu for the WBA Bantamweight Title on Showtime Boxing
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00:00:00Ghana Africa taking on undefeated Johnny Tapia the flamboyant Junior
00:00:05Vantamoy champion out of Albuquerque New Mexico well some people would label
00:00:11Johnny Tapia as colorful others might say simply off the wall whatever the
00:00:16case many would agree he's good for the game refreshing in his own unique way
00:00:20and a delight to be around however in a sport where most fighters are taught to
00:00:24leave their emotions out of the ring to fight in an analytical manner Tapia's
00:00:28approach is more with his heart than his head now when it comes to the category
00:00:33feeding off your emotions Johnny Tapia may be the undisputed champ of the world
00:00:46you know I just took a MRI they didn't find the brain in me
00:00:51the mental game is winning fighting a smart fight and making it easy but
00:01:00Johnny's game don't go that way
00:01:02it's just say once you get me going I'm not going nowhere once you hit me with the hard shot I'm coming back at you
00:01:21I just love what I do that's the whole situation I can hit him I go to jail go home
00:01:30with the paycheck and be happy
00:01:31I don't have no fear when I bleed I just lick it and keep on going
00:01:37some people think in the ring I'm not fighting with the dick I don't know it's just it's just
00:01:48anything but if I don't have emotions in the fight I'm not Johnny Tapia
00:01:51yeah Tapia showboats has fun but usually backs up his theatrics with excellent boxing technique his new
00:02:03trainer Freddie Roach wants him to fight more with his head as opposed to his heart and right back here
00:02:08with the fight Dr. Ferdy Pacheco and Ferdy I gotta ask you you've been around the game a long time
00:02:13you've experienced a lot of personalities a lot of eccentricities how does Tapia compare
00:02:18well this guy's a favorite I tell you I made a mistake of starting a book tour for my book the
00:02:22Christmas Eve cookbook which I started a tour in the West well when I got to Albuquerque nobody wanted
00:02:28to talk to me about this book the radio wanted to talk about Tapia the television Tapia
00:02:32depressed happy and even in the bookstore that's all I wanted to talk about was Tapia this guy's a
00:02:36big hero in the West I think he's going to be a big hero after tonight in the East but he's got
00:02:41a tough tough job at him today he is a charismatic guy you have done some sneaky things in your career
00:02:48but that's shameless shameless self-promotion shameful after my after Miami did what I did to UCLA I can do
00:02:56anything into the fact I can do anything unbelievable does it have any pop-up pictures no speaking of food
00:03:02but wait a minute they do have room service in case you want me to bring some up to the room thank
00:03:07you very much I'll put it on your tab uh speaking of food and gaining weight let's see Tappy has gone
00:03:14from 115 to 118 for the first time in a world title fight ordinarily three pounds not a big difference but
00:03:20is it more of a factor at this weight well weight is always relative Steve to a guy weighs 100 pounds
00:03:24three percent of his body would be three pounds that's happy is a little over 100 pounds a heavyweight
00:03:29that weighs 225 or 230 three pounds is considerably less significant but I think only three percent of
00:03:33a total body weight of a man fight time since they're walking around weight is normally eight
00:03:37to ten pounds heaviness three pounds not a factor whatsoever but it's something in his last fight
00:03:42it's Carlos Hernandez a 118 non-title fight he hit Hernandez with all he had and Hernandez didn't
00:03:47go back so we'll see that's got to be somewhat of a concern let's get your keys to victory for both
00:03:51fighters all right what we're gonna do he's a taller of the guys but he likes to fight a little short he
00:03:56likes to press the fight he needs to keep his fighters moving backwards even though he's taller and got a lot
00:04:01of range he likes to press the issue push his fighters backwards here you'll see him on the right
00:04:05hand side lead him with a right hand and a left hook against Salinas he's always aggressive and likes to
00:04:11keep the pace fast he comes in with the hook once he gets his man here he misses with a nice combination
00:04:16but once he gets his man leaning backwards he's going backwards he will force the issue even further
00:04:20a right and left hook to the body coupled with another left hook to the head this is where he wants
00:04:25to fight good shots especially powerful left hook so you see a beautiful left hook on the inside big man
00:04:31pressing a fight for Johnny Tapia his speed is number one in his combinations here you'll see
00:04:38him throw a six punch combination left right left right left right he throws six punches before Blanco
00:04:44can even react to him as you'll see as it sets up the first two land clean he still hasn't reacted it's
00:04:52to the six punch that he now reacts and Tapia's already got a left hook left uppercut on the way up plus
00:04:57an overhand right and Blanco still has not been able to get one punch off in return
00:05:01Tapia tremendous speed great reflexes let's remember Blanco is no kind of do Johnny Tapia talking to his
00:05:11friends in Albuquerque we are set for what I'm told will be a semi elaborate theatrical entrance let's
00:05:19hope it's hope it's tasteful not to go as Johnny Tapia the challenger makes his way an undefeated two-time world champ uncharacteristically entering first long-time WBO Junior Bantamweight title holder 13 defenses recently stripped for not fighting the mandatory still the IBF 115 pound champ here he comes with Freddie Roach behind him fierce competitor Don King getting
00:05:49to escort Tapia to the ring something you don't see very often if you know Tapia's tragic history my apologies for repeating it but to the uninitiated
00:06:00his father murdered before he was born his mother kidnapped raped hung stabbed to death when he was a terrible unthinkable stuff spent time in jail
00:06:10for various offenses banned from boxing three and a half years for drug abuse today he leads a clean life supported by religion his loving wife manager guiding light Theresa
00:06:19me Vita loca my crazy life emblazoned on his trunks as he prays today he says me Vita Nueva my new life three and oh since his defining win over Albuquerque arch rival Danny Romero but against non-threatening people tonight aside from a step up in weight a major step up in quality of opposition
00:06:47the champion the champion accompanied by real estate warriors from Ghana tribal warriors Nana Yao Canada Duke national hero in Ghana like his fellow countrymen Azuma Nelson and Ike Korte
00:07:02season pro seven world title fights but all three of his losses in championship fights born he's won world titles three separate occasions recaptured the WBA Bantamweight
00:07:16felt June of 97 avenging a defeat to a fighter from Thailand died his second defense in his second reign as WBA champ former WBC 115 pound champion he's experienced he's strong he's relentless workman like the ring is my office that's his mentality
00:07:34and it's amazing he's so analytical so mild-mannered so low-key and that's what is so intriguing about this matchup birdie he's so dramatically contrasts the highly expressive tapio you know as long as I've been in the fight game the guys that come from Africa amaze me more than anybody they come so serious they're so dignified and they're so devastating when you get to fight Dick Tiger was such a humble man when that bell rang
00:08:04and that's when you get to see you guys both Edwards these guys both Edwards these guys are this is one of a breed by the way our boss just Jay Larkin just finished putting Pepsi Cola all over the sign and really and wiping it up to make it sticky good and so that's an unusual thing a departure I've never seen it Don King and Jay Larkin putting a Pepsi Cola on the sign
00:08:24all right good for them and we're set for the numbers kind of do at 33 two years older slight inch and a half height advantage kind of do nearly even at yesterday's way in on the scales and a two inch reach advantage kind of do height and reach of the champions favor Tapia hopes that youth is served key rules no standing eight count no three knockdown rule fighter cannot be saved by the bell in any round if an accidental headbutt occurs before the end of the fourth the fighters ruled a technical draw
00:08:54if it happens after the end of four they go to the cards Tapia headbutted his last two fights both times inducing cuts over the left eye incomplete rounds not scored so here at the new Atlantic City Convention Center in Atlantic City New Jersey we are getting set for our main event WBA welterweight championship the official introductions from our ring announcer the classy Jimmy Lennon Jr
00:09:24and gentlemen we welcome you to the new Atlantic City Convention Center in Atlantic City New Jersey for the featured bout of the evening brought to you courtesy of Don King Productions in association with Bally's Park Place and the undefeated undisputed king of beers
00:09:41Budweiser this buds for you this bout coming away is sanctioned by the world boxing association the president Hinberto Mendoza supervisor Jose Emilio Graglia along with the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board the chairman is Jerry Gormley board members Gary Shaw and Stephen Katz commissioner Larry Hazzard Sr
00:10:05introducing our physicians at ringside dr richard snepper dr dominic coletta dr blair bergen and
00:10:11dr jordan garrison time keepers at the bell earl curry and fred blumstein keeping count of the
00:10:17knockdowns eddie johnson introducing to you our judges scoring this bout from ringside
00:10:23uriel aguilera john porteray and franco priami all right fans here we go the time has come
00:10:34for our main event of the evening 12 rounds of boxing for the wba mantamweight championship of
00:10:40the world and now ladies and gentlemen in attendance and boxing fans joining us around the world
00:10:48live from the new atlantic city convention center it's showtime
00:10:58introducing to you at this time a referee in charge of this bout working in this is 76th
00:11:03title bout frank cappuccino introducing to you ladies and gentlemen at this time the challenger
00:11:11on my left fighting out of the blue corner entering the ring wearing black trunks with gold trim
00:11:17he weighed in at the batomweight limit of 118 pounds even he is undefeated in his campaign to the ring
00:11:25with 44 wins no losses two draws and 24 wins coming by way of knockout from albuquerque new mexico here is
00:11:36the two-time undefeated junior bantamweight champion of the world known for his crazy life as mi vida loca
00:11:46introducing boxing's colorful johnny topia
00:11:59and his opponent across the ring is the defending world champion on my right fighting out of the red
00:12:05corner wearing white trunks with blue trim he weighed in at already 117 and one half pounds his
00:12:14outstanding record stands at 39 wins three losses one draw with 31 wins coming by way of knockout from
00:12:23sunyani ghana here is the former wbc superflyweight world champion and the two-time and current wba
00:12:32bantamweight champion of the world introducing the ashanti warrior nana kornadoo
00:12:44once again number three in charge frank cappuccino now to give instructions 12 rounds of championship
00:12:50boxing schedule
00:12:51good evening gentlemen you were both given your instructions in the dressing room this is a world
00:13:03championship fight and i expected to conduct yourself as such any low blows any holding hitting rabbit
00:13:14kick-punching kidney punching will cost you there is no three knockdown rule is not in effect you cannot be saved
00:13:24by any round including the last round
00:13:29both you understand i want you to i want you to both use touch gloves
00:13:34all right go back to the corner
00:13:42has johnny tapia bobby ever been in there with somebody who hits his heart is not a kind of dude
00:13:49my best guess off the top of my head steve would be no i've seen kind of do a little bit
00:13:54packs a pretty good punch for a small man tapia is not a big power puncher but his speed generates
00:13:59good power and that's going to be key tonight ferdy is there a concern that tapia could revert to his
00:14:05instinctive drawing style which freddie rhodge doesn't want oh i think so i i think there's no
00:14:09way to keep him from doing that in fact that may be his strength his strength is he's johnny tapia
00:14:15period that's who he is and he's got a reputation style which freddie rhodge doesn't want oh i think
00:14:20so i think there's no way to keep him from doing that in fact that may be his strength
00:14:25his strength is he's johnny tapio period that's who he is and he's got a reputation as a fast
00:14:30starter never a dull fight with tapio constant motion and energy the thing about tapio is he
00:14:36truly loves to fight this is his life right here right inside that ring he wants to fight he loves
00:14:42it loves it he's dedicating this fight to his wife teresa he says i can't lose he's gonna have
00:14:48to kill me to win he really has a player for the river let's hope he's got mama on his trunk so he's
00:14:54got everybody in yeah nice right hand and let go to the bottom kind of dude told us the key to
00:15:02neutralizing tapio is speed although kind of does have power come to have some decent speed but it's
00:15:09not like johnny's johnny's got a little more speed and he came in actually a little heavier than the
00:15:13bigger champion kind of has is relentless and he is popping both hands
00:15:23tapio i found the best strategy in forecasting him last week he told us he's going to fight on the
00:15:28inside and yesterday he said he's going to try to be slick try not to get hit be sharp
00:15:36even though it's tall i think kind of might be a little too strong on the inside for johnny
00:15:40johnny's fighting smart side side to side lateral movement quick getting out kind of
00:15:45do has to back johnny up but he's got a punch he's got to work his way behind the good jab and be a
00:15:49he's got to be active and effective is this up there emotionally with the danny romero fight we asked
00:15:55him he said every fight is big but this is my toughest
00:16:01he'd be glad to get this first round over with you can see he's very tight he's still not not not
00:16:06loose he's still not johnny tapio yet he's trying to be the tappy of the john that freddie roach wants
00:16:13him to be and he may be a little bit confused right now he keeps coming for it he's not doing an awful lot
00:16:21of work and they always say the good big man will beat the good small man moving up a giant tapio
00:16:26is not an ordinary good small man and he's putting punches in i mean you know he lands to the body
00:16:31he lands to the head not big punches but they're landing the other guy's just looking i mean sort of a
00:16:35replay of what we saw last time when lopez had the advantage but couldn't get off as fast as the other
00:16:41guy as page we've learned in watching tapio everything with him is a war he does love to draw oh stinging
00:16:49left hooks to the body by tapio those kind of things went around for i mean those are big those
00:16:55are impressive the other guy in the meantime he's just crawling forward and like just waiting for
00:16:59his opening which may never come this way tapio kind of just seems to be trying to find his time
00:17:04to see if he cannot gauge no he is truly honey he is truly trying to say where is this guy coming from
00:17:13and of course it's hard to predict tapio comes from all over tapio who's best when he does use the
00:17:19angles and shoulder fates and things like that but he has a puncher's mentality but he doesn't have a big
00:17:24punch we'd like to uh bring in our translator for uh mr connor might be a local
00:17:40i'm putting some clips in your face i want you to lift up your hands keep your hands there
00:17:56you can fight don't be afraid of him
00:18:00no no no no no no no no no no there's no um it's not a cat it's not a cat
00:18:17mama somalia talking to nana kanadu
00:18:24apparently a little bit of concern about a nick but he said it's not a cut don't worry about it
00:18:28kind of told us his idol marvelous marvin haggley you noticed on the uh back of the uh
00:18:32the shirts there marvelous non-accounted dude i noticed something on the back of tapio he's got
00:18:38a new tattoo this one says tapia on it in four inch letters you can hardly see it because it's
00:18:43coming over his trunks he says he put it on for this fight so they can know who he was coming and
00:18:48going a walking advertisement for himself also shirt circuits any criminal activity you may be thinking
00:18:53about when you got your name on your back you know i noticed that johnny tapio when he came out had a
00:18:57little bit of water dripping off him and as we get into the area you see how that affects
00:19:01our putting again we saw the problems in the last fight for some reason uh don king and uh our boss
00:19:07jay larkin decided to put pepsi cola on there i'm not saying 40 years i've never seen pepsi put on
00:19:13well that syrup may uh maybe a great i mean i've seen beer pouring on there but that's in drunken bros
00:19:20it's a little bit of a sometimes a downer i think where he likes to really get to the actions
00:19:33kind of just can't gauge his feet he i can see him looking but he just can't react to the speed and
00:19:38you see the way the way he punches has got him confused he punches and walks away then he walks
00:19:43away when he comes back i mean this guy's just set to punch and he's gone happy's very smart so much
00:19:50experience in the ring here five world championships between them
00:19:57kind of do whose best weapons are intelligence and savvy a beautiful left hook and right uppercut
00:20:0531 of his 39 wins by knockout 21 in three rounds or less
00:20:12defensively you can see always has his hands up yeah he throws what i call hollywood punches they're
00:20:18from far enough outside with enough zing looks like your screen wrote those you know okay you throw
00:20:23the left hand from out here and lands he lands so cleanly and so clearly from outside you hardly ever
00:20:28see that in a fighter especially when he brings to the body boy those things are pretty kind of do
00:20:34has never been down tapia down once his second pro fight against a guy named james dean
00:20:43but he came back to win that fight is that where he went
00:20:45yes
00:20:50neither fighter intimidated as he bops around giving him different angles and moving all of his legs
00:20:57next to me freddie rux is saying attaboy very quietly freddie's a very quiet man even
00:21:04even if kind of doesn't land for he's got to throw more he's got to he's got to make an effort to do
00:21:08something he's exactly what lopez was doing last time waiting to land thunderous box and the other
00:21:12guy's landing punches he'll build himself a little bit if he didn't find something yeah but you know
00:21:17at least pate's kept him off with some wicked stuff johnny's not laying any big bombs and
00:21:21he's being smart
00:21:22okay that's very good work out there johnny let's send it over to jim brink jim okay all right steve
00:21:48in between the fights they treated the ring the problem in the ring is the actually the paint job
00:21:53on the budweiser sign usually it's after it's painted it's sanded and it's rough to coincide
00:21:58with the guy's shoes however it was not sanded it was not rough so the decision was made by the
00:22:03promoters and by the people here in new jersey that this fight could not go on until it was properly
00:22:08treated and jay larkin our executive producer came up with the answer he went out there and poured a
00:22:13bottle of coca-cola all over that so it's a little bit sticky now so jay showing he can do a little bit
00:22:17more than produce this telecast steve jay showing his versatility very good thank you jim and jim
00:22:23given equal time to coca-cola i thought it was pepsi now they're both satisfied they're both happy
00:22:30good work jim great well somebody had a better idea they don't have commercials on showtime do they
00:22:37they do now i don't remember what they were but they just did
00:22:41round three
00:22:42johnny tappia working scientifically there oh how many times have we seen this they clashed heads and
00:22:52left it accidentally and johnny tappie who's been headbutted his last two fights with cuts over his
00:22:58left eye feeling the effects and getting very mad and starting to fight again there it is there's the
00:23:05right it's over the right eye i believe that yeah he's had it there before the headbutt i thought
00:23:09was over the left eye he put his hand at the glove over the left eye i think the one over the right eye
00:23:14is an extra punch well but in a split second you saw the reaction of the old tap he came back fighting
00:23:19boy i mean he came back swinging see johnny tappia has this type of boxing bill he always has and he's
00:23:24displayed it throughout his career but again that emotion takes over sometimes and he's just got to run
00:23:28right but this does nothing to tappia's psyche he says if i don't get cut or get a black guy it's not a fight
00:23:34no he's used to he's just injured he really truly is he's he's a fighter that doesn't really care
00:23:39let's over to uh frank cappuccino says don't look at me don't look at me
00:23:43then cappuccino says don't look at me well at tappia nothing's easy always an adventure
00:23:50but he's never lost in 46 fights what he needs is for this to go past four rounds
00:23:57and he's boxing very nicely this time i'll tell you what he might not be winning this round yet
00:24:02kind of came out strong that first minute i agree with you and i think tappi has to turn the cables
00:24:07a little bit there's a minute 17 to go by if a fight is stopped by an accidental head but he
00:24:13pulled the end of the fourth round it's a technical drawing round three
00:24:21oh that was a nice body shot by you just see what it was nice right hand left hook then he ducked the
00:24:25right hand from kind of dude that was pretty boy that shot to the body was so pretty so pretty
00:24:31and tap you're doing a splendid job of using the angles just like freddie roach wants him to do
00:24:38left hook then step to his right and throw a right i mean bobby that's the way you take the rounds
00:24:44takes a lot of energy though i'll tell you what you get around seven or eight we got chasing you
00:24:47backing up there's a lot more energy to move that direction do all those pivotings and turning
00:24:54what was downstairs but frank cappuccino let it go i'm sorry that's old time i love that kind of fight
00:25:00that's it johnny tapio very effective punches oh yeah they have been doing a little boxing lesson
00:25:18here first three rounds well this is textbook by johnny champion love it love it
00:25:24it was a fair blow i thought it was a fair blow i thought it was a fair blow
00:25:34you got me the hip up man it's all right deep breath
00:25:47let's let's us take a look at it and see what we think because sometimes referees right there
00:25:52there it is you see his head move when he got hit yeah i'm sorry but that's a clean headbutt bobby
00:26:01clean headbutt clean headbutt you can see it right here right there i mean you know that's just a
00:26:06clean headbutt no there's no two ways about that intentional unintentional but clean you can't go
00:26:10it's all he needs is one more round to get the four unless he calls it johnny a clean punch in which
00:26:16case they stop it on the country don't move back in the straight line off to the side off to the side
00:26:20it's quite hard shot that's all here we go after the end of round four they go to the scorecards if
00:26:28it's stopped on an accidental headbutt round four scheduled for 12 wba band of white championship not
00:26:34a kind of doing the white with the blue trim is your champion tapia moving up from 115 to 118 for the
00:26:41first time in a title fight let's check the online
00:26:57kind of do seem to be picking up the pace a little bit even when he's not going to step into johnny
00:27:01a little more quickly and now he's unloading a little more he better start thinking about something
00:27:05and as promised there it is tapping up 3-0 that's all i got out of the same way
00:27:24yes it has been a shutout for the man with all the tattoos johnny tapia
00:27:29he has waited number eight pound for pound on the january issue of ko magazine ahead of
00:27:38some good fighters shane mosley and ricardo lopez
00:27:45he's got many religious and spiritual tattoos sprinkled around the body the madonna on his chest
00:27:50another one has his mother looking over his shoulder he's a museum museum of tattoos he says he feels most
00:27:58a piece in the ring i'll tell you what i enjoyed my career too thank i can't say that's the most
00:28:06that piece i've ever felt well certainly two different psyches he says johnny tech
00:28:12well we certainly expect that kind of dude do a lot better than this i mean he is not beautiful
00:28:25right out of the body yeah i'm disappointed catching up no offense here by tonity at all after the
00:28:31breakneck speed of that last fight where they were going back and forth and back and forth this looks like
00:28:35like a one-way shutout you know i mean shut out in rounds not that he's beating him up so they're going
00:28:40to be very difficult for johnny tapia to keep this kind of effectiveness and this pace as he hit round
00:28:46seven eight nine i've watched tapes of uh kind of a 13-year wiley veteran he's a punishing accumulating
00:28:54fighter makes opponents pay with good combinations but he has been laying back here
00:29:00seems to be in either he's waiting for something or he's just fearful of opening up against him
00:29:06tapia almost got himself in the corner over there just a moment ago he just kept bouncing back and forth
00:29:10went right by him i mean he didn't throw up once he tried to keep in there what we've got to see is what
00:29:15happens when tapia really gets hit weird hard-handed shots with this guy that's what we've got to see
00:29:21the crowd and for good reason because nothing's happening
00:29:30he's right hold on hold it hold it hold it hold it hold it hold it hold it hold it
00:29:38okay johnny take a wrench there
00:29:43okay high feeling
00:29:44johnny i want you to get your double jab going all right i want you to back here
00:29:53guys this guy's walking through you okay he cannot walk through that jab i want you to double the jab up
00:29:57and then get off to the side you hear me all right
00:30:07how he's telling him that he should keep it up
00:30:09the way he's doing
00:30:13he want him to move his hand
00:30:15you don't want him to stand idly
00:30:17he's standing idly don't be standing idly not exactly something you want to hear in a
00:30:41in a button ring don't stand idly do something so polite yes let the pain abate and then go
00:30:47forth but he's still correct he can't just stand there he's got to be busy he's got to throw something
00:30:51that's what he's got to do bob he's got to come on make this fight come on now go fool him around
00:30:58there you go so he's starting landing something he's got to start landing he's got to start feeling
00:31:02like he's in a fight he can hit this guy he's been to the united states trying to do about a month
00:31:07training but he's fighting like he just arrived last night
00:31:27well he's not reverting to the instinct as in the past he's using the things that new trainer freddie
00:31:32road has taught him freddie roach who has trained many world champions michael moore irish steve
00:31:38college james tony working with lucia reicher i i love freddie roach i loved him as a fighter
00:31:47his life depended on it he's a great trainer nice calm wired trainer has a quiet voice about him
00:31:54makes you listen very cerebral in his approach very sensible man i'm really happy that freddie's found
00:32:00this career good man for boxing and now yes he's helping tappy out you know that roach is the fifth
00:32:09trainer tappy has had since the danny romero fight he's had a who's who you know i had talked to johnny
00:32:14tappy who talked about possibly even tommy park my trainer but tommy can't make it out to those high
00:32:19athletes because he had 11 years ago and he can't they got this high altitude
00:32:22even teddy atlas was dropping in at one point but never actually uh screened tappy in a fight
00:32:31tappy is still with the blood coming down the right side from the uh an actual headbutt
00:32:37but not much not bothering it has not opened it has not bothered them have done an excellent job with
00:32:42cutting the corner no problem hey we've seen uh tappy a fight with blood streaking down his face and it
00:32:48doesn't seem to bother and a broken nose yeah he really doesn't care it's a badge of honor you
00:32:53know he really doesn't care he'll take the bloody lick it he's just he's crazy like that and it's
00:32:58it's the right way to be as a fighter i got to tell you guys this is like a broken nail to him
00:33:04a lot of news got to be getting frustrated down there deep inside he's got to be saying this guy
00:33:09has got to be hit oh beautiful left cuffs doubling up just what they wanted from the corner by johnny
00:33:15champion jabs and hooks doubling up there's blood around the nose just kind of doing he's just confused
00:33:24the speed of tapio is doing kind of doing
00:33:27let's go johnny go there nice deep breath nice deep breath blow it up give me another one
00:33:41good ready yeah very good all right john you're doing well out there right combinations watching
00:33:46this guy very smart this guy's still gunning now let me work on this one johnny here i want you give me
00:33:54that one i want you to give me that hook to the body and then pivot out from there okay behind the
00:33:58jab left hook to the body and pivot out all right don't stay there too long now combination and
00:34:02other side remember we're going to win the exchanges okay get up there you go all right don't stand up
00:34:08okay now here you've got to do more faith okay let's get that water up i don't want these guys
00:34:14i want more i want more things out there okay let's keep that towel up
00:34:19get that dried up good tapio racing out to the center of the ring touching gloves with
00:34:26kind of do here we go into round six it's been all tapio a shutout i just asked his wife who's
00:34:32his trainer as well as manager i said do you think you can keep this up for 12 rounds he says he's not
00:34:37even warmed up yet he's going we've had him going 19 rounds in the gym and 19 rounds in the gym is an awful
00:34:45i'll tell you i tried that a couple times myself back when there's still 15 round title fights i had
00:34:50the light heavyweight title boxing 12 and 13 rounds a couple days in a row that takes its toll on you
00:34:55and he's in great shape you got to remember to be mindful he sat out three and a half years in the
00:35:00early 90s for unfortunate reason for drug abuse but it's something that that comes back to possibly
00:35:06being to an advantage today those are three and a half years of inactive well we'll see when tyson
00:35:10comes back he's had three years off well he's got three years right and then 18 minutes yep stay out of
00:35:18so we'll see right now this guy looks like he's got the formula to do this for 12 rounds and right now
00:35:25kind of it looks like he hasn't got a clue as to how to stop it which is a surprise to me because
00:35:32he's got the experience and he knows better i wouldn't expect it if con would kind of do
00:35:36saying as good as jim was and that he had no problems in that area that he doesn't throw a
00:35:40little more caution to the wind press the fight just cause the brawl yeah i hope that hope that
00:35:45your punch can and can have an effect because you know tap his punch is not going to hurt him
00:35:49or he thinks
00:36:12in the entire united states would expect a dull fight out of tapping i mean dull is not a word you
00:36:18associate with johnny doctor and tapia in essence doing his job doing it very technically but kind
00:36:24of do uh just not responding in any way he's doing what he has to do to win and he's doing it handily
00:36:31why should he get in a punch out with a guy that punches this hard why should he why shouldn't he do
00:36:35just this for 12 rounds it's not in his character to do it but it's a lot easier than taking those big beatings
00:36:43you can't cut him off he can't square up and get an unloaded combination he gets off one or two
00:36:53and johnny's already given him a new angle stepped off one way or the other kind of do is not taking
00:36:57any chances here we are in the sixth round with 20 seconds left and i don't believe kind of do has
00:37:02thrown one effective punch the whole time i was just going to say i don't think he's landed one hard
00:37:07punch i mean landed hard punches she's throwing but they didn't land tapia continues to uh cut off
00:37:14the ring use angles a lot of head movement a lot of speed doubling up with the jab and the left hook
00:37:19bouncing around and then sticks out his tongue okay beginning to look like welly pep
00:37:25well 1999 kicks off with mike tyson on pay-per-view saturday january 16th showtime event television
00:37:45presents the return of mr tyson the former undisputed heavyweight champ of the world most
00:37:50controversial fighter in boxing entering the ring for the first time in 18 months to face former
00:37:55ivf heavyweight champ franz botha the return of mike tyson on pay-per-view saturday january 16th 9 p.m
00:38:02eastern 6 p.m pacific live from the mgm grand garden arena in las vegas
00:38:12i don't know what's going on in the morning but i don't know what's going on in the morning
00:38:17i don't know what's going on in the morning i don't know what's going on in the morning
00:38:20tappy has obviously not lost any speed in moving up in weight for the first time in a championship fight
00:38:26he told us his walking around weight is 131 132. how about scores if unofficially at the halfway point
00:38:35well in this tedium i have it 60 to 54 which means that johnny tappy has taken every round on my card
00:38:42i have to agree kind of who's just not doing enough to win the round not even trying hard
00:38:47enough to win the round and everybody at home seems to agree with us well i i give credit to uh
00:38:53to our executive producers from pepsicola on and otherwise they haven't slept since then
00:38:58if they were slipping sliding maybe kind of duke could have hit him are you fucking furrow raiders
00:39:04well coca-cola they can pay me off from coca-cola you got to get evil even that out say that again
00:39:10buddy you had to get it straight one time it's cold hey listen i don't want anybody arresting me when i
00:39:14leave here round seven about a minute gone by it has been all johnny tapia the pride of albuquerque new mexico
00:39:23he's got to move up to 126 for that one he's at 118 right now hey we saw what happened with his
00:39:34his old buddy romero recently moved up two weight classes and lost to viani bungu well let me think
00:39:40by the way i could go to the bank and cash in a couple of cds to see tappy get into the prince
00:39:45that would be some kind of bro how about the ringwash well forget the ringwash it would be a bra i think
00:39:51things right off the top of my head the prince might hit just a little too hard but johnny speed
00:39:55might neutralize that be a good fighter i'd like to forget the ring warps thank you yeah
00:40:01i think they should do something about that just making sure they are absurd
00:40:06oh nice nice counter jab is a shot drawn down strong jab by tapping uppercut the and and then he
00:40:15but it's not a missing look at the speed the the defense the movement of tapia eluding those
00:40:22punches kanadu can't come close he is so frustrated
00:40:31see the type of pace and the type of fight they kind of do fight he's got to have a ton of energy
00:40:35left use some of it and just let all hell break loose he's got nothing to lose well when we spoke to
00:40:40tappy yesterday johnny said to us there is no if he said undoubtedly he will win this fight
00:40:48and uh he's brought that strategy in it succeeded when tap he's got an awful lot of confidence he's
00:40:54had that since the first time i met him as a young kid i mean he's just always manifested his
00:41:00personality where he just didn't think he can lose 44-2 with 24 knockouts 13 0-1 six knockouts in world title
00:41:07fight the wbo title since 1994 ivf champion stripped of the wbo for not fighting the mandatory but still
00:41:18the ivf junior battle okay all right a little hot dog in by johnny
00:41:23he's telling him that uh the time he's supposed to go to the body his time no problem the condition
00:41:44you don't have any problem tell them show them that you are the you are the king you are holding the
00:41:52titan don't be frustrated let's go keep going keep punching money my face
00:42:00give him a little water to drink
00:42:11whenever he's waiting don't look don't wait to keep on hitting him
00:42:16you know it's too calm in that corner they gotta get something going there they need some energy
00:42:22and it's too common to show auditorium i hope something's going on in the boardwalk that's
00:42:27exciting because this isn't exciting they got to wake this guy up tapia not known as being a
00:42:33controlled fighter although he really controlled his emotions beautifully in that win over danny romero
00:42:38back in 97. but that's he's exactly doing that here he's controlling the pace of the fight showing
00:42:44great lateral movement well that may be called maturity
00:42:49he's mature he's a little bit more intelligent he doesn't have to have all that
00:42:57well it's kind of doing what he needs to do to win obviously not bobby chess's keys to victories
00:43:03included forced tapia backward that's a no good body punching that's a no power shots inside another no
00:43:11over three well this round's the first round where he landed a couple of body shots just then as you
00:43:17were saying that he landed a couple of body shots finally he got into a little bit of a mix up
00:43:22where he got close enough to punch and and tapia didn't leave and and punch back but that was
00:43:29because tapia chose to stay even when tapia comes and goes to the body and stays with a double or triple
00:43:33combination kind of do weights to try and block everyone and then johnny disappears he doesn't
00:43:39unload while johnny's still within reach well i think he's he's unwilling to do what you suggested and
00:43:44i think is the key he's got to go to a toe he's got to try to get this guy in exchange if he keeps
00:43:49waiting to block all the shots and then not punch then that's what it's going to be all night long
00:43:54uh tapia opens up combination to the head some of those were blocked by the elbows of conidu but
00:43:59some of them got in some of them were blocked by his cheekbones yes that was a left cheekbone to the left
00:44:05we're in the eighth round and i don't remember one good solid hammering shot that uh johnny's uh has
00:44:17taken tapia has taken no it really hasn't been there's one or two decent left hooks on the inside
00:44:22to tap his body but nothing serious yeah i've seen a good body shot one good body shot i saw really good
00:44:28good bloody shot well when you when you have a fighter over here from africa it triggers thoughts
00:44:33of azuma nelson dick tiger cornelius boza edwards great fighters out of africa but not a kind of dude
00:44:39who who is um revered over there uh having his difficulty uh tonight they're watching this on
00:44:47television in the middle of the night because of the time difference in ghana but they're putting
00:44:51people to sleep i was going to oh the nice left hook and johnny doing what he does smile to the crowd
00:44:58turn his head and walk away he's acting and he doesn't need to do that and he just yelled out to frank
00:45:04cappuccino i'm okay but that was the first good punchy man finally not enough to win around but it's
00:45:12at the start well right now he's not about winning rounds now it's about a knockout well connor to try to
00:45:18come on but tapia has some answers
00:45:23connor did not like the fact that tapia just rubbed him on the top of the head inside the ropes with bobby
00:45:27chez one of the keys to match being there when condo comes in here he throws a nice combination
00:45:34anyway he's just stepping off side to side movement he's staying away from condo's power
00:45:40throws his combinations steps off spins off and he's not there he's you're just not going to hit him
00:45:45you're going to take three or four punches and then he's gone and you're not going to catch him
00:45:50make a miss the counter and get out of there okay okay all right johnny i can take a shot
00:45:54huh yes you can send this you can by the air we don't want to thank you let's keep on the secret
00:45:58okay between me and you all right i'm okay i don't want this guy touching you all right i know what
00:46:03he does he's still very dangerous out there all right get back on side to side movement your face and
00:46:08your jab give me exchanges and get them out of here get that body bit attaboy all right but that is
00:46:14great stuff from freddie roshi so cautious too because he realizes that kind of do is still
00:46:20dangerous one punch freddie knows freddie knows listen you got this fight in the bag you don't
00:46:27need to do anything but what you've been doing that's all you need to do stay away don't get hit and
00:46:32you know it's hard to keep down an emotional and charismatic fighter uh like johnny tab because
00:46:37he likes to please the crowd he wants to hear the noise he wants to hear that you know um he's like
00:46:42vinnie pazienzo about the past name he wanted to go out there and throw people even if he was getting
00:46:48hammered he just wanted excitement uh you know it's hard to tell that hey don't excite the people just
00:46:52keep on going not not satisfactory to him he likes to see right now he's coming forward a little bit
00:47:01and still being effective
00:47:06happy of finding the openings
00:47:10and those punches being blocked by the right arm and elbow you see he's so quick that it's very
00:47:15difficult for kind of dude to even adjust when the combination starts he almost doesn't try and
00:47:20counter because as soon as he moves his hands accountable there's another one right behind it
00:47:24and he's hit clean economy who told us speed is the key to neutralizing tapia is telegraphing he had
00:47:30no idea how right he was uh that it was the key to winning the fight anyway just not from his side exactly
00:47:38there's a point left just slipped yeah i know but what he was nothing just kind of lost
00:47:45there's no point there like his knee buckled on him oh beautiful what a jab
00:47:52right there kisser you kind of put your feelings all the way down to your heels you go down into
00:47:57your heels with that kind of it does have a good chin so you notice there that was very very telling
00:48:04all tapia did was make a body faint forward kind of you stopped this track picked his hands up and
00:48:08ducked as if here come the punch not reacting to it by being offensive but purely defensive this is an
00:48:14exquisite exhibition of boxing by the veteran johnny tappy 31 years old out of alva crippy new mexico such
00:48:24a smart fighter knows how to neutralize his opponent's strengths look at that look at that
00:48:28it's a worry pep it reminds me of the time willy pep came into the garden and said i can i can i won't
00:48:37throw a punch and this guy won't hit me a punch and i wouldn't around and that's what he did it looks
00:48:42like he could do right here combination by tapia the straight right hand long there's a right uppercut by
00:48:50tapia right on the chin of kind of nice uppercut there's another good right hand another good right
00:48:57hand by tapia seems slip the punches doing way once a clinic by johnny tapia here a boxing clinic
00:49:08you can hear the champion entourage chanting you know sometimes too when you move up in weight
00:49:13divisions and have to fight with guys who are normally bigger stronger face stronger men you have to
00:49:18change that was a trip after the punch he's tangled up with the feet of uh kind of
00:49:26he's all right smiles over to everybody
00:49:33he's anxious bro yeah i know
00:49:37dry his head off man it's all the water's getting in the center of the ring
00:49:43near frank cappuccino saying try his head off in the tapia corner
00:49:48keep on doing it okay all right you fight this fight for you okay
00:49:51you got the crowd okay
00:49:53you focus on remember we weren't in the gym we said we can't walk through the jab
00:49:56all right did you mean that with that jab and get out off to the side okay
00:50:00then i want to off to the side okay but don't stay in there too long
00:50:03it's a one-way fight it's real easy to score 10 9 10 9 across the board the shutout continues it's a no
00:50:22hitter what i was talking about before johnny tapia moving up in weight not maybe feeling he's got the
00:50:26strength to fight with this guy inside similar thing happened to me in my career when i moved up to cruiserweight
00:50:30i couldn't have fight robert daniel had a boxer from the outside so this time he's trying to do exactly
00:50:35what he has to i will check how the fans have it at home in the online it is a surprise
00:50:42yeah just what we all have at 90 to 81. there's another vicious straight left by by tapia
00:50:52punches are landing effectively
00:50:57defeat so apparent here that even the drummers that they brought that have been banging those
00:51:01tribal drums quick i mean they've been quick yeah shanti warriors nothing to cheer about no i said well
00:51:08that's it that's it drums ain't gonna help you're well past the point of no return with points you're
00:51:15down nine points it's gonna be really nothing sure been possible to get them all back in three rounds
00:51:20even with the knockdown in every round he's got he's got to let it hang out somewhere why wait to the
00:51:25last round this is ring generalship and effective aggressiveness at its best being displayed by johnny temp
00:51:32what a nice little combination that was one punch backed out come back another punch ducked out nice nice
00:51:46but quite frankly we're we're really surprised by this uh lackluster effort by not a cottage
00:51:53taking nothing away from the countering left there by the way by connor but taking nothing away from
00:51:58tapia who's done a beautiful job wait tapia's done what he's supposed to do he won every round
00:52:03anytime he won every round however you get that's quite an accomplishment of a boxing match
00:52:07and these rounds are not easy to get one after another no that is not a knockdown not a knockdown
00:52:15frank cappuccino waves it off who wasn't even look you just heard the guy coming from your head
00:52:20yeah i've told i've told him to stay off the bill evidently the peps here the coach doesn't really work
00:52:26well don't say that don't say it's just one slip it's only been one slip in the whole fight
00:52:31these guys are going to have to start wearing football cleats no they just have to sand down
00:52:37the kids can't put fresh paint at the afternoon of the fight and expect it to work that may have been
00:52:42the best exchange of the fight and tapia ain't a little leather there for the first or second time in
00:52:47the entire fight
00:53:02himself coming closer to that logo and dashed out of there bolted away don't want to slip
00:53:06look at the footwork by tapia here look at that and this is the tenth round guys
00:53:13i should decide inside that lateral movement we talked about and this is the tenth round he's got
00:53:17the legs a little ali action going here he has that he has that and there we get to 100. john johnny
00:53:25talking to bobby chez the least amount of water please yes sir johnny he's going to come out wild
00:53:33enough and i know all right let's take a look at the slip uh we're going to see nothing new the
00:53:38pain is is slick as you step on it you slip
00:53:45he was actually doing the punching
00:53:46yeah yeah you see his foot his left foot came actually underneath and it got in front of him
00:53:56and he just fell back
00:54:00keep smart now here he's he's pulling with the jab trying to land the right hand okay you know that
00:54:05okay all right so when that jab cut the other way okay all right you're doing great okay i want
00:54:14more jab okay i just want to get caught you know you won't get that jab continues to be very cautious
00:54:20he realizes that tapia is winning the fight handily but he says the guy is pulling with the jab he's
00:54:28looking for the right he finds that opening he's going to unload it the best thing about freddy is he
00:54:33because of the character and nature he doesn't get wildly excited he doesn't tell you to do 20 things
00:54:38he's very specific he says keep the jab you don't need to fight this just keep the jab keep moving
00:54:43he centers on one thing and hammers it in which is very good for a fighter i mean you don't want
00:54:49to hear a guy come in several voices throw the right throw the left throw you don't hear anything
00:54:53i mean one guy tells you throw your jab and keep moving don't stand still and fight beautiful straight
00:54:59right hand there by tapia that snuck in right on the face kind of dude i'm kind of dude first came
00:55:05out he threw a big left hook at tappy and i thought maybe okay his desperation is finally showing up but
00:55:10once again he settled into being a little too methodical and uh certainly lackluster well he
00:55:15couldn't possibly in his wildest dreams think he's close to this fight he has to know he's winning
00:55:20he's losing this thing just like from here to the boardwalk he can't possibly think he's winning
00:55:25he is being totally outclassed by johnny tapia
00:55:34nice legs up there by tapia that pushed to the african back
00:55:37you see tapia looking down to make sure he's not by that with the logo tap dancing around that
00:55:48but what that can't be a knockdown was it that can't be a knockdown are you correct oh my goodness
00:55:55seven are you crazy are you crazy john that was a knockdown brother oh come on let's go well you
00:56:03know what well that may be the only round he wins i still don't come around well it's you know it's
00:56:08it's academic but by the same token that's twice that's twice you've seen that yeah we saw the first
00:56:14fight tawny perez making that call now here johnny don't look at me man they see cappuccino telling
00:56:20johnny don't look at me giving him the evil eye well because he's you know understandable he's whipping
00:56:27the guy today well this begins to open things up uh kind of now all of a sudden right it's because he's
00:56:32lost his head uh there's nice right hand like john tapia has left his head and i want to show it with
00:56:40that knockdown was nothing and instead of just boxing nicely and losing the round he wants to win
00:56:45the round this is the one thing freddie robert's cautioned against be careful johnny tapia that's our
00:56:51second phantom knockdown tonight but you see that's what he wants he wants to neutralize and that got him
00:56:59back into the fight now kind of dudes into the fight johnny's fighting he's still playing it smart he's not
00:57:05straight out but he's doing a little more than i'm sure freddie would like yeah he lost his head there
00:57:10for a minute he's got to calm down again kind of do obviously in the desperate need of a knockout
00:57:18and he's got to go for it right here
00:57:24i still think johnny wasn't around guys
00:57:30it's the best you could do would give it an even round if you subscribe to the theory that if the
00:57:34referee counts you've got to get him making a 10-8 then it's an even round because it's a this that
00:57:39that wasn't even a knockdown and he lost the rest let's just look i mean this can't this is so hard
00:57:47what round is it all right huh last round well you don't see anything happening you know that
00:57:55that fire the punch to the side certainly didn't do anything to tap you look at it again johnny and uh
00:58:02kind of do kind of get together he's a little outbound right there nothing he just trips i mean he bends
00:58:07down and just trips on his ankle it was like patting him on the back and you can see him wiping
00:58:11his left foot he just tripped all right all that did was run his shut up all right now wind up
00:58:28on bobby's guard i left it there they touched gloves for round 12. they just got their their
00:58:31feet kind of tangled up there and the off balance move and tapio went down no punch
00:58:37why do referees do those things overreaction not just an overreaction too i think that sometimes
00:58:43their viewpoint doesn't give them what we have
00:58:47and they have other things on their mind as well we're just looking at the fight
00:58:49destroying it do we have to they're watching every other move thing
00:58:55well finally finally decides to come forth well he obviously as i said before he's got to knock
00:59:05tappy out to win this fight it's a uh he may have won that last round that's the only round for conidu
00:59:12well i don't say i could have won it he lost the whole round but that knockdown could have given him an
00:59:16even round but that's it sometimes with a 10-8 if it's a clean knockdown it goes to a 10-9 or a 9-8
00:59:22but it's only one point the knockdown is just the only part around you want which are basically
00:59:28what was the only thing kind of the wood everyone to this point that is the only controversy in this
00:59:34tapio just all over with a furious morale then he just stepped back and looks to do it again
00:59:46his punches weren't that hard you should just whip the couple up you know he was crouched cover
00:59:51just fire two or three big shots just swing a hail mary out there take a look and see what's happening
00:59:56there's that hail mary that you just woke up there's another two i should point out to the folks at
01:00:01home that when body just describes things he sometimes acts it out physically with his fist so
01:00:06that's why i sit on the other side again tapio patient is always moving oh wow sidestepping
01:00:20beautiful yeah take out move by tapio i think he's fighting this one for the crowd
01:00:26under a minute remaining of the fight tapio on his toes in tremendous condition i believe this is
01:00:34probably the least punishment that he's taken in any fight in his life
01:00:39you're probably right i mean he probably goes home and his missus going to the hospital you know
01:00:44is it is there something i'm missing tonight well still probably needs one or two little stitches
01:00:48in that eye or his life to do that little stitch doesn't help yeah not with tapio all right break stop
01:00:56punching stop punching and break well okay now we go the conduit's got something in his mind he better
01:01:03get unloaded now because he's headed for a long trip back to africa without his father look at this defense
01:01:07by tapio you know how many he had three straight duck under moves to avoid right hooks by kind of do and
01:01:13then he comes back but he doesn't need to do this but he doesn't need to do this he's so far ahead
01:01:17he doesn't need to do it he's cut across the bottom is he's right close to know he's got an action
01:01:21on everybody that's it but johnny tapia has to do that he has to please the threat and he does a backflip
01:01:29to cap it off that's it over a near shutout throw for johnny tapia that was probably the closest
01:01:39equivalent to a no-hitter or a perfect game i think so in boxing i think that was a no-hitter
01:01:45it's amazing to see any blood on him at all since hardly anybody hit him i actually threw one of those
01:01:50ones against bashali unanimous shut up wow one one one you won i did okay just ask him bobby i didn't
01:01:59say i was in the wrong hand hit him i didn't think bobby would bring that up if it was on the other end
01:02:03but you see the gash along the bridge of uh yeah i thought that happened in the far corner and they
01:02:08were in uh in close i thought they banged their heads or faces or what have you but you know now he's
01:02:13got another badge of honor he should probably be a little happier man
01:02:15here's one african fighter who didn't quite live up to the reputation of dick tiger
01:02:24and uh boza edwards and all those great fighters that come out i'll tell you the blood in the
01:02:29right corner of johnny's eye looks very dark and it's closed
01:02:36well he's got a marked up he tapia often looks like the loser but he's never lost
01:02:41it's like it's like we did with ricardo lopez where he looked like he ran in a train but he won
01:02:46handily against rezendo alvarez three weeks ago one of the great fights of the year
01:02:55all right let's look at the last part of this round where tapia gets a little bit sassy and decides to uh
01:03:01showboat for the crowd i mean you know this guy has got to show something for the crowd he can't just let
01:03:06let it go like that hit miss that that's the end of it how canado could raise his arms and victory is
01:03:14beyond me here's the accidental head but they just kind of come together and bang the head just right
01:03:21in the corner of his eye just johnny's standing up a little too straight told him and put his head down
01:03:25ready to his eye and with all those people standing there in the ring that one person has slipped
01:03:38that's unbelievable maybe king will slip amazing traction let's hope jimmy lennon jr doesn't slip
01:03:45as he gives the uh the decision let's let's go up to our ring announcer but classy jimmy lennon jr
01:03:52i believe he's set i can't really see him up there a lot of people up in the ring
01:03:58jimmy's the one without the gloves jimmy here he goes he makes his way over towards us and he's set
01:04:04to go ladies and gentlemen after 12 rounds of action we have a majority decision here the score
01:04:13totals what judge at ringside franco priani 114 to 114 even a draw overruled by judges
01:04:26scores about 116 to 111 and john porterage who scores about 115 to 112 in favor of the winner and the new
01:04:39wba batomweight champion of the world johnny that is the stupidest judging i have ever seen listen
01:04:50guys listen i know i took a lot of punches for a lot of years but am i blind too no i mean i may be a
01:04:54little paul but am i three of us can't be wrong oh my god it was franco priani who is uh out of italy
01:05:02lavora italy that had it 114 114 they should take his license away that is unbelievable awful that's
01:05:12just plain awful now i'm italian and polish and i thought it was the polish side they made fun of
01:05:17all right let's go to jim gray right now jim all right thank you very much steve i am in the ring
01:05:23here with nana who just lost his championship michael is going to translate this for us once again ask him
01:05:28did he feel as though he won the fight it was a draw majority decision which is what we need yeah
01:05:34i mean because we are champion we are challenging you know that uh he has won the fight because he's
01:05:40the champion and he's a challenger he's supposed to knock him down before what what makes him think
01:05:44he won the fight it appeared as though he had no spark and really had no life or or appetite to win
01:05:50the night he said that uh he you watch the fight too how do you see it because he did the best you
01:06:20called and he knew that he's the champion he's supposed to win this fight all right thank you nana
01:06:25let's get johnny tapia johnny let's bring johnny in here johnny congratulations let us ask you
01:06:33seemed as though you dominated the fight are you surprised with the decision
01:06:37even though you're the champion are you surprised with the decision i hate to knock anybody down you
01:06:42know i just give a lot of thanks and praise to my lord jesus christ for guiding me and protecting me
01:06:46i fought a strong fighter you know very very strong we're coming up in weight i have to prove
01:06:50a lot i did the best i can do and uh i'm bringing it back home to albuquerque new mexico did you feel
01:06:56it was as close as obviously one judge had it you know they gave me an a count i didn't want to get
01:07:02set up or anything but i just like i said i put in the hands of the lord let him guide me i give him
01:07:07the victory and i took the black eyes do you did you clearly feel as though it was a slip there in the
01:07:11late going what do you think it doesn't matter what i think i'm asking you well no matter what
01:07:17you think what anybody else thinks everybody see me slip but they want to call it knock down i was
01:07:21knocked down okay give him a you're a showman and and you like to put on a good show would you
01:07:26classify this almost as dull tonight this victory yeah you know i boxed him i give him everything i got
01:07:31he never hit me with a couple shots he rocked me but you know i give credit where credit is due he's
01:07:36a good champion and grandma grandpa i love you in albuquerque i'm still your champion baby well you are the
01:07:41champion you don't look like it though you're a little banged up there congratulations johnny but
01:07:44if i don't bleed or get a black eye i haven't won nothing you know all right let's send it back over
01:07:49to you steve i'm bringing it home baby all right uh jim thank you very much johnny can't criticize we'll
01:07:54do it for him we'll be happy to let's check the online scoring results from our main event conadu versus
01:08:00tapia the the folks at home saw it as a clear-cut shutout for johnny tapia 12 rounds to nothing
01:08:08so we're back here with the fight doctor on my right and bobby chez on my left uh one judge
01:08:16incredibly by the name of franco priani of italy had a 114 114 uh uriel acuera had a 116 111 tapia
01:08:24john putterage had at 115 112 johnny tapia as we mentioned tapia can't say anything but we'll say it
01:08:30for him that was that was a stinker that was a stinker they should take that guy's passport and just make him
01:08:35work in new jersey for the rest of his life and uh cleaning out small road roadside whatever
01:08:41i'm glad this is cable folks i'm glad i listen and it's what nothing surprises me after this many
01:08:46years in boxing this one surprised me i mean this was a shutout both bobby and i and albert believe
01:08:53this is a total farce well this is an exact thanks bacheco this is an exact example steve of why we need
01:09:00to have a school for judges to learn how to judge just because a fighter's knocked down doesn't make
01:09:05an automatic 10-8 number one number two the fighter didn't even win the round so all three of the
01:09:10judges giving them a 10-8 even if they go by the referee and they say they have to live up to the
01:09:13referee's call there was a knockdown a 10-9 knockdown does exist and is applicable especially right here
01:09:20well johnny tapia makes the move up from 115 to 118 has no problem with the weight that was
01:09:27pretty obvious still had the speed and then some yeah he had plenty of speed the speed didn't
01:09:31diminish at all he doesn't have the power for a lot of guys and this guy again was strong for him
01:09:34and he could feel it all right bobby ferdy we want to go back up to uh our man of the ring jim gray jim
01:09:39all right well uh thank you albert or at least i think that's your name tonight with don king here
01:09:44tonight don you returned to new jersey after several years of being absent let's take a look at your
01:09:50entrance into the ring it seems as though that you are now following in the footsteps of many of the
01:09:54fighters a la johnny tapia and many people you had your entourage here tonight i know it was a thrill
01:09:59for you to be back here in new jersey it certainly was there's an overwhelming joy to have such a
01:10:04heartwarming reception here in the great state of new jersey i love new jersey and i love the people of
01:10:09new jersey and this is something that i felt with skd as we say the vernacular together something kind of
01:10:14different i'm excited about it i'm thrilled about it i'm very grateful and appreciative and we had a
01:10:19great great show that's what really we came here for did you throw yourself a party was did you set
01:10:24that up or was that done for you that was done by the people and i was so happy that they did because
01:10:28they felt that way about me and they turn out in mass and i'm just thrilled about it jim i think that
01:10:33this is an american way and when they say the king is back the king is back and we're going to put on the
01:10:39best shows that they've ever seen here in the state of new jersey and they it was a void an unfillable
01:10:44void in my absence and i'm delighted to come back and feel that void every day
01:10:48stated i guess yes humbly stated most certainly let's ask you what's coming up let's get to what's
01:10:52coming up everybody's interested in felix trinidad you are back once again in control of phoenix
01:10:57felix trinidad from a promotional standpoint will he fight soon and will he fight here on showtime well
01:11:02you got so many opponents for felix trinidad that is coming up right now you have vincent petway who is
01:11:08the mandatory challenger you also have the man who won tonight the mighty queen james page we'll always say
01:11:14have vincent phillips who now is back in the fold and he's ready to fight trinidad he's the he's the
01:11:19super junior welterweight champion or the super lightweight champion whichever you choose and so he
01:11:23has many many opponents now that's out there we have whitaker if they would ever bring him back to the
01:11:27fold and let him go ahead and fight so ike quartet the winner of that fight against oscar de la hoya
01:11:33he has a big menu and a big plate and an insatiable appetite so he will have a lot to keep him full and he
01:11:39will be out there fighting and it's going to be super sensational we have the greatest matches coming
01:11:44up today and i would say that the promoter for showtime is me and we are putting on the holy
01:11:50field and we're putting on holyfield and lennox lewis it would be on another network but the fact of the
01:11:55matter is i'm holyfield promoter and so that's the biggest heavyweight title fight that you can make
01:12:00today well since you mentioned that one let's mention both and mike tyson uh you will not be involved in
01:12:05that one however what are your thoughts on mike tyson's return and how do you feel he'll do
01:12:09i wish him well i hope he gets what he deserves that's the only thing i can say about mike tyson
01:12:13he's not in my camp no comment baby yeah that's rare let's end on that for a change steve you got
01:12:20your name back okay thank you very much uh jim and i just got to say that uh first of all this is what
01:12:30is known as a disclaimer in the world of broadcasting for the record showtime had nothing to do with that
01:12:36don king uh ring walk that's the first time a promoter's ring walk was actually more impressive
01:12:41than a fighter's or than the fight itself all right as we wind things down let's go back and
01:12:47take a look at the highlights of tonight's boxing from uh atlantic city we start off with page lopez
01:12:53round three and uh here's where we got in trouble lopez looked like he had him under control he was
01:12:59going to go down he didn't actually go down bobby take round five so around five pages unloading this
01:13:05is the round where he over dropped lopez but lopez hung on to do what he had to to survive but not win
01:13:13and in our main event which we just saw conado versus tapia tapia in a shutout 10 to nothing in
01:13:19and rounds and somehow mysteriously we had a strange decision bobby well you know he boxed
01:13:25brilliantly through the whole fight if even if you call the knockdown you call it a 10-9 or even
01:13:29the 10-8 round he outboxed kind of do out through him out punched him outsmarted him outmaneuvered him
01:13:34he did the job
01:13:38so we'll give you the final result james page really showing what he's made up beating big punching
01:13:43veteran jose luis lopez to remain the wba one away champion and johnny tapia as don king serenades the
01:13:51fight doctor remains undefeated becomes a three-time world champion moving up in weight to capture the
01:13:56wba bantamweight belt dethroning nana kanadu
01:14:03and don't forget coming up 1999 starts off with mike tyson on pay-per-view january the 16th showtime
01:14:11event television presents the return of mike tyson the former undisputed heavyweight champ of the
01:14:15world and of course the most controversial fighter in boxing entering the ring for the first time in
01:14:2018 months to face former ibf heavyweight champion francois botha the return of mike tyson on pay-per-view
01:14:27saturday january 16th 9 p.m eastern 6 p.m pacific live from the mgm grand garden arena in las vegas
01:14:35and a long night comes to an end that'll do it for another edition of showtime championship boxing we
01:14:43hope you enjoyed it we'll see you again next month for the return of mike tyson and two weeks from
01:14:48tonight we'll be back here in atlantic city with a remarkable one-of-a-kind sports event that you'll be
01:14:55hearing a lot more about in the next few days for the fight doctor bertie pacheco bobby chez jim gray and
01:15:02our entire crew this is steve albert saying so long from atlantic city new jersey
01:15:14check it out
01:15:18it's
01:15:19ול some sea
01:15:24new word
01:15:30Oh, the camera just got punched by an arid hook.
01:15:58Good left hand by Norris above us.
01:16:02That is it!
01:16:05The reign of Prince Nassim continues.
01:16:09Frankie Ramon comes right back.
01:16:25What a great opera.
01:16:32That was a thing of beauty.
01:16:48The winner by unanimous decision, the new champion.
01:17:03This winter, Showtime has Hollywood hits no one else has.
01:17:10No one else has.
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