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IBF Jr Bantamweight champion Danny Romero faces rival WBO champion Johnny Tapia on HBO Boxing
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00:00:00come back. All right, so that does it for Michael Carbohal against Baby Jake
00:00:03Matlala. Let's get ready now for the big event of the evening, the Battle of
00:00:06Albuquerque between Johnny Tapia and Danny Romero Jr. As we showed you at the
00:00:12beginning of the show, our Nicole Watson is reporting from the Isleta Gaming
00:00:16Palace in Albuquerque, and we're going to go back there live right now. Good
00:00:20signal despite all the thunderstorms and electrical storms that we've been
00:00:24told are besieging Albuquerque. And Nicole, what's it like where you are
00:00:27right now? Well, that's right, Jim. It is raining outside, but the fans have filed
00:00:31in. They're getting ready for this bout. The fans feel like they have perpetuated
00:00:35the emotions for this bout. They take it very, very personally. They feel like
00:00:40everything's at stake for them. They say that it's not just between the boxers.
00:00:44They have something here called machismo, which stems from the word macho. It's an
00:00:49attitude amongst the fans, and believe me, it permeates the city. A man told me that
00:00:53it's about passion. It brings back the passion to the citizens of Albuquerque.
00:00:56The prize here is about pride and respect. It's definitely intangible. It's about
00:01:02ultimate bragging rights and which one will come back the king of Albuquerque and
00:01:07also the king of the state of New Mexico. The fans say they don't care who draws
00:01:11first blood. They're just glad that the day of the battle is finally here.
00:01:15All right, Nicole, we'll come back to you later after the fight to find out what the
00:01:19situation is in Albuquerque once there's a winner between Johnny Tapia and Danny Romero.
00:01:23And as you fully gathered by now, you're about to watch an event that climaxes
00:01:27several storylines. The story of the ultimate dead-end kid, Johnny Tapia, who survived the
00:01:32murder of his mother in childhood and a three-year suspension due to cocaine to get back to this
00:01:37plateau. The golden child, Danny Romero, whose father once trained Johnny Tapia in the same gym
00:01:44where he introduced little Danny Jr. to boxing. And the story of the city of Albuquerque, where there is
00:01:50so much passion attached to this fight that it was regarded as unsafe for Albuquerque to host
00:01:55its biggest sports event in years.
00:02:27Well, good morning, New Mexico. Welcome to the sports line. This is Henry T. And you've got
00:02:32your sports leader, KDF, 1150 AM in Albuquerque. We've got a big fight coming up in the near future.
00:02:38Johnny Tapia, Danny Romero. What does this fight mean to you?
00:02:43Well, as a citizen, I would have loved to see it here. As a chief of police, I think I'm
00:02:48kind of glad
00:02:48it's going to be in Vegas. And I think that there would be troubles if it was here in Albuquerque.
00:02:54Albuquerque fans are pretty rowdy. They like to, you get to see as many fights in the stands as you
00:03:02do
00:03:02up in the ring. If it were here, and unfortunately it's not, I think we could fill the university arena
00:03:08with seats, seat almost 20,000 for boxing. I really believe it could be filled or very close to it.
00:03:15Daniel Romero said, no. You know, I wanted it to be the biggest fight of my life, to have it
00:03:20in
00:03:20Albuquerque, to give to the rich and the poor people in Albuquerque to see the fight.
00:03:26Me, you know, trying not to have the fight in Albuquerque and stuff like that, that had nothing to do
00:03:31with it.
00:03:31I think that made it out bigger than what it was. And I was a little upset about it because
00:03:36that's my hometown. That's where I live.
00:03:42My life has been hard. I lost my mom at an early age. I didn't know my daddy died too.
00:03:48And then I live with six sisters, eight brothers. You know, I was the youngest one.
00:03:55It's just rough, tough. I miss her every day, every minute. I hug everybody just to get that same
00:04:01feeling, to show a hug. I enjoy hugging people. And I miss hugging. I miss my mom hugging me.
00:04:08You know, a lot of it I block out and I don't remember a lot of things.
00:04:12Virginia Tapia died violently, stabbed multiple times behind a bar one night.
00:04:23Johnny never knew his father and that left him to be raised by his grandparents.
00:04:27And Johnny cited this as a reason for his anger. I believe it's also a reason for maybe a lack
00:04:36of self-esteem that he can only find in boxing or through drugs.
00:04:44He died twice. Well, our first year and a half together. He was always missing. I was always
00:04:51going to police stations, filing reports. Each fighter I fight, I think of him, you know, hurting
00:04:58my mom. It's not the right way of going. But when I know somebody really wants to try to take
00:05:03me out,
00:05:04I just, I focus it. I get the eye of the tag and the water comes in.
00:05:09What Johnny Tapia lost in his mother, he found in his wife Teresa, who gave him his last chance at
00:05:15dignity. He was locked up in jail at the time and he was confined to his little cell. And he
00:05:21said,
00:05:22you know, the way he described it to me, he was looking out the window and he was seeing all
00:05:25these
00:05:25people passing by and he'd call me up and I didn't want anything to do with them. My life was
00:05:30going on
00:05:30with or without him. And he knew at that time it was without him. He felt that if he didn't
00:05:34get out of
00:05:35that jail and also he was in there for three months, he stayed clean. So he knew that if he
00:05:40could
00:05:40stay clean in there, well then there was a chance for him and for us. If Tapia is driven by
00:05:46the love
00:05:46he's missed, Danny Romero's fuel is the love he's gotten every day from his dad. I don't want no kid
00:05:53to see the bottom because there's too much to go up for. Why see the bottom? I mean, that's not,
00:05:59that's not what makes you a better person. I mean, there's morals and there's right ways of doing
00:06:07things. Winning, yes, is everything, but doing it the right way is another. I think if you put that
00:06:13all in one, it's satisfactory all the way around. And you know, with the family and the way he's
00:06:20taught me and the way we just vibe together, we do it the right way and we do it our
00:06:26way.
00:06:26I remember Danny at the police athletic league the day his dad brought him in the gym to register him.
00:06:31He was eight years old. He was adorable. And I remember his dad said,
00:06:36my son wants to box and he wants to box for Pal. And so he started coming in then. He
00:06:42learned so
00:06:43easy and so, so well. I think it was the commitment he had to the sport. He knew as a,
00:06:48as a eight year old that he wanted to be a boxer.
00:06:52To be a boxing salt five years old, you know, I don't think anybody wakes up at that five years
00:06:57old and
00:06:58wants to become a boxer. It's in the blood. God gives certain talents. Obviously mine's a talent
00:07:04for beating up people. I've been a volunteer trainer all my life. And that's what I do.
00:07:18I don't want, you know, I don't want no rewards from that. I really got it. The icing of the
00:07:21cake
00:07:21is Daniel Romero, Jr. He's already done it all for me. Two sons of the same culture, one prodigal,
00:07:28one proud, two lives whose streams and tributaries would naturally, inexorably rush toward one another.
00:07:35When Johnny came back, it was a real blow to their vision of Danny being sort of the prince of
00:07:42Albuquerque, having Albuquerque as his oyster. I think they had it all scripted. And when Johnny
00:07:47came back, it was like, hey, what are you doing in this movie? There's no part for you.
00:07:50I've stuck my hand out to Romero's and they left it out there. Embarrassed me, big time,
00:07:55in front of a lot of people. We have nothing against Danny Tapia. We have a lot against his
00:08:00promoter. We don't have nothing against Danny Tapia. He's a fighter that's in Danny's way. And
00:08:05we're going to take care of that July 18th. He's not going to be able to fight after this fight.
00:08:10That cheap one is going to be broken. All the talk,
00:08:14all the hype for the fight is going to be brought down to me winning to begin with. So I
00:08:22have no
00:08:23problem with that. You know, but now it's gotten to a point where I hate him. He's missed the point,
00:08:27big time. And it bothers me because he can say, I hate Danny Romero. That's made him a rich man.
00:08:36And in another breath, he can say, please pray for me. I'm a real Christian guy.
00:08:43And it don't work that way. And I wish he wasn't that way. I really don't. I wish that it
00:08:49was
00:08:49like another fight. He made the best man win. But this way, I want it so bad. I feel it
00:08:56every
00:08:57night. I can't sleep. He's made this into a fight where it's, say he's going third round,
00:09:03third knockout, third rope. You cannot, you know. I've been through too many things already that I've
00:09:09been down, you know. Tonight, two children of the Mexican American Southwest and the community
00:09:14that nurtured them both face a passionate and painful ceremony together. A prize fight
00:09:20in which the ultimate prize is respect.
00:09:27From the church bells of Albuquerque to the Thomas and Mack Center where the bell for round one will
00:09:33sound in just a few minutes as Johnny Tapia and Danny Romero are almost ready to go.
00:09:40Welcome back, Danny Romero. Both of them weighed in yesterday at 114, one pound under the limit.
00:09:46Tonight, as they arrived at the Thomas and Mack Center, Tapia up to 121, Romero up to 124. Romero
00:09:53with a two-inch reach advantage, seven years younger, and in the eyes of most boxing experts, perhaps
00:09:59with a natural edge in punching power. Punch stat numbers, Larry. Let's see how active they are,
00:10:05and you can see that Romero throws more punches, lands more punches. Tapia is underrated as a boxer.
00:10:17Jabs, you can see that they both throw a lot, don't land a lot. It's not a key weapon,
00:10:23but Romero does use it to set up his power. Rules of the bout with the fight judge and pharmacist,
00:10:30Harold Letterman. The Johnny Tapia, Danny Romero fight is scheduled for 12 rounds. There is no standing
00:10:36eight count, no three knockdown rule. Only the referee can stop the fight, and it can be saved by the
00:10:43bell
00:10:43in the 12th and final round only. Jim. Harold. Here it comes.
00:10:49Let's get this camera.
00:10:50I don't know.
00:11:30I don't know.
00:12:02The record for Danny Romero, the only loss, the result of a freak eye injury in the first round against
00:12:08journeyman Willie Salazar.
00:12:10Because of the 27 knockouts and his 30 wins, one boxing magazine calls him the hardest hunter pound for pound
00:12:17in the sport.
00:12:20That includes you, George.
00:12:22I thought you weren't going to say.
00:12:27And here comes Johnny Tapia.
00:12:33And here comes Johnny Tapia.
00:12:52And here comes Johnny Tapia.
00:12:54And here comes Johnny Tapia.
00:12:59And now you have your biggest cheer.
00:13:03He increases the week that nothing you could do.
00:13:08But just stand there and say they punish.
00:13:10If you fifty Eddie, No matter he's knock out for a decision,
00:13:15You bring your legs up for a position.
00:13:41words are inadequate to describe the electricity in this arena as you look at
00:13:46tapia's record 40 wins no losses two draws by the conventional standard applied to the three
00:13:53major governing bodies tapia getting ready to fight a reigning or former world champion for
00:13:58the first time in his career but he would say to you i've won bigger battles than anyone in the
00:14:03sport let's go to ring announcer mark fero for the official introductions ladies and gentlemen
00:14:10top rank incorporated and cedric kushner promotions in association with caesar's palace the home of
00:14:20champions in las vegas and budweiser the undisputed undefeated king of beers this buds for you
00:14:28presents main event 12 rounds for the ibf and wbo junior bantamweight championship of the world
00:14:39ring officials assigned by the international boxing federation and the world boxing organization
00:14:46ibf president robert w lee supervisor iowa tonight wbo president francisco paco and supervisor
00:14:56luis perez your judges at ringside are from kent washington glenn hamada from las vegas jerry
00:15:07roth and from providence rhode island dr clark sammartino your referee for this event from las vegas
00:15:17nevada mitch halpern
00:15:23and now ladies and gentlemen here are the principals first in the blue corner to my right wearing the
00:15:31black trunks and gold accessories he weighs in at 114 pounds his professional record 40 victories without a
00:15:42defeat two draws and 24 wins coming by way of knockout he hails from albuquerque new mexico
00:15:52also the wbo super flyweight champion of the world johnny mi vida loca
00:16:16he has 27 wins by way of knockout he hails from albuquerque new mexico
00:16:26he has 27 wins by way of knockout he hails from albuquerque new mexico
00:16:32albuquerque new mexico the ivf junior bantamweight champion of the world
00:16:40danny romero
00:16:44romero
00:16:45wild rounds for the ivf and wbo junior bantamweight championship of the world
00:16:51come on out john
00:16:52come on out
00:17:01come on
00:17:02this will be a clean fight protect yourself with all times and obey my commands at all times
00:17:06any questions touch trucks come on touch them
00:17:09Jim i often use the expression that boxing is the theater of the unexpected
00:17:15what would be unexpected now given some of the events of recent weeks and months
00:17:20would be a great fight without incident in or out of the ring,
00:17:24and that's what we're all hoping for.
00:17:29Over 10,000 tickets sold.
00:17:33More outside, clamoring to get in, even as the first bell is sounded.
00:17:37Last week, we went to a so-called heavyweight championship fight,
00:17:40which could never have sold this many tickets
00:17:43or aroused any passion at all.
00:17:47And the passion here, it's thick enough for you to feel it.
00:17:55Round one begins. They've waited years.
00:18:01Tapia loves to start fast.
00:18:05Romero will want to establish his testicle superiority
00:18:09and his punching power early on.
00:18:13Tapia wants to lure Romero into a war.
00:18:17Tapia into the body and the crowd goes wild.
00:18:31Every punch has mean intentions.
00:18:34Every punch is meant to hurt the opponent here.
00:18:39Yeah, it's going to take a round or two
00:18:40before these guys actually get into what they really do.
00:18:47The crowd chanting, Johnny, Johnny, Johnny.
00:18:50The Tapia followers in this crowd are over the top with excitement.
00:18:58And in that sense, they mirror the mood of the fighter,
00:19:02whose trainers only hope they can control
00:19:04his overwhelming passion for this task.
00:19:12These early rounds will be just about burning energy
00:19:15and trying to get into a rhythm, right, George?
00:19:16Yeah, and you're trying to establish
00:19:17if I can touch him with my left jab,
00:19:19like they said in training camp,
00:19:21if I can hit him with my left hook, like they said.
00:19:23And these things don't happen for a round or two.
00:19:26Tapia saying earlier this week,
00:19:29Danny's going to be surprised that if he hits me, I'll laugh.
00:19:32Romero said he's going to laugh all night.
00:19:42Tapia digging to the body with two left hooks
00:19:44and smiling as Romero lands a counter left.
00:19:50Hard left hook inside by Romero.
00:19:52Tapia drops his hands and stares.
00:19:55Romero up and under with a right hand.
00:20:03Solid blows landed early by both fighters.
00:20:07Tapia seems to be ahead on power at this point.
00:20:09It would be wise of Romero to kind of jab to the body,
00:20:12jab to the head, and kind of get a little juice
00:20:14out of those balloons.
00:20:16Romero more the conventional fighter in style,
00:20:18and he loves to get the left hook to the body as well.
00:20:21Both fighters rely on that part.
00:20:38Romero is actually cutting the ring out from time to time.
00:20:41He's dictating where Tapia is going to stand
00:20:43and where he's not going to stand.
00:20:48Tapia moves to the left,
00:20:49and Romero goes over there and says,
00:20:51No, you don't.
00:20:52Both fighters off to an energetic start
00:20:54in round one.
00:21:02Nice and relaxed.
00:21:04Don't try so hard.
00:21:05Just stay calm.
00:21:06You're quicker than this guy.
00:21:08Stay loose.
00:21:13Move that jab.
00:21:15Keep that.
00:21:16Stay calm.
00:21:17Stay calm.
00:21:18You want to see it?
00:21:19Yeah.
00:21:19Turn it back over.
00:21:20Listen, that uppercut,
00:21:22you're coming with.
00:21:23You got too many guys in the corner.
00:21:24You got it?
00:21:25The uppercut is working.
00:21:26Now use it.
00:21:27Off your jab.
00:21:27Here's my Muppies.
00:21:28I got it.
00:21:29Can you see?
00:21:29Okay.
00:21:32Let's see.
00:21:33Let's see if I'm done.
00:21:36Okay.
00:21:39All snap.
00:21:40Keep looking at him.
00:21:40Keep taking him where you want to take him.
00:21:48And there it was, George.
00:21:49As you said,
00:21:51Romero conscious of wanting to command the space in the ring,
00:21:54and his dad saying to him,
00:21:55You take him where you want to take him.
00:22:01Punched at numbers in round one.
00:22:02Remarkably similar.
00:22:03Tapia 22 of 64.
00:22:05Romero 20 of 67.
00:22:07Romero relying a little bit more on the straight left jab.
00:22:13The object here is for Romero to get from side to side,
00:22:17so he can get his left foot on the outside of Tapia's left foot,
00:22:20and he can control things.
00:22:28Romero doing a good job of keeping his hands up.
00:22:31Tapia looking to dig to the body underneath those high hands of Romero.
00:22:40Good right hand inside by Johnny Tapia,
00:22:42and he ties up Romero as Danny steps in.
00:22:45Come on, let's go.
00:22:52Come on, let's go.
00:22:56Romero does a lot of bouncing left and right,
00:22:59but he gives not one ounce to Tapia for his moving back after he punches him.
00:23:03He establishes,
00:23:04I am the aggressor in a funny kind of way.
00:23:07So far, the fight has taken place at center ring.
00:23:11Neither man has gone to the ropes yet.
00:23:14They exchange punches in the center of the ring.
00:23:16Again, Johnny Tapia lands a hard left hook,
00:23:19and Tapia pumping to the body in the clinch.
00:23:35Both fighters seem to have burned off the initial Munich energy buzz.
00:23:42They're settling into a groove,
00:23:43and Johnny Tapia is proving surprisingly effective inside with counterbody shots.
00:23:48Danny Romero trying to score up top with power.
00:23:52As a matter of fact, Tapia is doing only counterpunching at this point.
00:23:56He's waiting until Romero does something that he counters.
00:24:00Strictly counterpunching.
00:24:05And Tapia investing more in the body in these early rounds.
00:24:10Right hand was blocked by Romero.
00:24:13Crowd loved it, but it was right onto the glove.
00:24:20And Romero knows exactly what he's doing with these feints.
00:24:23He goes down low, up high,
00:24:25and it creates a lot of muscle tension in Tapia,
00:24:28so he better be careful.
00:24:29This guy is sizing him up for something big.
00:24:32Romero is sizing him up.
00:24:34Tells you something about youth boxing in Albuquerque.
00:24:36Look at how well-schooled both fighters are.
00:24:39Both have excellent left jab.
00:24:40That was a left-hand, left-right combination.
00:24:44By Romero.
00:24:45By Danny Romero.
00:24:47Best combination of this round for Romero.
00:24:49Tapia again digging the left hook to the body.
00:24:51Continuing the counter inside.
00:24:53As Romero comes out.
00:24:54And Romero trying to block that Tapia left hook with his right elbow.
00:24:58And Johnny nods for the crowd as he comes back to the corner.
00:25:05Keep moving him around.
00:25:06Keep moving him around.
00:25:09Keep moving him around.
00:25:10And you're swinging your right hand.
00:25:11Okay.
00:25:12That's why it's not working.
00:25:13Okay.
00:25:14You might need to go like that.
00:25:19Keep moving him around.
00:25:22He's already starting to step down.
00:25:24Yeah.
00:25:25Keep two steps on him.
00:25:27Okay.
00:25:28Step back, bang.
00:25:29All right?
00:25:33Double and triple your jab and take that right hand behind it.
00:25:36All right?
00:25:38I like that right uppercut stepping over, baby.
00:25:40You'll knock him out with it.
00:25:41But keep digging that belly.
00:25:45Keep digging that belly.
00:25:46As I said earlier, Tapia is an underrated boxer.
00:25:50He's picking his spots.
00:25:52You see as he goes to the body there.
00:25:55And so far, his aggression has been very well under control, which is the secret to his success in this
00:26:03fight.
00:26:04In the first two rounds, by CompuBox numbers, Johnny Tapia landing more power punches than Danny Romero.
00:26:12And you can see that Harold Letterman gives the early going to Tapia.
00:26:16Joining us now at ringside, world welterweight champion Oscar De La Hoya.
00:26:20And Oscar, what a brilliant exhibition of boxing skills in the first two rounds by these fighters.
00:26:25It's a beautiful exhibition.
00:26:26These two fighters were made for each other.
00:26:28Johnny Tapia right now is fighting a very smart fight.
00:26:31He's sticking and he's moving.
00:26:33Right now, Danny Romero, he's trying to land that big bomb.
00:26:35But once he tries to throw those punches, Danny Romero is off.
00:26:38I mean, I'm sorry.
00:26:39Johnny Tapia is going away.
00:26:41So he's fighting a very smart fight.
00:26:42Do you think that Tapia can continue to neutralize Romero's power?
00:26:45If he keeps his calm and cool and stay collective up in that ring, he will beat Danny Romero.
00:26:52And the crowd once again getting on the bandwagon for Tapia.
00:26:58That's the first time we saw Romero respond to one of Tapia's faints.
00:27:03That's not a good sign.
00:27:05And Tapia, who, as you pointed out, was countering mostly in the second round,
00:27:08now starting to initiate some of these exchanges.
00:27:10And he started with faints.
00:27:13That's great for an experienced fighter.
00:27:16Tapia able to land the jab.
00:27:18Romero missing a little bit short.
00:27:20Johnny Tapia exploiting Romero so far,
00:27:23almost as though he has a reach advantage in there.
00:27:26The tail of the take doesn't say so.
00:27:28But Tapia able to land.
00:27:30Romero short with his punches, Oscar.
00:27:32He's using moves that I've never seen before,
00:27:34that I haven't seen from Johnny Tapia.
00:27:36He's doing very well.
00:27:36At this point right now, he's doing perfect.
00:27:39Great footwork by both fighters, but again, particularly Tapia.
00:27:43Yes, definitely.
00:27:44Johnny Tapia has been working in the gym.
00:27:46He's been working hard.
00:27:46He's been learning in the gym,
00:27:48which is supposed to be the right thing to do when you're a world champion.
00:27:52The great sign about what Tapia is doing here is that he wants to win so badly
00:27:57that he's controlling the emotions that normally get out of control in the ring.
00:28:02Right, exactly.
00:28:03He's keeping his calm and his cool.
00:28:05He wants to make sure that he wants to give a good performance,
00:28:08but at the same time win this fight.
00:28:09He wants to please the crowd, but he wants to please himself.
00:28:13He wants to show that he is a good boxer, not only a brawler.
00:28:18In case you've just joined us, Johnny Tapia in the black trunks,
00:28:21Danny Romero in the gold, Oscar De La Hoya joining George Foreman and Larry Merchant and myself,
00:28:26Jim Lampley at ringside.
00:28:27Third round of this 115-pound world championship
00:28:30between the two fighters from Albuquerque, New Mexico.
00:28:36Tapia's doing a little smile and maybe a little overconfident
00:28:39because, believe me, he's playing with fire here.
00:28:42He better win and be serious about it.
00:28:44Romero going back to trying to establish his dad,
00:28:47which seemed to be part of the plan in round number one.
00:28:50You heard his dad telling him between the second and third rounds
00:28:53that he ought to dispense with the looping light.
00:28:55Tapia lands a hard right-hand counter
00:28:57as the third round comes to a close
00:28:59and celebrates by leaping into the air.
00:29:07He's going to bring his living room.
00:29:08Jab and move.
00:29:09In and out.
00:29:10In and out.
00:29:11Double that jab once a while.
00:29:13Listen in.
00:29:13Double that jab.
00:29:14Double that jab once a while.
00:29:15I punched that numbers.
00:29:17Another huge round for Tapia.
00:29:18That right-hand lift hook to the...
00:29:20Right-hand of the body lift hook
00:29:21and knock his ass out.
00:29:22Set him up for it with a one-two.
00:29:24One-two pull out
00:29:25and come back to the body lift hook.
00:29:27He's going to your face now, too.
00:29:29He's scared.
00:29:29He's going to your face.
00:29:31You look good, son.
00:29:32In and out.
00:29:33Box this guy and have some fun with him.
00:29:34We look good.
00:29:35Not just me, us.
00:29:36You own him, son.
00:29:37Listen to Johnny.
00:29:38Okay.
00:29:39All right, Oscar.
00:29:40You've had some inner-city rivalries.
00:29:42Gennaro, Hernandez, Ruelas.
00:29:45Right.
00:29:47What is it like?
00:29:48I mean, do you feel almost too excited
00:29:50at the beginning of the fight
00:29:51and it has to wear off?
00:29:52Well, you feel excited because, again,
00:29:54you want to please the crowd,
00:29:56your hometown crowd.
00:29:57You know, Albuquerque right here
00:29:58is in the house
00:29:59and he's trying to please the crowd.
00:30:01But after a few rounds,
00:30:02after the maybe fifth, sixth round,
00:30:04he'll try to slow it down
00:30:06and try to focus on his game plan,
00:30:07try to win this fight.
00:30:10Hey, how about this crowd, Oscar?
00:30:12You got a huge reception
00:30:13and you were introduced
00:30:14at ringside before the fight.
00:30:16This is as energizing a crowd
00:30:18as we've heard in a long time.
00:30:20Every time I go to Albuquerque,
00:30:21the crowd is just amazing.
00:30:23I mean, I feel that they love me over there
00:30:25and it's a beautiful crowd.
00:30:26You ought to fight there sometime.
00:30:27One day we will.
00:30:29All right, Oscar,
00:30:30thanks very much for joining us.
00:30:32Thank you very much.
00:30:32Pleasure to have you here as always.
00:30:34We'll look forward to seeing you
00:30:35September 13 against Hector Macho Camacho.
00:30:37I will be there and I will be ready.
00:30:39On TV KO.
00:30:41Happy Alanza left hook to the body.
00:30:43Crowd going wild.
00:30:45Romero seeming to try to get in closer
00:30:47in this round.
00:30:48Mitch Halfren pulls them apart
00:30:49to try to prevent anybody.
00:30:51Danny Romero attempts to close the space
00:30:54between himself and Johnny Tapia.
00:30:56Yeah, that was a little holding
00:30:57that a lot of people couldn't see.
00:30:59Unnatural things going on,
00:31:00so we'll make too much of that.
00:31:03But with Romero stepping in closer,
00:31:05now that right hand looping across the top
00:31:07begins to land.
00:31:08In the first three rounds,
00:31:10Johnny Tapia landing power punches
00:31:12at twice the rate of Danny Romero.
00:31:15So Romero has got to close the gap
00:31:17and make his physical presence felt in the fight.
00:31:19Well, Tapia's done a lot of good fighting
00:31:21so far in the ring.
00:31:22As the fight goes round for round,
00:31:26he's better be ready to hold this tiger off.
00:31:28Tapia continues to dig to the body
00:31:30with the left hook,
00:31:31hoping to sap Romero's strength
00:31:33as they go toward the later stages of the fight.
00:31:35And he looks like he's establishing
00:31:37his will in the fight now.
00:31:39The first couple rounds,
00:31:40Romero was establishing his will.
00:31:42Things have changed.
00:31:53You go to a corner with a young fighter,
00:31:5523-year-old,
00:31:56and you tell him,
00:31:57listen,
00:31:57the fighter doesn't want in the first couple of rounds,
00:31:59get ready and pull this thing out.
00:32:09Now Tapia's starting to establish a stiff left jab.
00:32:13That's something Jesse Reed was working on him with
00:32:16at the training camp up at Big Bear.
00:32:17Commit to the jab,
00:32:19drive it through the head of the opponent.
00:32:20There's seldom you see these guys using a stiff left jab
00:32:23other than Oscar De La Hoya.
00:32:25Now Oscar commits to it.
00:32:27Oscar's got the best stiff left jab in the business now.
00:32:31Better than yours, George?
00:32:32I believe so,
00:32:33because he can throw so many more.
00:32:38Hard right hand across the top by Tapia.
00:32:41He's been remarkably effective in landing power punches,
00:32:44and he digs to the body one more time.
00:32:46Tapia taunting Romero
00:32:48for the benefit of the largely pro Johnny Tapia crowd.
00:32:51Step back, step back, stay.
00:32:53Step back, step back to Seth, look.
00:32:55It's very important for Tapia
00:32:56not to be moved backward.
00:32:59Right hand after the bell by Tapia.
00:33:01Warning number one from Mitch Halford.
00:33:06Don't get, don't, hey listen.
00:33:08Johnny, have fun with him, but don't get crazy.
00:33:11Keep those hands up.
00:33:13All right, in and out now.
00:33:15Don't forget that body.
00:33:19How are you doing?
00:33:20Good.
00:33:20Okay.
00:33:21Don't let him, yeah, right.
00:33:23Don't let him dictate the pace, huh?
00:33:25Okay.
00:33:26You got him already complaining about shit.
00:33:28Okay.
00:33:29Okay.
00:33:29Don't worry about it.
00:33:33Don't get square inside, huh?
00:33:35Don't get square.
00:33:36Okay.
00:33:38Okay.
00:33:41Here's an exchange at the end of the round.
00:33:43A couple of jabs from Herrero, followed by a very good straight right hand.
00:33:48Tapia tries to show that it didn't bother him.
00:33:51Probably did.
00:33:52And then he comes back, wrestles him, and throws a few wide punches.
00:33:58He's slightly better round for Romero in round number four.
00:34:01Landed eight of 21 power shots, trying to make his physical presence felt in the fight.
00:34:07Jesse Reed, the trainer, tried to inspire Tapia by telling him the story of a very intense rivalry
00:34:15he was associated with.
00:34:17And two fighters had the same girlfriend.
00:34:19He said, and the fighter who was under control won the fight.
00:34:23Who got the girl?
00:34:26That was Bruce Curry against Monroe Brooks in Fort Worth many years ago.
00:34:31Harold Lederman.
00:34:32How do you have it through the first four?
00:34:33Jim, let me tell you, I think Johnny Tapia's controlling his fight.
00:34:36I think he's winning on ring generalship.
00:34:38He's getting off first.
00:34:39Does move to the side of Kelly Romero.
00:34:41He's digging that left hook to the body constantly.
00:34:44I think he's got Danny out of his rhythm.
00:34:46I think this is all Johnny Tapia.
00:34:48I think he's doing an absolutely great job at real, real good hand speed.
00:34:51And as you spoke, Harold, Danny Romero trying to turn it around.
00:34:54Twisted Tapia's head aside with a hard right hand shot.
00:34:58One of his most effective punches so far.
00:35:01And I really think the opposite because Tapia's doing a lot of playing around, dropping his hands, smiling.
00:35:07A fighter will do these things sometimes because something is wrong somewhere.
00:35:14I scored the first round even in the other rounds for Tapia.
00:35:19Tapia landing a counter right hand and a right hand up and under.
00:35:23Romero stepping in closer, making himself a little bit more available as a target.
00:35:27Trying to land his own power shots, but giving Tapia the chance to counter.
00:35:37Right hand by Romero.
00:35:40Best punch of the fight.
00:35:41These are Romero's best moments the last 30 seconds.
00:35:45You saw him bob up out of that crouch and land the right hand.
00:35:49Now Tapia goes backward to get away from another looping right.
00:35:52Tapia comes back to the body, lands low.
00:35:55Alperin didn't see it.
00:35:59Romero corner told him not to swing that right hand over.
00:36:02Try to make it come straight down the middle there.
00:36:08Good right hand by Romero.
00:36:12The good thing about Romero, once he lands that right hand, he steps completely over to
00:36:16the left hand of Tapia, so he's out of range for a counter right hand.
00:36:21But those right hands have shaken lesser men than Johnny Tapia.
00:36:25Tapia is taking those punches well.
00:36:28Doesn't want to take too many of them, but he has taken them well.
00:36:31Solid left uppercut inside by Johnny Tapia as he steps back into the business.
00:36:36Romero stepping away from Tapia's right hand, but making himself available to Tapia's counter
00:36:41left to the body, and now Romero lands low, and Alperin does see that one.
00:36:45And Tapia goes back to the left hook to the body.
00:36:47And for the first time this round, we've seen Tapia's back hit those ropes.
00:36:52First time.
00:36:53Yep.
00:36:53Back to the ropes, which is a good, interesting change.
00:36:56Solid right hand by Romero, countering inside to punctuate his best round of the fight.
00:37:02Round five.
00:37:04Real Sports coming up Monday, July 28th.
00:37:08Brand new segment in Real Sports, not promoted before.
00:37:12A story on Mills Lane.
00:37:14The Nevada State Athletic Commission referee, whom controversy seems to follow around.
00:37:19Forced to disqualify Mike Tyson because of his fighting against Evander Holyfield.
00:37:24Lane came back two weeks later and had the dreary task of having to disqualify Henry Akinwande
00:37:30in another heavyweight championship bout.
00:37:33Real Sports, Monday, July 28th, 10 p.m. on HBO.
00:37:37Well, you're competing in with a jab over here when you have a chance, okay?
00:37:44You got him frustrated already, huh?
00:37:47All right.
00:37:48Watch Romero with the right hand.
00:37:50Comes up out of the crouch after a Tapia flurry.
00:37:53And Romero went back to his corner with a little grin on his face as though he had discovered something.
00:38:00Let's see if he can perpetuate it in this round, whatever it is.
00:38:03Slight swelling around the outside of the left eye of Danny Romero.
00:38:06That's the eye that was fractured in his fight with Willie Salazar.
00:38:10Let's see if it amounts to anything.
00:38:12You see Harold Lederman's scorecard through six.
00:38:14Tapia still in command, but Harold gave the fifth to Romero.
00:38:17Look, I have it three, one and one at this point.
00:38:29Romero blocking those thrusts by Tapia.
00:38:32Good counter right hand again by Romero.
00:38:35He found something with that counter right hand.
00:38:37And he's going home every time.
00:38:39But he had to step in closer to make it work.
00:38:41He finally did that in the fourth and fifth.
00:38:43And he's found out too.
00:38:44He doesn't have to have the power on it that he had in the first couple of rounds.
00:38:46So, take the powwow, you get the connection.
00:38:49Do it real quick.
00:38:54Head movement and foot movement ballet there.
00:38:58The two fighters showing you their skills and command of the ring.
00:39:02Tapia going back to the left hook.
00:39:04Romero not giving him a chance to land as he holds his fire for the moment.
00:39:13Romero went back to the jab to the body like his corner told him.
00:39:16This is the first jab to the body he tried.
00:39:21Now he's going to the body.
00:39:23Things change quickly when she start those combinations to the body.
00:39:26Romero is doing good now.
00:39:27Right and left to the body by Romero in combination.
00:39:30Tapia trying to come back.
00:39:32Hoping to reestablish his jab.
00:39:33Romero out jabbing him for the moment.
00:39:35Tapia going into a little bit of a trough of inactivity here.
00:39:38And Danny Romero getting a chance to command.
00:39:41And with those young or faster guys, you don't want to get behind
00:39:45and start trying to catch them with left jabs.
00:39:47And that's what Tapia is having to do now.
00:39:50Most of the time, you're going to miss.
00:39:52So momentum seeming to shift subtly in the bout now.
00:39:56Early rounds appeared to belong to Tapia.
00:39:59Romero landing more and more power shots like that
00:40:01and gaining the favor of more and more of the crowd.
00:40:04Romero blocking those shots by Tapia.
00:40:07Johnny hadn't been able to do much here in round six.
00:40:09Left hook upstairs.
00:40:10Romero is trying his best to make Tapia get on those ropes.
00:40:14Show some frustration.
00:40:15That's the way he doesn't want to be.
00:40:16Make him touch it.
00:40:17And he's hitting him with left hooks for the first time this round.
00:40:25Another left hook that backs him up.
00:40:27The Romero partisans in the crowd begin to scream and cheer
00:40:30as did the Tapia crowd earlier.
00:40:34That's the mark of a good fighter.
00:40:35You have something in your bag that the guy hasn't seen all night.
00:40:38He hasn't seen that left hook by Romero.
00:40:41We saw Romero when he won the title, George.
00:40:44Be able to change his strategy in mid-fight,
00:40:47which was amazing for a 20-year-old at that time.
00:40:50So he's got a lot of resources.
00:40:52Bar one upper hand, right upper cup by Romero.
00:40:56That was a tremendous round for Danny Romero.
00:41:02Don't let him back into the fight that round.
00:41:04Don't let him back into the fight.
00:41:05Don't let him back into the fight.
00:41:06All right, don't bullshit with him at all.
00:41:08We'll just start snapping him.
00:41:09Snap your punches and beat him with your speed.
00:41:11Your hand's got to get.
00:41:13He's starting to pot shot you.
00:41:15Listen to Eddie.
00:41:15Listen to Eddie.
00:41:22When you get inside, throw your double left hook.
00:41:27When you get inside, you've got both hands up.
00:41:29Throw your double left hook and then go to the body with your right hand.
00:41:32Don't get hit with that right hand.
00:41:34Don't stop in front of him, huh?
00:41:35Because he'll let him throw punches.
00:41:37Okay?
00:41:38How you feel?
00:41:39Good.
00:41:40Work your way in.
00:41:43Okay?
00:41:43Here we see Romero as he works his way in with a straight right hand.
00:41:47And Tapia was backing up for much of the rest of the round.
00:41:52And in the corners between rounds, as you heard,
00:41:55at least three different voices in Johnny Tapia's corner.
00:41:58There is always only one voice when Danny Romero sits and listens.
00:42:05Romero more than double Tapia on power shots and the pick.
00:42:08And he starts the sixth with a right hand.
00:42:11James, come on.
00:42:12Shoot the mark.
00:42:13He hit the canvas.
00:42:14But Halpern's not going to rule it a knockdown.
00:42:16He warns him not to put his gloves on the canvas when he clowns.
00:42:19He could have ruled that a knockdown.
00:42:21Believe me, in a way, it was a knockdown because that punch hurt Tapia.
00:42:26And he faked, played around and touched his hand to the glove.
00:42:29Harold, do you think that was a legal knockdown?
00:42:31Jim, let me tell you.
00:42:32He could have called it a knockdown.
00:42:33And you were right.
00:42:34But it was obvious that Johnny Tapia was clowning.
00:42:36And Mitch Halpern, being the good referee he was, just warned him and said,
00:42:40quit fooling around.
00:42:41He didn't get that on the end of a punch.
00:42:43It's true that he touched it with the canvas, but...
00:42:46That's good.
00:42:46A reasonable call by Halpern.
00:42:48And Danny Romero establishing power shots again in the first minute around seven.
00:42:53So Tapia goes back to trying to counter.
00:42:58Tapia was fighting a much better fight when he was counter-punching, not using too much
00:43:02of the ring.
00:43:03Now he's starting to use a lot of the ring, trying to be the aggressor, and he's being
00:43:06caught.
00:43:07As his corner told him, he's pot-shotting you.
00:43:14As Romero lands more, Tapia throws less.
00:43:18That was the pattern in the last round.
00:43:20Now Tapia finally gets to Romero's body with the right hand and hopes that that can help
00:43:24him re-establish momentum.
00:43:25You heard Eddie Futsch telling Tapia, go back to the jab, double jab, and then double
00:43:30up.
00:43:30And that stiff jab that he has is being really up back there.
00:43:33Come back, Chris.
00:43:35You okay?
00:43:36Headbutt.
00:43:37Accidental headbutt.
00:43:39Headbutt.
00:43:39You all right?
00:43:40You guys all right?
00:43:41Let's go.
00:43:42Come on.
00:43:43Well, you heard what Tapia said.
00:43:45You are right, Danny.
00:43:50I think they're definitively beginning to develop a greater respect for one another.
00:43:54That's for sure.
00:43:55Well, there's no greater respect than two fighters who've been in giving their best
00:43:59shots at each other.
00:44:02Brown tries to lift Tapia.
00:44:07Tapia's starting to reach with a lot of shots.
00:44:09And that's what you don't want to have as a guy who's been accepting of the power puncher
00:44:13in the fight.
00:44:14Don't start reaching.
00:44:17That left hook hurt.
00:44:23Evan Flood, shifting tides of fortune in Las Vegas.
00:44:27Early part of the fight belonged to Tapia.
00:44:29Romero has established himself in the middle rounds.
00:44:32Johnny Tapia trying to come back against that now.
00:44:35And Romero goes right back with that left jab in the middle of the stomach.
00:44:39That hurts when it happens to you in the sixth and seventh round of a boxing match.
00:44:45And he's able to come back up with a stiff jab because of that.
00:44:49Romero out throwing and out landing Tapia during this portion of the fight.
00:44:54Johnny beginning to build momentum in the second half of this round.
00:44:57As he tries to seize back the initiative that he had early.
00:45:02Hard right hand inside by Tapia.
00:45:04Tapia dropping his hands a little bit.
00:45:07And that's part of what's giving Romero his opportunities.
00:45:10Here's an accidental butt.
00:45:12All right.
00:45:13I get it.
00:45:14I get it.
00:45:15I'm just trying to get the blood out of here.
00:45:17He's backing him up.
00:45:18He's backing him up.
00:45:19We don't like that.
00:45:19Back him up and start digging the body and the head.
00:45:22And use double the jab, too.
00:45:24Use your jab.
00:45:25Hey, I saw a roll with the right hand.
00:45:27That's right, too.
00:45:28Come on, keep doing it.
00:45:29When he throws that looping right hand, roll down.
00:45:31Look where you are.
00:45:31And crack it.
00:45:32I'm not hitting.
00:45:33Okay.
00:45:35In close, it's hitting.
00:45:36Okay.
00:45:36But from far, it's not.
00:45:37Okay?
00:45:38Okay.
00:45:42You got to throw those punches fast and don't let him get off, huh?
00:45:45Okay.
00:45:45But side to side.
00:45:47Side to side.
00:45:47Okay.
00:45:48Constant pressure, but side to side.
00:45:50Here it was early in the round.
00:45:53Tapia got cracked.
00:45:54What did he do?
00:45:56Knockdown came close to costing himself a knockdown.
00:46:00From above.
00:46:10Tapia turning to Alvin and saying, hey, we butted again to start the eighth round.
00:46:15Eighth round out of a scheduled 12.
00:46:17Harold Glederman, how do you have it through seven?
00:46:19Jim, 67, 66, four rounds to three, Johnny Tapia.
00:46:23I think he's got that big early lead, and that's what's keeping him in a lead.
00:46:26But I'll tell you something, five, six, and seven, I gave to Danny Romero.
00:46:30He started to pick up the pace.
00:46:31Look at that.
00:46:31He gets off first constantly.
00:46:33He backs Tapia up, and he's taking Tapia out of his game.
00:46:36Shots like that will win this fight.
00:46:38Romero getting going first, turning it around.
00:46:40I have it.
00:46:42Three rounds for Tapia.
00:46:44Two Romero, two even.
00:46:45The judges at ringside are from Kent, Washington, Las Vegas, and Providence, Rhode Island.
00:46:52Johnny Tapia goes back to digging to the body, particularly with the left hook.
00:46:56So effective for him early in the fight.
00:46:59Tapia reestablishing himself here in this eighth round.
00:47:03Romero faking, coming in closer and closer with that right-hand one-two combination.
00:47:09There it is again.
00:47:13Keep it up, Mir.
00:47:14Keep it up.
00:47:15So with counter right-hands, Romero has cut down on the fusillade of Tapia left hook.
00:47:21You know something?
00:47:22And the closer he gets, the better he is.
00:47:25He's at the point where Tapia's worried about his right hand, Romero's right hand now.
00:47:30He's cut the space between him and Tapia almost in half from where it was back in rounds one and
00:47:35two.
00:47:35Yeah, you get closer, and you start doing a lot of things you've practiced in the gym.
00:47:42Left hook lead by Tapia.
00:47:44Tapia not starting off with the jab, perhaps as much as his corner would appreciate.
00:47:48Remember, Eddie Fletch, Jesse Reed, both classical training types.
00:47:51They like to see a guy work behind the jab.
00:47:54The folks at home can count the times Tapia's body starting to hit the ropes, and that does nothing but
00:48:00fire up Romero, because that's what he tried to do early in the fight.
00:48:09Good left hook to the body by Romero.
00:48:11Tapia comes inside, manages to land the left hook up top.
00:48:15Romero with a straight left hand as they back away from each other.
00:48:19Romero misses with the right.
00:48:20Tapia measuring and looking for a chance to go back to the left hook.
00:48:30These fighters are working.
00:48:34This has to be a beginning to tire.
00:48:37Every time he shakes his arms like that, George, he's trying to relieve tension from his arms.
00:48:41You know, because this Romero's giving a lot of feints.
00:48:44Feints give you more muscle tension than actually punch you.
00:48:46Well, try to set him up, let him up.
00:48:47Tighten up all night, you don't know what to do.
00:48:51Hard right hand by Romero.
00:48:54Tapia landing to the body.
00:49:17You're going to throw that right hand.
00:49:18You've got to throw him.
00:49:20Boom, boom, boom, boom.
00:49:21Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom.
00:49:22Okay?
00:49:22You got it.
00:49:23Okay?
00:49:24Look out, Danny Romero.
00:49:25Romero's connect percentage by CompuBox numbers is rising until the course of the fight.
00:49:29All the way, all the way in.
00:49:31Round four all.
00:49:32Constant pressure.
00:49:331% pretty.
00:49:3432, 39.
00:49:3544% connect percentage in that last round.
00:49:38And that's a function of what George talked about.
00:49:40Romero getting closer to Tapia.
00:49:42Constant pressure.
00:49:43Okay.
00:49:44Side to side, huh?
00:49:46Side to side, side to side.
00:49:47Go outside and one to right.
00:49:48Smart fire machine just delta.
00:49:50Yes, sir.
00:49:50Take it easy.
00:49:51Yeah, in and out.
00:49:52In and out.
00:49:52Use the jab.
00:49:53Give yourself a little bit.
00:49:54But no.
00:49:55Combinations.
00:49:56Combinations.
00:49:57What's the book of four?
00:49:58Can you take a pass, Danny?
00:49:59Come back with some, baby.
00:50:00You hear me, Danny?
00:50:01Yes.
00:50:01For all the buildup, the long ways, the passions involved, the rivalry, what we have here is
00:50:09a spirited high-class boxing match.
00:50:13It's going to come down to the four championship rounds, 9, 10, 11, and 12 upcoming.
00:50:22Romero's corner gave him the go-ahead now to start putting together a lot of punches,
00:50:26which means he's going to have to step forward and not worry about the counter-punches.
00:50:33Romero lands the left hook.
00:50:36Tapia gets a left hook into the body.
00:50:40Good left hook by Romero.
00:50:42That's all right.
00:50:42Come on.
00:50:42Keep those heads up.
00:50:43Tapia's corner asking him to jab, and still, he doesn't reward them for that.
00:50:49Not jabbing nearly as much as he did in the first few rounds when he had the initiative
00:50:53in the fight.
00:50:54No, that Romero never stops.
00:50:56He doesn't be still.
00:50:59Whenever he's still, Tapia makes him pay.
00:51:02So as long as he's moving around, he's in safe.
00:51:08You've got to start out tending to doubt a guy who's been trained his whole life by a
00:51:12Police Athletic League volunteer trainer.
00:51:14But Danny Romero has it all.
00:51:16Now here comes Tapia.
00:51:20The one time that Danny Romero decided to stop, stand still, he started to pay for it.
00:51:26Tapia came alive and brought the crowd with him.
00:51:30Good right hand by Tapia.
00:51:32His best punch in several rounds.
00:51:42No matter what he does, Romero is right back into his face, up and down.
00:51:51Tremendous discipline shown here by Danny Romero.
00:51:53It didn't go well for him in the early rounds, but he stuck to the task and began to chip
00:51:58away
00:51:58and find his opportunities.
00:51:59Good overhand right and counter right.
00:52:03Doesn't look like there's truly any bad blood with those guys.
00:52:06Nope.
00:52:07It looks now as though they respect each other enormously and are fighting a tactical boxing
00:52:13match.
00:52:13That's right.
00:52:20What Romero is starting to do now, making Tapia get his feet crossed together.
00:52:25Johnny showed his sportsmanship there.
00:52:28Had a chance to load Tap Romero over when Danny was in an awkward position and he held
00:52:32his punches back because he knew it would be unfair.
00:52:55As we go to the closing rounds, Johnny Tapia has a vast edge in experience.
00:53:00He's been this deeply into a prize fight many more times in his career than has the younger
00:53:06Danny Romero.
00:53:10That's the way to work.
00:53:12Looked like a world champion.
00:53:13Start touching him the same way.
00:53:15Just play with him.
00:53:16Play with him.
00:53:16Do what happens when you say he's no...
00:53:18Give some water.
00:53:18Give some water.
00:53:19Why don't you rinse out my mouth?
00:53:20He's here.
00:53:22I love you, Albuquerque.
00:53:23Big bear, I said hi.
00:53:25I love you.
00:53:25Hey, another round like that.
00:53:27Another round like that.
00:53:29Play with him.
00:53:30Play with him.
00:53:30He's getting frustrated.
00:53:32He's got his nose all busted up.
00:53:34See, you're working fucking good with the jab, don't you?
00:53:36I'm going to stay up there.
00:53:36Down a little bit.
00:53:38Okay.
00:53:38You've got to come in with the jab, don't throw it by itself.
00:53:45Okay.
00:53:45Okay?
00:53:46How do you throw anything?
00:53:47Close.
00:53:47It's close.
00:53:48It's close, but we're not worrying about that right now.
00:53:51You've just got to keep working and don't let him get off some more.
00:53:54Okay?
00:53:55Let him get off some more.
00:53:58Speaking of busted noses, Tapia estimates that he's had 15 or 20 of them.
00:54:09Three rounds to go in the Battle of Albuquerque, and it's either man's fight, or at least you
00:54:15have to suspect that's the case, as they go to the championship rounds.
00:54:24Now Tapia is able to use his footwork, moving out of the waves, and establishing that stiff
00:54:31left jab again.
00:54:35Harold, you've got it 87-84 for Johnny Tapia.
00:54:38Jim, I thought he had two good runs in that 90 box.
00:54:40Beautifully.
00:54:41Getting off first.
00:54:42He had Romero bleeding.
00:54:43He was landing, you know, the good, solid punches, and he kept Romero off balance, and
00:54:47Romero's missing a lot.
00:54:48I thought Johnny Tapia surged into the lead in rounds eight and nine.
00:54:55I have Tapia ahead by a point.
00:55:00Untying the straight jacket on an all-new investigative reports, followed by a July to Die 4 murder mystery, Agatha
00:55:07Christie's
00:55:07The Pale Whore.
00:55:09Play with him.
00:55:09This is what you want to tell a professional fighter.
00:55:11You want to give him too much advice.
00:55:13And once that corner starts clicking like that, and you've got a stiff jab, you can do anything
00:55:17you want.
00:55:18Let go, let go, let go, let go.
00:55:19Fascinating.
00:55:19In the unpredictable life of Johnny Tapia, three weeks ago, he fired Jesse Reid.
00:55:23Tonight, Reid is the primary voice in his court.
00:55:31Straight right hand landed for Romero.
00:55:39Another headbutt.
00:55:40In that corner, in that corner.
00:55:42In that corner.
00:55:43Both fighters hurting from this butt.
00:55:46With no blood, apparently.
00:55:49That's accidental also, okay?
00:55:50No cuts, all right?
00:55:51You okay?
00:55:52Accidental butt.
00:55:53You okay?
00:55:54No blood on Romero.
00:55:55Let's go, come on.
00:55:55No blood visible on Tapia.
00:56:04Hard right hand by Romero.
00:56:07Tapia stands up and backs away.
00:56:09Okay, step back.
00:56:09Step back in and wrap his hands.
00:56:10Come on.
00:56:26Remember, Tapia was told by his corner.
00:56:28They gave him the green light to play with him.
00:56:31He's doing as much.
00:56:33Straight right hand by Tapia as Romero charges in.
00:56:39Tapia commanding the space in the ring and lands another right hand over the top.
00:56:44Romero chasing back without effect.
00:56:52Romero going back to the jab, trying to regain his command over the space in the ring.
00:56:59Now Romero is trying to reach with that overhand right.
00:57:02He's not thinking about where he's going.
00:57:04He's not watching and he's just throwing it.
00:57:06Early on, he was calculating and he had it all measured.
00:57:10Romero just missed with the long right hand.
00:57:12Tapia showing you he's got his energy left.
00:57:14Both fighters tremendously conditioned with great stamina so far.
00:57:28There you saw them.
00:57:29Their heads collide.
00:57:31Tough hombres.
00:57:32Neither one came out with a cut.
00:57:35Think about those head butts.
00:57:36They hurt a lot more than a punch.
00:57:38They sting and sting and sting.
00:57:45Out.
00:57:48Throw him down the middle.
00:57:49You're starting to open up too much.
00:57:51Okay.
00:57:52Throw him down the middle, huh?
00:57:53Get straight right hand there, folks.
00:57:55Not around, huh?
00:57:56You gotta throw straight right hands at him when he's stepping in.
00:57:59If you're getting too close, you never get too close with him.
00:58:02Straight hand and drill him with that uppercut on the right side.
00:58:04How about Cookie?
00:58:05I'm your champion.
00:58:06Big Bear.
00:58:07Hi.
00:58:08I love you.
00:58:09Stay here.
00:58:09Heat breath.
00:58:10Johnny, have fun with him.
00:58:12Have fun with him, son.
00:58:14Have fun with him.
00:58:16I've never heard a corner tell a fighter to have fun.
00:58:20Do you think he needs to clown with him, George?
00:58:23No, they're trying to tell him in his own words, relax.
00:58:25You're the man out there.
00:58:26We believe in you.
00:58:27So go out there and do what you do and have some fun with him.
00:58:30That's the best advice you can give an experienced fighter.
00:58:33Especially when you haven't been in training camp for a long time with him.
00:58:36Especially a guy who genuinely loves to fight as Johnny Tapia does.
00:58:40You know what I find myself wondering, guys?
00:58:43All the people in Albuquerque have been building up to this for years.
00:58:47Investing their emotions in these two men.
00:58:51And we have a fight that's a beautiful boxing match.
00:58:56But I wonder if it will really satisfy them if it doesn't come to a final conclusion.
00:59:02Well, it should because it's been a marvelous demonstration of the trained skills of the two fighters.
00:59:08I'm not sure that everybody interested in this fight understands trained skills.
00:59:15This has been a dynamite fight.
00:59:17It's been a terrific fight to that.
00:59:19Oh, man.
00:59:22Hard left hook to the body by Tapia.
00:59:24Crowd trying to lift their man.
00:59:27Danny Romero hanging in.
00:59:32Oh, that was your left hook.
00:59:34Kind of under like with.
00:59:35When you start getting close and not having to throw with energy, you got things in hand.
00:59:40Happy clowning a little bit.
00:59:42Giving the crowd something to have fun with, too.
00:59:45Not only that, you're fighting a young boy.
00:59:47You got to do a lot of things in there.
00:59:49To make him think something wrong.
00:59:51Romero has a round and a half.
00:59:53He may need to do something dramatic to pull this fight out.
00:59:57Which means at least a knockdown.
01:00:01He doesn't look like he can get it.
01:00:05Don't count out the possibility of a Romero knockout late.
01:00:09He has twice in his career knocked out opponents in the 12th round.
01:00:14You don't see it all that often.
01:00:17Now Tapia is starting to get his shoulders into the fight.
01:00:19Where not only he's having to run away as before, he's just turning his shoulder slightly.
01:00:25Once a fight against that kind of leverage and that kind of confidence, it's hard to get him with a
01:00:29good shot.
01:00:32Jersey Joe Wildcat.
01:00:37Tapia leaving his hands down.
01:00:39Romero taking advantage to pop jabs into Tapia's face.
01:00:43Johnny clowning.
01:00:44Danny scoring.
01:00:45Step back easy, easy, easy.
01:00:46Watch those hands, come on.
01:00:51Tapia lands.
01:00:52A left hook and a straight right hand.
01:00:54And Romero comes back with a counter left.
01:00:57Blood from Romero's nose.
01:01:04And you heard Harold Letterman say that blood on Romero was one reason he gave round nine to Tapia.
01:01:10Let him up, let him up, let him up, let him up, let him up, don't touch, don't touch, don't
01:01:13touch.
01:01:14Lot of blood coming out of Romero's left nostril.
01:01:23Tapia trying to give Romero a hug as he went back to his corner at the end of round 11.
01:01:28Romero did his best to ignore him.
01:01:30The crowd loves it.
01:01:31Last round, last round.
01:01:33Well you don't clown on a man and get him off with a hug.
01:01:36Keep the hands up.
01:01:37Keep the hands up.
01:01:37We got him on it.
01:01:39Crowd loves.
01:01:42Don't get Denny, they got it now.
01:01:43Don't get Denny.
01:01:46Hey, just trying to hang.
01:01:48Hey, have some fun with him.
01:01:50Lead with Rubber.
01:01:52Hey, keep those punches hard.
01:01:58Don't let him get off too many punches, huh?
01:02:01Don't get wide.
01:02:02Just fire some punches at him.
01:02:06Johnny.
01:02:11You look like a true champion.
01:02:20In three minutes, a decision can determine a winner here.
01:02:25But neither man is a loser tonight.
01:02:27They gave the world of boxing something to wait for, and they made it worth waiting for.
01:02:33Harold Lederman, your score through 11.
01:02:35Jim, 107, 102, eight rounds to three.
01:02:40Johnny Tapia, I think he's boxing beautifully.
01:02:42He's putting on a clinic side to side, keeping Romero off balance with that left jab.
01:02:47He looks terrific with that jab.
01:02:49I'm telling you, he's beaten him.
01:02:50I have Tapia ahead in a much closer fight.
01:02:55Tapia's charisma, not an inconsiderable factor down the stretch.
01:03:02And we saw what happened to Brunel Whitaker here when he clowned in the last round against Oscar De La
01:03:07Hoya,
01:03:08and got dissed by the judges, of course.
01:03:10Little did Brunel know that he had already lost the fight on the three judges' scorecards.
01:03:15Tapia clowning here, let's see if it'll hurt him.
01:03:19Clowning, you don't get points for clowning and putting on a show.
01:03:23They want to land, you need to land some punches.
01:03:25And if this fight is close at all, Romero has pulled it out.
01:03:30In this round, if it has taken that.
01:03:32More than half the round still to go.
01:03:36Romero looking to land that one clean shot that might put Tapia in trouble.
01:03:40Neither man has really been stunned in the fight.
01:03:43It has been, as Larry pointed out, a tactical boxing match all the way.
01:03:47In one sense, Jim, both men have so much invested in this that they're almost afraid to lose.
01:03:56And that's why the fight has gone this way.
01:03:58Neither one wants to lose big.
01:04:02I don't know if they'd let it all hang out the way Romero is right here through much of this
01:04:07fight.
01:04:08Romero has got a chance now. If he wants to win this thing, he should, while the other guy's clowning,
01:04:13go after him.
01:04:15But despite all the clowning here in the 12th round...
01:04:18Come on, let's go, are you okay?
01:04:18In the whole course of the bout, I think you could make a strong argument that Johnny Tapia has fought
01:04:23the most disciplined, controlled, balletic 12 rounds of his career.
01:04:27Well, you remember, Jim, before the fight, I said he's an underrated boxer. He has boxing skills.
01:04:38But he tends to lose it during fights, and here he's maintained his poids and his control.
01:04:4430 seconds left in the battle of Albuquerque. All of New Mexico now rises to await the final decision.
01:04:55Boy, I wouldn't want to be a judge of this fight.
01:05:25Let's wait and see what the scorecard said. Danny Romero got in a hard shot in the closing seconds, which
01:05:34may have put the postscript on a victorious round 12 for him.
01:05:40I have it a draw, but the two rounds I called even, if the judges gave it to either guy
01:05:49or both, either fellow got both rounds, that man will win, and that presumably would be Tapia.
01:06:13Well, a lot of people thought it would never go the full 12.
01:06:20What it did.
01:06:28Let me get your gloves off.
01:06:36Harold, your final scorecard.
01:06:38Jim, let me tell you, I didn't think this was close at all.
01:06:41What an absolute beautiful performance by Johnny Tapia.
01:06:46He boxed, he moved, he doubled his shots.
01:06:48The hooks to the body.
01:06:49He kicked Romero off balance.
01:06:51A big puncher like Romero, like George Foreman, like anything puncher, has to land a big punch.
01:06:57He didn't do it.
01:06:58It was all Tapia.
01:06:59Tapia deserves this fight.
01:07:01His crazy life came to a beautiful conclusion and a nice job by referee Mitch Halpert.
01:07:06Let's go to ring announcer Mark Barrow for the official decision.
01:07:26Ladies and gentlemen, here is the decision of the judges at ringside.
01:07:32Judge Dr. Clark Sanmartino scores it, 116-112.
01:07:41Judge Jerry Roth scores it, 116-112.
01:07:47Judge Glenn Hamada scores it, 116-113 to the IBF and WBO Junior Bantamweight Champion of the World, Johnny Tapia.
01:08:23Well George Foreman, the spirituality at this moment, can't escape a guy like you.
01:08:28Johnny Tapia has been all the way down, and now he's all the way up.
01:08:33In the boxing world.
01:08:35Albuquerque defense is all the way.
01:08:36You know what he's accomplished in life, what he's accomplished in boxing.
01:08:39But let me tell you this.
01:08:40There was no true loser tonight.
01:08:42No.
01:08:42These guys both fought as winners.
01:08:44Each could have went home with that decision, and I would have been too satisfied.
01:08:46It was a brilliant, brilliant display of boxing skills by both fighters.
01:08:51Let's see how they felt about it in Albuquerque as we go back to Nicole Watson, our reporter at the
01:08:58Athletic Gaming Palace there.
01:09:00Nicole, how did the Tapia crowd take it?
01:09:03Well Jim, years from now the question will be, where were you on the night that Johnny Tapia and Danny
01:09:08Romero fought?
01:09:09And for this crowd, which we found out very early, it's predominantly for Johnny Tapia.
01:09:15Again, he said, this is in his backyard.
01:09:17Now each fan lived almost vicariously.
01:09:20As the blows came, they were animated.
01:09:22They were very, very excited.
01:09:23In the third round, he got them very excited and pumped up about the action.
01:09:27In the seventh round, he got them very concerned.
01:09:29And by the 12th round, they were confident that their fighter made them proud
01:09:34and that he was the one who was going to be victorious for this one.
01:09:37Again, the question will be asked, where were you when Johnny Tapia took care of Danny Romero?
01:09:42The people of Albuquerque will not forget.
01:09:45And we're glad you were there, Nicole.
01:09:47I'm sure you won't forget it yourself.
01:09:50And let's go to Larry Merchant now for a word with Johnny Tapia.
01:09:54Larry, thank you very much, Jim.
01:09:56Maybe it's yours.
01:09:57It's yours.
01:09:58Congratulations, Johnny.
01:10:01Congratulations, Johnny.
01:10:02You seem overcome.
01:10:03What does this mean to you?
01:10:04First of all, don't stop me.
01:10:07Jesus Christ, he gets his victory, but I just, I've overcome everything.
01:10:13And I give all the thanks to the Lord Jesus Christ.
01:10:16What won the fight for you?
01:10:18Well, style, different movements.
01:10:22I have a good team on my side.
01:10:25I just listened to our game plan and I did it.
01:10:28Have you ever fought such a disciplined fight from start to finish?
01:10:32And did you think you needed that to beat Romero?
01:10:36I just did a lot of good things today.
01:10:38I had power, strength, and air, and I refused to go down.
01:10:41I refused to lose.
01:10:42And whatever he hit me with, it was not going to hurt me.
01:10:46I noticed after the fight, while you were hugging your wife, Teresa,
01:10:50that you took a look over there to Danny Romero's corner.
01:10:54What were you thinking?
01:10:56You know, everything's done and said, you know.
01:11:00Let bygones be guy guns.
01:11:02Let me live my life.
01:11:03He lives his life.
01:11:05He's a great fighter.
01:11:06He's a great fighter, and he's still a champion in my heart
01:11:08because he held his title for a while.
01:11:10Do you feel somehow purged of all of the hard feelings
01:11:15that had built up for so long?
01:11:17We made it bigger than ever.
01:11:20And the best man won, and I've kept it like that.
01:11:24You said before the fight, Johnny, that you would be a free man after this fight.
01:11:38What did you mean by that?
01:11:39I haven't been a free man since I've been one years old, man.
01:11:43I've lost a lot of my life, and I struggle to fight to keep my dream alive.
01:11:47Me and my wife have got a good game plan.
01:11:49I don't know what you say right now.
01:11:51I did what I have to do, and I did it successful.
01:11:54Thank you very much for an outstanding fight, Johnny Tapia.
01:11:57Jim?
01:11:59All right.
01:11:59Thank you very much, Larry and George.
01:12:01After everything that's happened in the sport recently,
01:12:03is this not a great night for boxing?
01:12:05We in boxing, we needed this fight a lot more than Tapia and Romero did.
01:12:09We needed an excellent fight and an ending like this.
01:12:12I'm very happy for Tapia.
01:12:13Yeah.
01:12:13The gentleman whom you saw hugging Johnny, incidentally, in the middle of the interview with Larry Merchant,
01:12:18was his grandfather, who along with his grandmother raised him after the murder of his mother.
01:12:22He said years ago, if you ever won a world title like this, he dedicated it to his grandparents.
01:12:26And you saw the beauty of the love between those two.
01:12:28Now, this guy has been through everything, and now he's come out a winner, and he needed that a lot
01:12:33more.
01:12:34Like I said earlier, boxing needed that fight.
01:12:36And let's hope he truly, deeply feels the respect he expresses for another guy who won tonight with a great
01:12:42performance.
01:12:43Danny Romero.
01:12:44Not a winner in the ring, but a winner in life.
01:12:46Let me tell you, he's topped in my list.
01:12:48I think there should be a rematch in two years.
01:12:50Well, maybe there will be.
01:12:51Let's go up to Larry and find out.
01:12:53All right, once again, thank you, Jim, and congratulations to you for an outstanding fight.
01:12:59Danny, was he better than you thought as a pure boxer?
01:13:04Did it make it too tough for you to land your big shots?
01:13:06I thought I won.
01:13:08There was a few things maybe I could have done a little bit better.
01:13:10But, hey, you know, I guess that's the way they want to happen.
01:13:13And, you know, that's the way it goes.
01:13:16I just go on and do my own little thing, you know?
01:13:19Obviously, you're very, very disappointed.
01:13:23What does this fight mean to you, finally getting it out of the way?
01:13:27Something that had been built up for years in New Mexico?
01:13:30Hey, you know, it didn't come out like it should have.
01:13:33But, hey, you know, like I said, more power to him.
01:13:36You know, he's the guy now.
01:13:38So, you know, I'm going to go back and see what I'm going to do.
01:13:42Was he able to absorb your punches better than you thought he could have?
01:13:47No, you know, I had a game plan going into the fight,
01:13:51and that was nothing about power punching.
01:13:53It was more boxing, as you've seen.
01:13:56Maybe, you know, that's the way it happened.
01:13:59I mean, you know, what can you say?
01:14:00Were you surprised that he was able to be disciplined throughout the fight
01:14:05without getting emotional and getting into big exchanges with you?
01:14:09I kept, you know, I kept my core, stayed on my tunnel vision.
01:14:13I, you know, I'd done what I had to do, and I thought that was good enough.
01:14:17Do you think that this will finally cool all of the hot passions on either side?
01:14:22I have no idea.
01:14:23I have no idea.
01:14:25Do you want to fight him again?
01:14:26You know, of course.
01:14:27Right now, you know, right now I just want to go relax and sit down
01:14:31and enjoy the better things in life.
01:14:34Thank you very much.
01:14:35You're one of the better things in life, Danny.
01:14:37Jim.
01:14:40All righty.
01:14:41Well, the words of Danny Romero, obviously disappointed almost beyond verbal expression
01:14:47and, you know, given all of the build-up and the circumstances we described before the fight,
01:14:52no more bitter pill to swallow than a defeat in a fight like this.
01:14:55He doesn't believe he lost, and that's what you want a 23-year-old good fighter to believe.
01:14:58Hey, they took it from me.
01:15:00Next time, he can do better.
01:15:01Next time, he'll have to begin imposing his will on Johnny earlier in the fight
01:15:07because it would appear, and looking at the scorecards confirms it,
01:15:10he allowed Tapia to get out to a big lead and never really caught it.
01:15:14Tapia's got a lot of experience, and he had two guys in his corner
01:15:17I didn't think would make a difference, but they did make a difference.
01:15:20They showed him what to do and when to do it,
01:15:22and they gave him the freedom to really operate.
01:15:24That's right.
01:15:25An assist to Eddie Futch and Jesse Reed
01:15:26for showing you the class that they bring to training.
01:15:29All right, Charlie. You saw that.
01:15:33Thank you very much, George. Pleasure, as always, to be with you.
01:15:37Larry Merchant, we waited a long time,
01:15:39and we got something that I think could be put into the time capsule
01:15:43as an exhibition not of violent passion and fury, but of boxing skill.
01:15:48And control aggression.
01:15:49The theater of the unexpected finally happened in a very positive way here tonight.
01:15:56Boxing isn't all about heavyweights.
01:15:59Teddy Brenner, the legendary matchmaker of Madison Square Garden,
01:16:03once said that there are two kinds of boxing.
01:16:06There's heavyweight boxing, and there's real boxing.
01:16:09In the heavyweight boxing, there's so much money in it,
01:16:12we've seen a lot of queer and bizarre things in it.
01:16:15This was a boxing fan's boxing match.
01:16:18Thank you very much. You're one of the better things in life, Danny.
01:16:20Thank you. Jim.
01:16:23All righty. Well, the words of Danny Romero,
01:16:26obviously disappointed almost beyond verbal expression and, you know,
01:16:31given all of the buildup and the circumstances we described before the fight.
01:16:35No more bitter pill to swallow than a defeat in a fight like this.
01:16:38He doesn't believe he lost, and that's what you want a 23-year-old good fighter to believe.
01:16:42Hey, they took it from me. Next time he can do better.
01:16:44Mm-hmm. Next time he'll have to begin imposing his rule on Johnny earlier in the fight
01:16:50because it would appear, and looking at the scorecards confirms it,
01:16:54he allowed Tapia to get out to a big lead and never really caught it.
01:16:57Tapia's got a lot of experience, and he had two guys in his corner
01:17:00I didn't think would make a difference, but they did make a difference.
01:17:03They showed him what to do and when to do it,
01:17:05and they gave him the freedom to really operate.
01:17:07That's right. An assist to Eddie Futch and Jesse Reed
01:17:10for showing you the class that they bring to training.
01:17:12All right, Charlie, you saw that.
01:17:16Thank you very much, George. Pleasure, as always, to be with you.
01:17:20Larry Merchant, we waited a long time,
01:17:22and we got something that I think could be put into the time capsule
01:17:26as an exhibition not of violent passion and fury, but of boxing skill.
01:17:31And control aggression.
01:17:33The theater of the unexpected finally happened in a very positive way here tonight.
01:17:39Boxing isn't all about heavyweights.
01:17:42Teddy Brenner, the legendary matchmaker of Madison Square Garden,
01:17:47once said that there are two kinds of boxing.
01:17:49There's heavyweight boxing, and there's real boxing.
01:17:53And the heavyweight boxing, there's so much money in it,
01:17:55we've seen a lot of queer and bizarre things in it.
01:17:58This was a boxing fan's boxing match.
01:18:01It was something that we're glad we could have shown you,
01:18:05a fight finally that we don't have to be ashamed of,
01:18:08even if some people in the game are shameless when they show you some fights.
01:18:13This is the way it's supposed to be.
01:18:15And indeed it was.
01:18:16Well, we'll have a final word on what happened between Johnny Tapia and Danny Romero in just a moment.
01:18:21Right now, let's look ahead to some upcoming programs here on HBO.
01:18:27Captain, we have a major leak in Silo 13!
01:18:30It'll blow any minute!
01:18:33A Russian sub triggered a chain of events that no one could control.
01:18:38An HBO original movie based on true events.
01:18:42Could the fire cause a missile to launch?
01:18:44That's gonna kill several million Americans.
01:18:47Rutger Hauer.
01:18:48Is this in Mountbatten?
01:18:49Martin Sheen.
01:18:50Holy Christ, it's a one!
01:18:52Hostile Waters.
01:18:53Premieres Saturday, July 26th on HBO.
01:18:57I'm Brian Thompson.
01:18:58Next up on Real Sports.
01:19:00The WNBA has the bigger name.
01:19:02But does this other league have a...
01:19:05Playing in the league, it has the best players.
01:19:07You play in the ABL.
01:19:08And if you want the blueprint for a successful expansion team,
01:19:12look a mile high.
01:19:14They see 50,000 in the seats every night.
01:19:16Rocky!
01:19:18The Emmy award-winning Real Sports with Brian Gumbel
01:19:21premieres Monday, July 28th on HBO.
01:19:24Real Sports.
01:19:25Nothing is out of bounds.
01:19:28Coming in October, HBO's exclusive documentary,
01:19:31Where Have You Gone?
01:19:32Joe DiMaggio.
01:19:33A side of Joe you've never seen before using home movies and rare film.
01:19:37Don't miss it.
01:19:38Coming in October on HBO Sports.
01:19:40Then it'll...
01:19:41BOOM!
01:19:42BOOM!
01:19:44BOOM!
01:19:44BOOM!
01:19:45BOOM!
01:19:46BOOM!
01:19:46BOOM!
01:19:46BOOM!
01:19:46BOOM!
01:19:46You can see if you have all of the ratings.
01:19:47BOOM!
01:19:47BOOM!
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