John Lee Anthony “Johnny” Tapia was a professional boxer, born on 13th February 1967 in Albuquerque, New Mexico USA, who was known for being a five-time world champion at super flyweight, featherweight and bantamweight. He passed away in 2012.
Have you ever wondered how rich Johnny Tapia was? According to sources it has been estimated that Johnny Tapia’s overall net worth was over $3 million, acquired through a lucrative and rewarding career in boxing, which started in the late ‘80s and spanned until his death. During his career, he earned numerous acknowledgements and titles which increased his net worth and popularity.
Johnny Tapia Net Worth $3 Million
Tapia had an extremely difficult and unhappy childhood, as his father was murdered while his mother was pregnant with him, and she was kidnapped and killed when Johnny was only eight years old. After witnessing his mother’s death, Tapia started boxing at the age of nine. Throughout the first half of the ‘80s, he had a very successful amateur career, and won the 1983 and 1985 National Golden Gloves tournaments at light flyweight and flyweight respectively. Johnny’s professional career began in 1988, when he won eight fights the same year. A chain of victories followed in the following years, and he became a known boxer by the end of 1990, with his net worth well set, unfortunately, it was then that he was suspended from boxing for testing positive for cocaine.
Johnny returned to the ring in March 1994, defeateing Jaime Olvera, and won three more fights before in October that year winmning his first world title – the WBO super-flyweight title. In 1996, he defended his title five times, promoting a rivalry between him and IBF champion Danny Romero, who he defeated the following year so adding the IBF title to his achievements. Tapia’s decision to move up a weight/category happened in December 1998, when he defeated WBA bantamweight champion Nana Konadu, becoming a two-division world champion.
Johnny lost his WBA title the next year, and tried committing suicide with a drug overdose. After recovering, he was given a shot at, and won the WBO title against Jorge Eliecer Julio, and became a two time world bantamweight champion. In 2002, after beating Manuel Medina, Tapia won the IBF featherweight title and so became a world title holder in three different divisions.
After appearing in the ring several more times, Johnny decided to retire after his final bout in January 2007. Two months later, he was found unconscious and not breathing in a hotel room, due to a cocaine overdose. Although he managed to recover and was scheduled for a comeback in May 2008, Johnny pulled out due to contractual disputes.
Privately, Tapia married Teresa in 1994, with who he had three sons, and resided with his family in Albuquerque, declaring himself a born-again Christian. One of his tattoos said “Mi Vida Loca”, which became the title of the autobiography he later wrote. His cocaine addiction took its toll, and Tapia died of heart failure on 27 May 2012 at the age of 45, in his home town.
