BoxRec

Boxing is going through a very sticky time at the moment with the probe into alleged fight-fixing in the States. To compound matters, Matt Vanda was gifted a 10-round verdict over Sam Garr last night and Johnny Tapia has announced he fights again on March 5 against Frankie Archuleta.
Tapia last boxed in September 2003 when he outpointed Carlos Contreras in a 10-rounder. Since then, Tapia has been admitted to the hospital after an apparent drug overdose last month (later claimed to be an allergic reaction to medication).
And we all remember how Tapia was released from hospital two days after being declared clinically dead a year ago. He had collapsed at his home following a drug overdose.
Thankfully, there was no damage to Tapia's brain or heart.
But Tapia will be 37 by the time of this planned fight in March and admitted recently his "nine lives" were all used up. (One of those lives was certainly used up in his 12-rounder with Marco Antonio Barrera in November 2002; Barrera has all but admitted he 'carried' Tapia because he liked him).
Tapia is an accident waiting to happen in my opinion. He needs boxing to keep him off the streets. But does boxing need him? If anything were to go wrong with Johnny in a fight, what excuse would there be?

It is remarkable that there have been no calls for Tapia to quit, despite the terrible abuse he has put his body through. The thing is, without boxing Tapia would probably be dead.

And let's not forget the stink of his 'win' over Manuel Medina.

Clearly his time at the top is done

Tapia is good enough and experianced enough that he could knock around for several more years ala Roberto Duran and Hector Camacho
as long as he stuck to fighting the Frankie Archuleta types in Tank towns

He could still make some decent money and the fans would get to see a once great famous fighter who would still be cabable of putting on a good show...

He just shouldn't fight any top notch opponents any more....

I don't see why he shouldn't be allowed to fight at the highest level. He lost big against Barerra (who was in his prime at that stage). Barerra may well have carried him, but Johnny faught with a torn rotator cuff - it was quite an achievment.

The Medina fight was close, certainly closer than Scott Harrison's first effort with an older Medina (who had suffered a huge defeat).

If he is passed medically fit, then he shouldn't be deinied the chance to earn his living.

There needs to be a proper Comission put in place in the States, and to be honest at all the times we moan at the BBB of C but they are a dam side better than their counterparts across the pond and they may be in touch with the past by not letting cameras in the corner and that but atleast they care about their boxers!
Money Talks in America, not Brains!