Glen Tapia is in search of a career-rejuvenating win when he faces Jason Quigley on Thursday night in Fantasy Springs – but, just who is Glen Tapia?
By Chris McNulty in Indio
A 27-year-old from Passaic in New Jersey, Tapia has lost on his last two visits to the canvas.
‘Jersey Boy’ was stopped in the fourth round by Michel Soro in Newark in 2015 and, last May, his fight with David Lemieux was also brought to a halt in the fourth verse.
That night in Las Vegas, Lemiuex delivered a brutal punishment to Tapia, who was downed for the first time in his 26 fights.
Tapia, trained by Manny Pacqaio’s mentor Freddie Roach, was put out of his misery when the corner threw in the towel.
Tapia wasn’t a happy camper and was said to have been ‘pissed at Freddie’, but Roach knew what he’d witnessed.
“He was getting hit too much,” Roach said. “He wasn’t doing what we planned to do and when I saw him go down, I knew what I had to do to protect my fighter. He was taking too many punches.”
There had even been calls for Tapia to retire after that defeat – but he’s back for more and will be the man Quigley has to get over if he is to lift his first pro title, the NABF middleweight strap.
“I’ve been in Quigley’s position before, so I know exactly what he’s feeling,” Tapia said.
“He’s trying to prove himself and he’s looking at me like his step-up.
“At the end of the day, because of my last performances, I feel like I really don’t have the privilege to speak on what I’m going to do but just know that I’ll be more than ready to show Quigley and the boxing fans that I am more than just a step-up.”
Tapia turned pro in 2008 and was 20-0 by 2013 when he lined up against James Kirkland in Atlantic City.
The HBO-screened bout was to be the fight that confirmed Tapia’s standing as a real contender, but Kirkland issued what one American boxing writer described as ‘one of the most horrifying knockout defeats in recent history’.
Referee Steve Smoger stepped in to stop the fight in the sixth, but he was too late to stop a belting left hook from Kirkland. So bad was the hit, Tapia was taken to the trauma centre.
It was his first defeat and a real knockback.
He came back to win three-in-a-row, but Soro stopped him in May 2015 and, when Lemieux delivered another blow, even Roach conceded that the game could have been up.
“I think so,”confirmed Roach on Sunday morning. “The thing is he looks good in the gym but it doesn’t carry over into the fight. I think he might be all done.”
Tapia’s social media pages have portrayed a fighter who is ready to overcome those defeats and getting over adversity is nothing new for him.
Tapia is the son of Dominican Republic parents and he comes from a tough area of Passaic. Two of his friends were killed and he has a cousin serving 25-years-to-life in jail for murder.
As well as his parents, Tapia credits much of his journey to Jorge Martinez, a police officer in Passaic.
Tapia was nine when Martinez explained to his parents what lay in store. Tapia recalled in an interview later: “He told them, ‘He’s got good talent. But if he’s going to be out here with all the other kids, he’s going to end up being locked up or dead like those other kids,’ ” Tapia said. “I got something that a lot of people don’t have, a gift, and I need to use it.”
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