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| February 25, 2007 | Sunday | Safar 7, 1428 |
Tapia overshadows Primero
ISLETA PUEBLO (New Mexico), Feb 24: Johnny Tapia, no longer the relentless, ring-savvy battler he once was, scored a majority decision on Friday over little known Evaristo Primero in what could have been the five-time world champion's final fight.Tapia, who turned 40 earlier this month and was fighting for the first time in nearly a year and a half, landed enough punches to get the win against an opponent who 10 years ago likely wouldn't have lasted three minutes, much less take him the distance in the 10-round junior welterweight fight.
One judge scored it 98-92 for Tapia and the other had Tapia ahead 96-94. The third judge called it a draw.
“I did what I had to do to win,” said Tapia, who then dodged the question of whether this really was his final bout.
Moments later Tapia tried three times to pull off a backflip, one of his signature moves of the past. Each time he missed the landing, coming up short and landing on his knees.
It mattered little to the sell-out crowd of 3,000 packed into an Indian casino to watch the state's most popular fighter.
Primero, from El Paso, Texas, never posed a threat to Tapia (56-5-2), but he made it interesting. Bleeding from a cut above his right ear, the 29-year-old repeatedly traded punches with Tapia.
As the final seconds ticked off, Primero (14-10-1) – without a win since October of 2001 _ motioned to Tapia to bring it on.
Just getting an opponent turned into an adventure.
Billed as Tapia's “Final Fury,” it turned into a fiasco of musical chair opponents long before the first bell rang.
Tapia initially was supposed to fight Ilido Julio (35-10-1) of Colombia. When Julio failed his physical late Thursday, promoter Lenny Fresquez got Paulino Villalobos of Veracruz, Mexico.
Tapia's camp rejected Villalobos and his dubious record of 26-35-1, and Alberto Cepeda of Juarez, Mexico, became Tapia's third designated opponent – for about an hour.
Cepeda was replaced by Primero, who was supposed to fight a six-round, exhibition bout but suddenly found himself in the main event.
Fresquez declined to discuss the different line-ups.
“That's boxing,” was his only response.—AP
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