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Tapia of the world WBO bantamweight champ to move up after next fight
Posted: Friday May 05, 2000 07:48 PM
LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) -- WBO bantamweight champion Johnny Tapia says it's God's call on whether he moves up a weight class after he fights Argentina's Javier Torres here Saturday night. The final say, though, may come from Tapia's body. Tapia, who won his fourth world title in January with a unanimous decision over Jorge Eliecer Julio, admits it's getting tougher for him to make the 118-pound bantamweight limit. He says his title-defense bout with the unheralded Torres will be his last at that weight class. When not in training, Tapia's weight can climb into the 150-pound range. "That is my natural weight walking around," Tapia said this week. "The only thing that puts me through tests is when I have to lose weight. That is my hard part." Harder, likely, than Torres, who has lost 14 times and has eight draws in 54 fights. Tapia (47-1-2, 25 KOs) has lost only to Paulie Ayala, who took Tapia's WBA title with a unanimous decision last year. While Tapia says he'd love a rematch with Ayala, it's more likely he'll move up to super bantamweight (122 pounds). "If God wants me to move up, I will and I will fight the champions at 122 pounds," Tapia said. "I want to gain more fame." At 122 pounds, Tapia would run into fighters with more punching power, and a Tapia versus Marco Antonio Barrera bout is an attractive possibility. Barrera gave undefeated WBC world champion Erik Morales all he could handle before losing a majority decision in February. "We are both popular. It would be a war and I would have to take it to another level," Tapia said of a fight with Barrera. Morales is moving up to 126 pounds (featherweight) and Barrera also has indicated a desire to move up to that weight. There is speculation that the 33-year-old Tapia might also make the jump to featherweight and join the list of challengers to undefeated WBO champ Naseem Hamed. But Tapia says the only opponent on his mind this week is Torres. "I am focusing on the next fight [Torres]," he said. "After that, my ears and eyes are open for any fighter that wants to fight me." Torres is a prohibitive underdog that Tapia describes as "durable and very skillful." Former two-time world champion Danny Romero of Albuquerque is also on Saturday's card. He'll fight Mexico's Jorge Munoz for the North American Boxing Organization super bantamweight title. Like Tapia, the 25-year-old Romero is expected to have little trouble adding another win to his record of 38-3-1. Munoz is 20-12-2, and has won just one of his last eight fights. His only victory in that streak came last July, when Munoz stopped Hector Guzman. Munoz, however, does have a history of taking on tough opponents. Fighters who beat Munoz and later went on to win world titles include Nestor Garza, Enrique Sanchez and Alfred Kotey. Romero lost his IBF junior bantamweight title to Tapia in July 1997 and later that year lost a disputed decision to Vuyani Bungu in another title bout. Since then, Romero has fought and beaten a string of obscure opponents. He has caught considerable criticism for it from fans and officials at Top Rank, promoters for Romero's career. In March, Romero turned down an offer to fight Nestor Garza for the WBA super bantamweight title in Las Vegas. Romero instead took a non-title fight against Adarryl Johnson and stopped Johnson in the fifth round. Garza, meanwhile, lost his title to Clarence "Bones" Adams. Romero says he doesn't regret turning down the fight with Garza. "Absolutely not," said Romero. "We would have fought for a world title, but at the time it was just not the right decision. It was a bad deal." Romero adds that he's on his own schedule toward another title fight. "I feel extremely good about it and taking my time getting where I should be," Romero said. "There are goals, dreams, that I still have. In the last few fights, I think I've proven that."
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