Bantamweight champion Jorge Eliecer Julio didn't seem particularly daunted by the prospect of facing former titlist Johnny Tapia in Tapia's hometown. As 18,000 Tapia devotees rained down a chorus of boos on Julio, the champion merely grinned. Beaming the type of smile usually reserved for completed victories, Julio displayed a confidence that would gradually diminish once the bout actually began. Perhaps he felt Tapia's speed was overrated, that his reputation as a light-hitting brawler suited him, or that Tapia's conditioning for the bout was suspect. No matter the reason, Julio looked like a man for whom the fight was merely a formality.

Johnny Tapia had other plans. Despite looking a bit soft in the midsection, Tapia opened the fight by quickly displaying the adjustments he had made since his defeat to Paulie Ayala in last year's Fight of the Year. The primary adjustment was the rediscovery of the footwork and timing that had previously maximized Tapia's quick flurries. As Julio stalked Tapia in the first round, looking to counter with a right over Tapia's jab, he was unable to find the stationary target he may have been expecting. While Tapia warmed up his jab, then his left hook to the body, and eventually his combinations, Julio waited for Tapia to give him the opportunity to answer. That opportunity rarely came on this evening.

Tapia's footwork allowed him to control the pace of the fight from the get-go, which was critical versus the taller, stronger Julio. Unable to dissuade Julio by brute force, Tapia was required to let go his punches and then get out of harm's way. Having watched himself drop rounds to Ayala by opting to stand and trade, Tapia now set out to fight a style more tailored to his strengths. In the first half of the bout, Tapia's movement, interrupted by machine gun bursts of punches, neutralized most of Julio's offense. Unable to land clean on the challenger, Julio caught a lot of air, landing only glancing blows upstairs and blocked shots downstairs.

To the champion's credit, he never failed to pursue Tapia. However, in failing to couple his pressure with offense, he allowed Tapia to set a rhythm that was banking round after round in the books. Julio's attempts were often wild, and while he may have taken the third round, his misses resulted in a number of elbows, shoulders and headbutts landing in the place of clean punches. By the halfway mark of the bout, concern surely was settling into Julio's mind, as Tapia was not tiring, despite having come down from 150 lbs. to make the 118 lb. limit.

At times it seemed as though Julio was not only facing Tapia, but also his 18,000 supporters. Occasionally he would land a flush left hook or a well timed overhand right, to no response from the partisan crowd, while Tapia's bursts nearly always drew roars of approval and fans leaping from their seats in excitement. It's difficult to measure the effect these reactions had on the official judges, but not hard to see how the cheers boosted Tapia in times of need. In the sixth, seventh, and eighth rounds, Julio stormed out of his corner and landed his best shots on Tapia, only to have Tapia answer back with accurate flurries for the remainder of the frame. Spurred on by the crowd, Tapia won these middle rounds in which Julio landed his best shots.

By the ninth round, Julio was beginning to tire. Tapia's digging body shots had slowed the champion, and his jab was now snapping the Julio's head back when it landed. At times in the closing frames, Tapia stunned Julio with his accuracy, including an occasion in each of the final two rounds when Tapia fired three consecutive right hand leads that landed. It was classic Tapia as Albuquerque's favorite son showed that determination and skill could overcome strength and size. When the final bell sounded, the official scores were a mere formality, as Tapia had dominated the bout with few interruptions.

The official scores read 118-109, 116-111 and 119-108 (Boxing Chronicle scored the bout 117-110), handing Johnny Tapia his fourth world title and his second at 118 lbs.

After the bout, the obvious question asked was "what's next?" Although Tapia was too elated to give a clear answer, there are a number of options for him, all of them lucrative. The most obvious contest would be a rematch between Tapia and Ayala, especially with each man now holding a championship in the division. However, as Tapia has struggled with 118, the talk has turned towards another step up, this time to 122 lbs. With names like Barrera, Morales, McCullough, Garza, and of course Romero, haunting the division, Tapia will have no lack of choices. His exciting style, relentless will power, and willingness to take on all comers might not make him the favorite in each of these bouts, but they certainly make the bouts themselves fall into the "must-see" category. And really, what more could any professional boxer hope for?

.....Chris Bushnell