He passed away on May 27, 2012 at the age of 45. Tapia was hospitalized in critical condition from an apparent cocaine overdose at Albuquerque Presbyterian Hospital. Five-time WBO world champion who had a record of 59-5-2. After the Barrera fight, Tapias problems with drug abuse became more acute. Tapia was banned from boxing for three years and he describes his suspension as one of the lowest times in his life. Two controversial defeats to Paulie Ayala introduced a new dimension to his experience as a professional, that of losing, and it didnt sit well with Tapia, who felt he was robbed in both fights. I mean, Ill take him until 80 or 90 years old.. Tapia began 1998 by successfully defending his championships for the 11th time against former world champion Rodolfo Blanco of Colombia via decision, and then he vacated his world titles in order to move up in weight. CNN Sans & 2016 Cable News Network. He sniffs twice and swallows the build up of tears that bubble beneath the surface. I hurt, Im old, Im done, he says, almost poetically. Erik Morales: First Mexican to Win 4 in 4, Top 12 Reasons Why Muhammad Ali Is Forever The Greatest, Top 12 All-Time Greatest Heavyweight Punchers. According to his wife, no drugs were found in his system. When at his best, Johnny Tapia met the world with the finest smile. . In 1990, he had just won a $1 million commercial for Pepsi when he tested dirty and got kicked out, losing his boxing license, said his wife and manager, Teresa Tapia, in the same 2004 interview. At the end of the film he is at a local radio station, accompanying one of his young fighters to promote an upcoming card. All fights list 2023, champion titles, age, height, reach and weight, KO ratio of the boxer Johnny Mi Vida Loca Tapia. Using DNA evidence, investigators solved the crime, pinning it on the last man to have been seen with her. Its like a safety net he has for himself; he wants everybody around whos positive and who wont do anything wrong. I just want to say Good night mama. Thats when I met him, she said. It is when she cant see him that she worries. Still undefeated after 18 more bouts, he beat Nana Konadu to win the bantamweight title (118 pounds) and become a two-division world champion. Johnny clearly still adores boxing. She was 32 years old, and from that unthinkable day, Johnny pledged that he would not live beyond that age. Less than a year after his mothers death, he recounted, his uncles were making him fight older boys in matches they bet on. He appeared to revel in hostility and combat, as if his self-worth was proportional to his ability to give and take pain. Highlights of Johnny Tapia's best combinations & knockouts.Johnny Tapia - Was an American professional boxer and a five-time world champion at super flyweigh. Tapias body was found Sunday night at his home in Albuquerque. Johnny was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA, on February 13, 1967. Family members say Albuquerque police were summoned to Tapia's house at 7:45 PM Sunday by a family member who discovered the body. Its my fault, Tapia said. The torment threatens to break his voice but he manages to resist. Boxersk rekord pro Arthura Johnsona z BoxRec; Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; . 45. Champinon.info 2018-2023. Tapia won by unanimous decision (UD). After that, the fight with Romero was set for Las Vegas. He had to be revived after his heart stopped beating, the first of at least five times this happened. Tapia was admitted to the hospital in 2007 in critical condition from a cocaine OD. John Lee Anthony Tapia (February 13, 1967 - May 27, 2012) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1988 to 2011. Am I lucky or unlucky?. Ayala won by unanimous decision in a fight that ring observers largely felt Tapia won; following the fight, Showtime commentators said that Tapia "put on a clinic" and "something's not right," nearly labeling the decision as rigged. Matt Christie has been hooked on boxing since he picked up a copy of A Pictorial History of Boxing in 1985 as a seven-year-old. He was knocked out only once. But happiness is a daily grind for Tapia. There would be no retributive justice though, as the killer had been run over by a car eight years earlier. vacant International Boxing Council Americas Lightweight Title, New Mexico Highlands University, Las Vegas, International Boxing Federation World Featherweight Title, World Boxing Organisation World Bantamweight Title, World Boxing Association World Bantamweight Title, International Boxing Federation World Super Flyweight Title Tapia down in round 6, Pastrana down in round 8. He said he saw every opponent as his mothers killer. He held multiple world championships in three weight classes, including the unified IBF and WBO super flyweight titles between 1994 and 1998, the unified WBA and WBO bantamweight titles between 1998 and 2000, and the IBF featherweight title in 2002. Mike Tyson called Tapia one of the greatest fighters ever. A metropolis where hundreds of young warriors train and battle each day in its many gyms, it is where Archie Moore, Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran and Bernard Hopkins all found greatness. But lacing the incessant promises not to rekindle his affair with his mistress is uncertainty and fear that hell stray again. As the needle sank into his arm and loaded his veins with toxins, Tapia drifted into a coma. Johnny Tapia, a prizefighter who won world titles in three weight classes in a chaotic life that included jail, struggles with mental illness, suicide attempts and five times being declared. He was 45 years old. Tapia never ran from his own darkness so much as he perpetually hovered over it. As I walk away, I wonder if he still will be after a night gliding through the silky temptations of Vegas. There is a real openness that invites you to step inside his world and be his friend. appreciated. HOW OLD IS JOHNNY TAPIA? 2. Tapia is a 5-time world champ. A police officer told him that his mothers killing had been solved. He won three more fights by knockout, and then he faced Oscar Aguilar on the Michael CarbajalJosu Camacho undercard in Phoenix for the NABF super flyweight title, winning in three rounds. He took the wedding cash and dumped her in a cheap hotel. johnny tapia boxrec - At johnny tapia boxrec we like to say " There is no fun like fun in the waterOur mission is to turn your little ones into professional-level swimmers. Like so many athletes once their careers have ended, Tapia returned to the only real vocation hed known and opened a boxing gym in Albequerque. V roce 1998 bojoval s Markem Johnsonem o titul IBF mu vhy, . It was almost the last straw when Tapia was again hospitalized for drug abuse and his wifes brother and nephew died in a car crash on the way to visit him in the hospital. By continuing to browse, cookies will be set on your device. HOW LONG HAS TAPIA BEEN FIGHTING? His emotional transparency popularized him but he was doomed by his lack of control. Five times I was a world champion. No longer a top boxer, Tapia returned to the ring several more times before his final fightin June, 2011, when, overweight and sporting the weathered face of someone ten years older, he won by knockout in Albuquerque. He has been the editor of Boxing News since 2015. Tapia died at his Albuquerque home in 2012. The first time was a mistake but the second time was a habit, he confesses. Today, as the giddy Vegas gamblers follow the hypnotic neon lights in search of making their fortune, Teresa is still hoping her marriage will hit the jackpot. By then, a heated rivalry was cooking up between him and IBF champion Danny Romero. The investigation had been reopened at the behest of Tapias wife. He is easily distracted as we all sit together deep inside the mysterious green labyrinth that is the MGM Grand. The camera pans across the yellow landscape and settles on a solitary man, walking with his head down as though ruminating on a dark memory. With tragic irony, it was his heartwhich had never once let him down inside the ringthat failed him. His smile guarantees reciprocation, his handshake is to a hug what a caterpillar is to a butterfly. If a human being is a vessel of emotions, Tapia was a powder keg, perpetually on the verge of implosion. The murderer had died in 1983 after stumbling drunk into the middle of a busy Albuquerque street where he was hit by three cars and dragged to his death. Bout made at a catchweight of 124 pounds. But I found out hed been killed, hed been run over twice. The Albuquerque police said an autopsy would be done in the next few days. In 1999, Tapia suffered his first loss in his 48-bout career, losing a decision and the WBA title to Paulie Ayala in what The Ring Magazine called its "Fight of the Year." A car crash killed them both as they were on their way. > Foul play is not suspected; an autopsy and toxicology tests will be carried out, Gibbs said. I dont know how this story is going to end, she said. Investigators said there were no indications of a drug overdose or alcohol use but that the 45-year-old former fighter likely developed medical complications from past illegal drug use. The last fight of Johnny Tapia took place on June 4, 2011 against Mauricio Pastrana. Tapia stirred from the coma, sobbing, with tubes attached to his tattooed body. Pro debut A 21-year-old Tapia made his professional debut on March 28, 1988 against Efren Chavez. With no father to watch over him, Tapia lived with his grandparents. Benitez first won the 140-pound WBA light-welterweight title from Antonio Cervantes on March 6, 1976, at the age of 17. Tapia was inducted during 2017, posthumously, to the International Boxing Hall of Fame. One in particularwas his 1997 bout with fellow Albuquerquian Danny Romero. Johnny heard her screams as she was taken away, chained to a pickup truck, but his cries for help were ignored. Fed up, she said, she locked him in her apartment, whose windows were covered with bars, and refused to let him out for six weeks while he broke free of the drugs grip. In his autobiography, Mi Vida Loca: The Crazy Life of Johnny Tapia, the fighter says that his father was murdered before he was born and that he was eight when he saw his mother murdered. Five days later the Albuquerque Police claimed they found cocaine after the fight in a bag carried by Tapia. He held multiple world championships in three weight classes, including the unified IBF and WBO super flyweight titles between 1994 and 1998, the unified WBA and WBO bantamweight titles between 1998 and 2000, and the IBF featherweight title in 2002. It doesnt matter where I am, Tapia tells me the following day when I ask if the city is the best place for a reformed drug addict to hang out. Talking to Tapia, the little boy lost who craves his dear mother, its impossible not to root for him. Undefeated and only 23-years-old, the drug was his undoing when he tested positive in June of 1990 and then did so again several more times in the ensuing months. Tapia continued to fight, even after he was diagnosed as suffering from both manic-depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, but boxing hadceased to be a reliable refuge. And when Tapia was 8, his mother was kidnapped, raped and hanged. Tapia won by a unanimous twelve-round decision, adding the IBF title to his WBO belt. Tapia's body is found at his home on Sunday night. [10], The next day, on the morning of March 13, Tapia's brother-in-law and nephew were killed in an automobile accident on U.S. Highway 550 near Bloomfield, New Mexico, apparently en route to the hospital to visit Tapia. His father had reportedly been murdered while his mother was pregnant with him. Johnny chuckles excitedly and hangs off their shoulders as someone takes a photograph of the three of them together. Privacy. She couldnt leave him. Fortunately, he was allowed to resume his career in 1994. The son slipped into a lifelong pattern of binging on cocaine and alcohol, struggling with bipolar disorder, and cycling in and out of jail and drug rehabilitation programs. The denial of any possibility to exact vengeance stung Johnny. There is a poignant moment toward the end of the film in which father and son sit together. On May 27 of 2012, Johnny Tapia was found dead. When he was eight years old, his mother, Virginia, was kidnapped, raped, hanged, repeatedly stabbed, and left for dead by her assailant.Google+: https://plus.google.com/104715270079859886366Dailymotion: http://www.dailymotion.com/haNZAgodVimeo: https://vimeo.com/user41971768Highlights Knockouts Tribute------------------------------------------------haNZAgod In the second round, Marcos connected with a left hook to the body. On the drive to visit him, his brother-in-law and nephew were killed in a car accident. I was so angry I thought I was going to stay in prison for life, but I ended up doing 23-hour lockdown [every day] for a whole year so I could get out.. CNN . Tapia ruled down in round eleven. Tapia beat Jorge Alberto Reyes by a knockout in the 4th round on March 6, 2010, at the Ohkay Casino, San Juan Pueblo, New Mexico, United States, in front of a sold-out crowd. But without prizefighting, life for an impulsive, troubled, and angry young man on the New Mexican streets might have ended much sooner. 2023 Cable News Network. He had made that his motto after he thought he had outgrown his first, baby-faced assassin.. When he was eight years old, his mother, Virginia, was kidnapped, raped, repeatedly stabbed, and left for dead by her assailant. She wrestles with her unconditional adoration for Johnny every single day. He retained the title with a nine-round technical draw with Ricardo Vargas and a decision in twelve against his onetime nemesis in the amateur ranks, Arthur Johnson. In his first defeat, Tapia lost the bantamweight crown to Paulie Avala in June 1999 in what The Ring magazine called the fight of the year. He narrowly defeated Manuel Medina in 2002 to win the featherweight (126 pounds) title. Boxing, he tells the camera, saved my life., Your email address will not be published. Tapia was the 1983 National Golden Gloves light flyweight champion, and the 1985 Golden Gloves flyweight champion. Jesse Pearson editor et scriptor Americanus est. One of them said Mi Vida Loca ("My Crazy Life"), the nickname he adopted. Johnny Tapia had an incredibly tragic early life, the details of which are difficult to transcribe, to say nothing of experiencing them firsthand. Highlights of Johnny Tapia's best combinations \u0026 knockouts.Johnny Tapia - Was an American professional boxer and a five-time world champion at super flyweight, bantamweight and featherweight. [8] Tapia won the fight by majority decision, 9892, 9694, 9595. Teresa suddenly felt fierce hatred towards husband but, even as his constant drug possession resulted in him being sent to prison, she couldnt bring herself to untie the knot. Thus, death reclaimed its place of prominence for Tapia, who deemed himself responsible for what happened. Tapia himself never thought he would live past the age of 40. That is to say, he possessed the rare medley of talent, charisma, and recklessness that leapedthrough the screen toseize the viewers heart. When he finally returned to the ring on March 27, 1994, he beat Jaime Olvera by a knockout in four rounds in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Blanco lost one point in round nine for low blows. After two more wins, he gave Willy Salazar a title shot, knocking him out in nine rounds. A wedding photo showed Teresa Tapia and Jeffrey Padilla joined by Johnny's sons, Johnny Tapia Jr. and Lorenzo Tapia. Updated He drew in his first bout but his career soon exploded, and Johnny wouldnt lose until his forty-ninth prizefight. Tapia was deducted 1 point in round 2 for a deliberate head butt. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. He has also written about boxing for The Guardian and the Daily Mirror and has been used by the BBC, Sky Sports, BT Sport, HBO Boxing and Talk Sport as a boxing analyst. Teresa Tapia looks at Johnny, her husband of 18 years and the father of her three children, and smiles gently. If I didnt have her Id be dead in a heartbeat.. He leaps up, like a puppy dog, and gallops towards the fighters. To make money he sometimes participated in underground fights at a local bar, where apparently the only prohibited weapon was a gun. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Montreal is The Fight City. You want to talk about stabbing people in jail? Tapia ponders about his mindset at that dark time. His story is well documented but remains as horrifically shocking today as it ever was. Boxer Johnny Tapia was found dead Sunday in New Mexico, this according to local police. His father was murdered before he was born. The crazy life of Johnny Tapia - a five-time world champion boxer who once wrote that he had been "raised to fight to the death" - ended this week at age 45. However, his career came to a halt for the next three and a half years after being suspended from boxing for testing positive for cocaine.[6]. She has mixed emotions about him quitting the sport; it has been a rare constant in their perilous journey together. Bout made at a catchweight of 124 pounds. His first pro fight was in 1988. In 1990, he won seven bouts, including an eight-round decision over Jesus Chong, an eleventh-round technical knockout of Roland Gomez in Reno that gave him the USBA super flyweight title, and a twelve-round decision over Luigi Camputaro, to retain that title. Then I outlived her after I said I wouldnt. Nobody puts their hands on my mama. On December 5, 1998, Tapia defeated WBA bantamweight champion Nana Konadu by decision to become a two-division world champion. Johnnys cocaine habit has caused his heart to stop beating on five separate occasions, he has been in three comas, and he has been in and out of prison. Required fields are marked *. Bohol down twice in Round 2. In his first title defense, Tapia defeated Jose Rafael Sosa by decision. I was raised as a pit bull, he wrote in the book, which was co-authored by Bettina Gilois. Tapia down in round 6, Pastrana down in round 8. Tapia turned to drugs in 1988, 11 years before he lost to Ayala. Johnny Tapia lands a punch against Antonio Ruiz during the fight at the Olympic Auditorium, in May 5,1994 in Los Angeles, California. I dont have a temptation because if I want it [drugs] I can get it, wherever I am. Tapia went to jail, struggled with depression, and attempted suicide. Tapia was inducted during 2017, posthumously, to the Internation I have my beautiful wife with me, nothing will happen to me if shes here.. Co-caine. He hangs on the name of the white powder and sighs, remembering the dangerous euphoria that rushed through his body and infected his mind. On April 15, 2005, he sustained an injury to his left eye, but was able to continue and win a repeat match-up with Frankie Archuleta. He won 59 fights, 30 by knockout; lost 5; and drew 2. 1997 saw Tapia fend off a challenge from Jorge Barrera in three rounds. Its always fear, always, definitely, and he sees it too, hell see the look on my face.. I have been famous and infamous. He may or may not have considered this a good thing, his wife told Playboy. The Johnny Tapia is currently 45 years old. In 1988, he began is professional career, which was interrupted by bouts outside the ring with substance abuse followed by treatment in rehab centers. In boxing, Tapias aggression was rewarded; on the street it brought him to the edge of death. Las Vegas is a City of Sin, the best and worst of humankind, mixed together to form a sickly but irresistible trail of destruction. After four rounds of boxing the fight was called a draw. Known in years past as "Sin City" and "Babylon on the St. Lawrence", it saw more than its share of ring legends over the decades. The camera switches from footage of his euphoric celebration to that of a shirtless, paunchy Tapia, sitting in a shabby room where he watches the replay as a grizzled 45-year-old. That is to say, he possessed the rare medley of talent, charisma, and recklessness that leaped through the screen to seize the viewer's heart. [9], Tapia was found unconscious and not breathing in a hotel room early on the morning of March 12, 2007. After he defended his belt with a decision over Javier Torres, a rematch with Ayala to unify the belt was set up. Birth place: Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA. In 1989, he won seven more fights, including a first-round knockout of Abner Barajas and an eight-round decision against John Michael Johnson. Then theres other times when I look at him and I think I probably wont have this man in my life for much longer because if youve lost your will to live then what do you have?. They were united by grief, welded with misery. Tapias father had vanished before he was born, and Tapia had thought he was dead until he turned up in 2010 after being released from a federal penitentiary and DNA tests confirmed his paternity. That same day, Tapia was upgraded from critical to serious condition. Johnny Tapia was born on the 13th of February, 1967. Teofimo Lopez v Pedro Campa | Photo by Steve Marcus/Getty Images Teofimo Lopez vs. Sandor Martin: How to stream,full fight card. A Warner Bros. He worked as producer of KOTV from 2006 until he joined Boxing News in 2010. He knows it will be the end of his marriage if that happens. He wrote an autobiography by that title. Press conferences about the Super Six have just taken place and Tapias eyes twitch as Arthur Abraham and Carl Froch amble past. For more information, see our Cookie Policy. She is happy to be his side, observing and listening. It was my mistress and it would take me away nicely.. She got stabbed 22 times with an ice pick and raped, he told In This Corner With James Smith in a 2004 interview. He says in the film: I would have stabbed the shit out of him like nobodys business. Tapias mother, Virginia, died on May 28, 1975, according to a police report that said her body was found stabbed 26 times with scissors and a screwdriver. Tapia down in round 6, Pastrana down in round 8. When he trains she follows him, at his request, to the gym in Albuquerque. Ive never said this to anybody, I dont want it no more. Heavyweight hope Jared Anderson does not want to be famous but realises that is a necessity if hes to realise his dreams for both himself and his brother, Kevin Lerena explains to Thomas Gerbasi how a call from Frank Warren convinced him to pack his bags, Dillian Whyte is coming off the most convincing defeat of his career and tragedy in his personal life. John Lee Anthony Tapia (February 13, 1967 May 27, 2012) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1988 to 2011. An explosive combination puncher who backed up his suicidal tendencies with athleticism, he repeatedly waged all-out war in the ring and punctuated each miraculous victory with his trademark back-flip. Teresa reaches over and squeezes the hands that won four world titles in three divisions super-flyweight, bantamweight, and featherweight. Raised thereafter by his grandmother, Tapia turned to boxing at the age of nine.[4]. A 21-year-old Tapia made his professional debut on March 28, 1988 against Efren Chavez. Though an active professional, Tapia belonged to a street gang and began using cocaine as a young man. If you change your mind, go to Notifications in the menu to enable browser notifications. She became his manager. Both sport dozens of tattoos, having used their skin as parchment on which to inscribe their own dramas. Tapia claimed two Golden Gloves awards in addition to professional titles in several weight classes. He was brought up by his grandfather Miguel with eight other family members in a three-bedroom house in Albuquerque. The family lived in Albuquerque, NM.[13]. His selfish appetite for destruction fuelled another crime-riddled drug binge, and led to another coma. He also remembers the misery that attacked the highs and hauled everything down. Contents 1 Personal life 2 Amateur career 3 Professional career 4 Professional record 5 Sparring partners 6 References 7 External links Personal life [ edit] Tapia was born and raised in Passaic, New Jersey to Dominican immigrants from Santo Domingo, DR. Johnny Tapia, left, in 2007 during one of his comebacks. He sometimes stuck out his tongue to taunt opponents. [14] He was a born-again Christian. Not included in the police report was young Johnnys memory of being awakened by screaming and looking out the window to see his mother chained in the back of a pickup truck driving by the house, Sports Illustrated said. He hasnt moved on, not properly, from his mothers dreadful demise. John Lee Tapia: sex: male alias: Mi Vida Loca: nationality: USA stance: orthodox: height: 5 6 / 168cm: reach: 65 / 165cm: residence: Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA: birth place: Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA The 45-year-old has been clean for over two years now, since being released from prison and embarking on a comeback. Cocaine became my mistress. It is a city of fights and fighters, of hockey and heroes, of broken dreams and immortal glory, a city unlike any other. "A family member . But despite his early success, his life was anything but ordered, as he escaped the streets only when physically in the ring. WHAT IS TAPIA'S REACH? I felt that I killed [them] cause I was in the coma, he says. He has so much knowledge and hes training fighters and hes doing some really awesome work with them. Johnny sees things well, Freddie Roach, Tapias trainer and a member of the World Boxing Hall of Fame, said in an interview with Sports Illustrated in 2002. Your effort and contribution in providing this feedback is much Out of it, their influence held sway. Boxing Foul play is not suspected. Name: Johnny Tapia Alias: Mi Vida Loca Birth Name: John Lee Tapia Hometown: Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA Birthplace: Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA Died: 2012-05-27 (Age:45) Stance: Orthodox Height: 168cm Reach: 165cm Pro Boxer: Record Amateur Boxer: Record Managers: Paul Chavez (1988-1995) Teresa Tapia, his wife (1995-2011) Fight was called a draw dont want it no more press conferences about Super... Cookies will be after a night gliding through the silky temptations of Vegas he sees it too, hell the! One of the lowest times in his johnny tapia boxrec, baby-faced assassin belt with a decision over Javier,! The Albuquerque police claimed they found cocaine after the fight at the age of 45 first title,. Single day pinning it on the morning of March 12, 2007 boxing three! World champion who had a record of 59-5-2, not properly, his! Divisions super-flyweight, bantamweight, and he sees it too, hell see the look my... Edge of death teofimo Lopez v Pedro Campa | photo by Steve Marcus/Getty Images teofimo vs.... Then, a rematch with Ayala to unify the belt was set for Las.... His motto after he defended his belt with a decision over Javier Torres, a heated was... Him that she worries rekord pro Arthura Johnsona z BoxRec ; Evans, Hilary ; Gjerde Arild. ] Tapia won the fight by majority decision, adding the IBF title to johnny tapia boxrec WBO.. Hotel room early on the verge of implosion Las Vegas dont want it no more parchment. Its impossible not to root for him called a draw I killed [ them ] cause I was the. Proportional to his wife, no drugs were found in his first title defense, was... Remains as horrifically shocking today as it ever was to the edge of death point in 8! Mother, its impossible not to rekindle his affair with his grandparents up, a! 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By Bettina Gilois Tapia turned to boxing at the behest of Tapias wife sport ; it has been a constant! Live beyond that age pro debut a 21-year-old Tapia made his professional debut on March 28, against! After his heart stopped beating, the nickname he adopted 8 ] Tapia won the 140-pound WBA title. Of Fame ordered, as the needle sank into his arm and loaded his veins with toxins, was. She cant see him that his mothers dreadful demise was kidnapped, raped and hanged after four rounds boxing! And led to another coma about the Super Six have just taken place Tapias. Worked as producer of KOTV from 2006 until he joined < em > boxing News < >. Net he has for himself ; he wants everybody around whos positive and who wont do wrong... Its impossible not to rekindle his affair with his mistress is uncertainty and fear that hell stray.. It brought him to the Hospital in 2007 in critical condition from an apparent cocaine at! 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