By Rich Mancuso
Newark, New Jersey (May 9th, 2015) – Glen Tapia was intent on not getting stopped again after a devastating knockout and first career loss to James Kirkland back in December of 2013. That was a setback in front of the hometown fans at Boardwalk Convention Hall, Atlantic City. That wasn’t a night to remember for Tapia, the Passaic New Jersey super welterweight and he sustained a damaged left eye socket that kept him away from the ring for a few months.
Kirkland had a career defining moment after a 17-month layoff and Saturday night on HBO, at Minute Maid Park in Houston Texas, he awaits Canelo Alvarez. Tapia, after that loss rebounded with three consecutive knockouts. He may have to rebound again after a fourth round TKO loss to Michel Soro Friday night at a Top Rank promoted show held at the Prudential Center in Newark.
It wasn’t what Tapia expected before many of his fans, and televised before a national audience on the first televised True TV “Friday Night Knockout” a joint venture with Top Rank To many at ringside it brought flashbacks of Tapia’s loss to Kirkland and it wasn’t pretty. Added to the disappointment was losing an opportunity to capture the vacant USBA Super Welterweight titles.
But Soro walked out of the ring with that title and Tapia’s NABO 154-pound title. Tapia did not blame the loss for having to lose a few pounds to make 154 a day before the fight.
The first three rounds it was Tapia in control. But round four, Tapia appeared to be showing some signs of coming in at 154 and had trouble handling an overhand right from Soro, (26-1-1,16 K0’s.) The right was followed with some more punches and a left hook that nailed Tapia. There was no other alternative for referee David Fields to stop the fight with Tapia on the ropes at 2:40 of round four.
Tapia came in as the 154-pound champion and was rated number two by the WBO and sixth by the IBF. There were expectations for the 25-year old hometown hero. A win could have propelled him for a bigger title opportunity and he was without the services of renowned trainer Freddie Roach.
Roach has been instrumental in preparing Tapia for the opportunities and Tapia was offering no excuses for losing because Roach was not in his corner. It just was not his night and now he realizes it is time to start all over again and he admitted that having to lose some weight was difficult and something he never did before. The failure to having problems making weight may have made him sluggish, though Tapia had more problems after getting nailed with the right of Soro.
For a fighter, starting over sometimes does not work to their advantage, but Tapia has proved it can be done after the loss to Kirkland.
Though disappointed, Tapia, (23-2,15 K0’s) said he was determined to go back to the drawing board, similar words he used after the loss to Kirkland.
“Sorry I disappointed you New Jersey,” he said in the ring after the loss. “ I will be back and bounce back.” Soro, of France on the other hand, had a good training camp at Big Bear in California and attributed the hard work and training that enabled him to get the stoppage.
Said Soro, “It was a big challenge here to big bear to take on the Jersey Boy. I had a great training camp in big bear lake that prepare me for this fight.”
JULIAN THE PROSPECT WINS AGAIN: Top Rank continued to showcase 20-year old lightweight Julian “Hammer Hands” Rodriguez on the undercard. He quickly disposed Peter Oluoch (14-9-2, 8 KO’s) at 1:22 of the first round in a bout scheduled for six.
Rodriguez, of Colombia, Cuba and Dominican heritage, and trained by his father, manages his own boxing gym in Hackensack New Jersey and is making it a habit of getting the early stoppage. now 10-0 with 9 K0’s. The fight started with jabs being traded and then Rodriguez used a left and followed with an overhand right that sent his opponent to go backwards.
On the early stoppage and his success ratio of ending his fights early, Rodriguez said, “We go in there and fight my fights. If it ends early that’s great. But if it goes the distance that’s what we train for. Tonight we just went in there and did what we had to do and I caught him early.”
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