Boxing mourns legend Tapia

Five-time world champion Johnny Tapia has been found dead at his Albuquerque home at the age of 45.

'Mi Vida Loca' is found dead at his home aged 45

Five-time world champion Johnny Tapia has been found dead at his Albuquerque home at the age of 45. Tapia won world titles in three weight clases but his turbulent career was marked by cocaine addiction, alcohol, depression and run-ins with the law, including several stints in jail. The American was banned from boxing for three-and-a-half years in the early 1990s because of his cocaine addiction, but returned to the ring to win the WBO bantamweight title in 1994, and won four more championships over the next eight years. However, his life was also marked by tragedy. He was orphaned at eight when his mother was kidnapped, raped and left for dead after being stabbed 26 times with a screwdriver. In 2007, he was declared clinically dead for a third time after an apparent cocaine overdose and the following day he lost his brother-in-law and nephew when they were killed in car accident on their way to hospital. He last fought in June, outpointing Mauricio Pastrana in an eight-round decision. He finished with a 59-5-2 record.