Top Rank will bring Glen Tapia back carefully

Following a brutal loss to James Kirkland this past Saturday, Glen Tapia will be evaluated carefully by Top Rank going forward, says Carl Moretti, who says that Tapia will be brought back at a lower level when he's ready, and they'll see what he does with that fight before making any further plans.

"We'll assess what he looks like against an average opponent. If he continues to get hit and loses zip on his punches, then it's a whole other problem. If he shows that the rest helped him and he just stepped up and fought a tougher guy, then we'll take it as that. ... We'll see how he reacts to getting hit and are the opponents that we put him in with, are they in competitive fights that shouldn't be?"

Tapia (20-1, 12 KO) checked out OK at the hospital following Saturday's fight, and gained a lot of notoriety and no doubt respect among boxing fans and media, too. He gave Kirkland a serious challenge, but took serious punishment, and there's always a chance that something like this can be career-altering. We'll have to see how Tapia returns, and it's good to know that Top Rank plans to be careful with a young fighter.