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Some of you may have noticed that Glen Tapia, who was scheduled to fight on the HBO Golovkin-Geale undercard, didn't appear. That's because his boxing license was abruptly denied on Friday, according to ESPN's Dan Rafael. That unfortunate circumstance forced his fight to be canceled altogether within minutes of his scheduled weigh-in. The reason behind the NYSAC denial had something to do with Tapia's blood test, though specifics haven't been released. Carl Moretti, VP of Top Rank, had this to say about denial:
"The medical team in New York did not approve his blood work, which had nothing to do with HIV or hepatitis," Moretti said told ESPN.com. "The same blood work was approved in New Jersey for his last fight a month ago. While we respect the decision we would like some further clarification in the days and weeks ahead so we can plan his next fight accordingly."
New York supposedly only blood tests fighters for HIV and Hepatitis, of which Tapia apparently has neither, and thus the reasoning behind the denial is covered in shroud of mystery. Tapia does, however, seem to acknowledge that he has some sort of condition as he mentioned in a RingTV interview, but didn't think it should prevent him from fighting.
"I don't know the name of the condition, but it's nothing really wrong with me, so I'm f-king mad," Tapia said. "I mean, I've been in 22 fights already. It was just that the doctor that I saw in New Jersey made it look like it was worse than it was, like if I was to get cut, I could die. It's got something to do with really light blood work. I really don't have it that much.
"My percentage of it is really low and light, like if somebody was to get cut, you could bleed out because of it. But like I said, I don't have it, because in my past, I've been in tough fights. So it's only if somebody has it severely or something. I know that I'm going to be cleared to fight for my next fight, but it was just that the doctor made it seem worse than it was when it really wasn't that bad. It just made it look bad."
Glen Tapia (21-1, 13 KOs) was last seen on HBO when he faced off with the relentless James Kirkland, a fight in which he took some hellacious punishment before being knocked out on his feet. His managers made it clear after that fight that they were going to ease Tapia back into action so they don't ruin the 24 year-old prospect. Lets all just wish him the best of health going forward.