Boxing champ Johnny Tapia has been found dead at his home in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Tapia, 45, won five world championships in three weight classes. He had won the WBA bantamweight title, the IBF and WBO junior bantamweight titles, and the IBF featherweight belt.


Albuquerque Police Department spokesman Robert Gibbs said cops were called to his home at 7.45pm after his body was discovered by a family member, according to Albuquerque Journal. The official cause of death is not known and an autopsy will follow. But officers said the death is not being considered suspicious.


The boxing champion was known to have a drug problems. He was hospitalized in 2007 for a cocaine overdose and was in critical condition. He was jailed in 2009 for a violation of parole related to drug use.


His life is said to have begun with tragedy, with his father reportedly murdered while he was still in his mother's womb. His mother was kidnapped, raped and stabbed when he was only eight. She died a few days after the horrific crime. Tapia is said to have took up boxing at the age of 9.


His son, Johnny Tapia II, made his boxing debut in March 2007.