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What: “Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel”
Where: HBO, tonight, 10
*
On Jan. 11, boxer Johnny Tapia collapsed and fell into a coma, hours after a confrontation with Arizona police. Now in a California rehabilitation center, Tapia sat down for a one-on-one interview with James Brown to discuss the latest episode in his turbulent life.
Tapia, who has battled depression and other personal issues, has been in rehab before. He says this time is different.
“I’m tired of being tired,” he tells Brown. “I’m hurting inside from hurting my loved ones.”
Tapia also says, “I don’t got no more chances. Johnny Tapia can’t do nothing wrong no more, because he’ll die.”
Mike Tyson, who was interviewed for the segment, says of Tapia: “We’re the same person, you know what I mean? We fight, dealing with demons. But Johnny’s a good man. He’s not a bad person. Sometimes we get misguided. We feel we’re never going to be loved.”
-- Larry Stewart
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