Hurricanes and sponsor drug busts part of Mateo Tapia’s wild fortnight ahead of bout with Endry Saavedra

Mateo Tapia has taken an extraordinary path to the biggest fight of his career on the Tim Tszyu undercard this weekend.

Mateo Tapia has had a wild fortnight leading up to this weekend’s bout. Picture: Julian Andrews.

Mateo Tapia has ridden out one hurricane, fled a second one, and ditched a sponsor embroiled in a major drug bust.

And that’s only in the last two weeks.

It’s just another series of wild events in an already crazy life for the middleweight prospect from the Northern Beaches.

Now based in St Petersburg, near Tampa, Tapia and his wife escaped to Miami when Hurricane Milton lashed the west coast of Florida 10 days ago.

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The future world title challenger escaped Milton unscathed, and was able to move back home before buckling down for the biggest fight of his career against Endry Saavedra on Tim Tszuy’s undercard this weekend.

Tapia and wife Krystle fled their home due to Hurricane Milton. Picture: Christian Anstey

But it was another example of the madness that often follows the Mexican-born scrapper.

Like his brief time spent living in LA, which ended six months ago after “having a bit of trouble there.”

Which is an understatement.

“It was very dangerous – you couldn’t walk the streets,” he says. “You’d walk home and go up the stairwells and there’s just guys zonked out in there.

“Or you’d go and wash your clothes and they’d be stolen. Packages would be stolen, and every morning there’s another car stolen.

“A couple of nights we heard gunshots. That’s when we knew we had to get out of there.”

A decade ago, there was also the horrific car crash that nearly took his life.

A teenaged Tapia was in the passenger seat when his mate lost control and sent the car flipping over three times into a ditch.

It was the wake-up call he needed to take boxing training seriously, and a decade on, he’s on the verge of breaking through to the mainstream.

He’s also nearly ready to tell his story, which, when revealed in full, will be worthy of a Hollywood movie.

“I could go on for a couple of hours about ‘em,” he says about his life’s ups and downs. “But I’ll just wait until the time’s right before I really get my story out.”

Most recently came news that a sponsor had been arrested in Sydney for allegedly attempting to import 50kg of cocaine to Australia from Vietnam.

Tapia with Tim Tszyu. Picture: NO LIMIT BOXING

Tapia is not accused of any wrongdoing, and immediately ditched the sponsor, but it hardly makes for a smooth build-up.

“Mate, to be honest, that’s none of my business,” Tapia told this masthead in Orlando this week. “I’ve got my fight to focus on this weekend, and that’s where my mind is.”

It’s a tough task too.

Saavedra is coming off a stunning upset win over big-punching Queensland Issac Hardman in March, and was handpicked by Canelo Alvarez for sparring.

“He’s a very good technical fighter,” Tapia says. “He has a lot of little tricks on the inside, but it’s nothing I haven’t seen before.

“He actually trains where I was born in Tijuana, so I’ve actually worked out at his gym when I was younger.

“I know where he trains, I know the area and I know he’s coming to fight.

“But I know I’ll be ready. I just have to show the world that Mateo Tapia is here. I’m on the scene.”

Originally published as Hurricanes and sponsor drug busts part of Mateo Tapia’s wild fortnight ahead of bout with Endry Saavedra