Pacquiao sparmate Tapia to face Medina in New Jersey

PASSAIC, New Jersey - Undefeated prospect Glen Tapia is ready to put on a show when he faces Ecuador’s Eberto Medina at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey on March 26. The Passaic, New Jersey native Tapia (8-0, 5KOs) faces the Chinchipe-born Medina (5-5, 1KO) in a six-round junior middleweight bout as supporting bout for the Yuriorkis Gamboa-Jorge Solis world featherweight championship fight. The card is promoted by Bob Arum's Top Rank Inc. and will be televised by HBO. Tapia, 21, is hoping to outdo his last performance in Atlantic City in October last year against Quinton Whitaker. Tapia was sluggish with jet lag after arriving from the Philippines a week earlier, where he spent a month as pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao's chief sparring partner in the Filipino boxing icon's bout with Antonio Margarito in November. Tapia suffered a broken jaw where he needed to have it wired shut for five weeks, but still toughed it out for a unanimous decision (UD) win. "There were so many things wrong and I feel like I didn't entertain the crowd enough. Now I feel like I have to do double time," said Tapia, who is jointly promoted by Top Rank and Pound for Pound Promotions. "It's good that it happened to me because now I know that I never want to feel like that again. I'm training harder and you guys are going to see the result." "The doctors tell me that my jaw is stronger than it was before, and I feel like I'm better than I was before all around. Now I'm just ready to get in the ring already and fight," Tapia added Tapia's opponent Medina, 27, scored the biggest win of his career in 2006 when he defeated Andrzej Fonfara, then 4-0, by UD. Fonfara now holds the WBC Youth light heavyweight title. Also fighting in the undercard is Tapia's stablemate and New Brunswick, New Jersey's "King" Jorge Diaz, who will challenge USBA super bantamweight champion Teon Kennedy of Philadelphia, PA. – JVP, GMA News