Given everything life has thrown at Johnny Tapia - the man is currently in drug rehab for the 12th time - it seems ridiculous to discuss his chances for another title fight.

Ridiculous, and yet somehow perfectly appropriate. When the topic is Tapia, nothing can be considered too ridiculous. In his hands, the absurd becomes the mundane.

He is two weeks past his 36th birthday, and he has been declared clinically dead four times, most recently six weeks ago. He has won five world titles in three weight classes. He has attempted suicide at least once.

In Tapia's crazy world, for every give, there is a take.

This is his first voluntary trip to a rehab center, and he takes pride in that. "For the first time, I want to be here," he says. "I want to make it work. I'm working at this. I want it."

This last episode, which came after Tapia's admittedly reckless cocaine use, seems to have caught his full attention. He was on life support in a Las Vegas hospital for more than 30 hours.

"Yeah, this was the worst," Johnny says. "This was by far the worst. I was gone. Gone. I know God's got me here for a purpose, and I hope I can find it. I'm a loyal husband, I love my kids. You know, if I can help one kid I've done my job. A lot of kids out there need help, and I'm one of them."

Bob Case, Tapia's friend first and agent second, says, "He has to surrender to win, and I think he's finally surrendered."

Tapia says he wants "two more fights, and maybe one more title." To dismiss such talk, at Tapia's advanced age, is easy enough, but at what point is it OK for him to stop believing? Tapia throws a quick combination into the Southern California desert air and says, "I need to get out while I'm still doing more of this than this." He then stands there, miming defenseless while repeatedly snapping his head back.

He knows, however, how few boxers get out before this becomes this. He also knows any talk of a title fight, or a non-title blockbuster against Prince Naseem Hamed, can be seen as a way to forestall the inevitable: What happens after boxing?

Case says, "People ask that of Johnny all the time, and you know what I tell them? I tell them Johnny Tapia can be whatever he wants after boxing. He can be a great role model. I tell him, 'You know how powerful you could be?' Johnny Tapia isn't like everybody else. He's got incredible charisma. When he walks into a room, the lights blink."

He is different. There's no denying that. And one thing's for certain: If you're making odds on boxing or life, it's hard to bet against a guy with a habit of returning from the dead.