Tony Ayala, Jr.

Tony Ayala is a former middleweight boxer. As Barry Tompkins once stated before one of Ayala?s early fights, Tony Ayala Jr. was born to be a fighter. Tony Ayala Sr. raised all four of his sons to be fighters. Besides El Torito, Mike became the most accomplished of the fighting Ayala brothers, and is best known for his classic ebb and flow war against Danny ?Little Red? Lopez in The Ring magazine ?s 1979 ?Fight of the Year.?

Related Topics:
Middleweight - Boxer

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El Torito started boxing at the age of 5 after watching his brothers in a Texas amateur tournament. From the age of 8, Tony never lost a fight, and won multiple amateur titles while compiling nearly 150 amateur bouts.

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Perhaps more important than Ayala?s stellar amateur record was the reputation he gained in sparring with professional fighters. At the age of 14 in 1977, Ayala engaged in a famous sparring match with welterweight champion Jose ?Pipino? Cuevas.

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Cuevas was known for being hard on sparring partners. Indeed, a tough, quick former amateur fighter from the east coast who once trained me actually turned down the opportunity to spar with Cuevas at the Main Street Gym in Los Angeles in the late 1970s after watching Cuevas concuss and bludgeon two sparring partners in the gym. Ayala was fearless, and his sparring session in San Antonio with Cuevas is still the stuff of legends.

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In 1992, Knockout Magazine, which was published three times per year by G.C. London Publishing Associates, released a gem of a publication about knockout artists. Included in the edition were profiles of Bob Foster, Earnie Shavers, Alfonso Zamora, Pipino Cuevas, George Foreman, and Tony Ayala Jr. Superb boxing scribe Phil Berger did a great piece on Ayala entitled ?The Odyssey of Tony Ayala Jr.: The Rage of the Fighter, The Destruction of The Man.? Berger perfectly captured the essence and action of El Torito?s infamous sparring session with Cuevas.

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Berger clearly pointed out that Tony Sr. was reluctant to allow his teenage son in with a brutal punching champion like Cuevas, but Tony Jr. contended that Cuevas wouldn't be able to hurt him, and insisted on the sparring match. Berger describes Tony Sr.?s version of the action after his son talked him into arranging the match.

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?Well, word got out. The gym was packed that day with spectators. And for the first two rounds, it was nip and tuck, man against boy. At the end of the second round, I asked him, ?Torito, is he hurting you?? He says no to me, ?he may be a world champion, but he ain?t sh** to me.? And he went out and kicked his butt the next round.?

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Naturally, a father might embellish on his son?s accomplishments, but Berger was careful and astute to mention that Tony Sr. wasn?t the only person in the gym who saw it that way.

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?San Antonio fight promoter, Tony Padilla, who has had his differences with the Ayalas, was there the afternoon Cuevas and young Tony went at it. He remembers Lupe Sanchez, Pipino?s manager, saying to Cuevas afterward, ?Aren?t you ashamed --- a 14-year-old boy doing that to you?? And Pipino, Padilla said, was muttering ?Increible, increible? ? which is incredible in English.?

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When Ayala turned pro at the age of 17 in 1980, he was touted as one of ?Tomorrow?s Champions.? Ayala?s stablemate and sparring partner, Bobby Czyz, was perhaps the most marketed of the young prospects climbing the ranks, but Ayala was by far the most precocious and talented. Ayala had the ability to slip and counter to the head and body unlike many top contenders despite his tender age. More importantly, Ayala faced adversity early in his career, and responded like an old school champion when he was hurt and on the brink of defeat.

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In Ayala?s ninth pro fight, he faced dangerous, deceptive, and unpredictable Mario Maldonado. Maldonado sported a mediocre record of 11-7-1, but possessed tremendous punching power and a style that could rattle well-rounded, battletested opponents.

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In the first round, Maldonado took the fight to the 18-year-old Ayala. Ayala characteristically responded with beautifully executed counter hooks to the head and body. As the round commenced, Maldonado was surprisingly getting the better of the exchanges. After trading salvos in the center of the ring, Maldonado was able to land a combination that backed Ayala against the ropes. Under fire, Ayala attempted to retaliate, but was caught with a wicked right to the temple that froze him and had him out on his feet. Maldonado followed up, and Ayala was on the deck for the first time in his young, fledgling career.

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Most importantly, Ayala was badly hurt. He took a short count, and slowly stood up on unsteady and twitching legs. Despite being in a fog, Ayala instinctively looked to his corner, and nonchalantly waved to them that he was ok and to sit down. Even near the brink of defeat and career destruction, Ayala had a fearless, defiant look on his face. His nervous system had suffered a severe shock, and it seemed like Ayala might become a first round knockout victim. The cynical reaction of many of observers was that Ayala would prove to be yet another hot prospect who failed miserably when adversity was unexpectedly manifested.

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What happened shortly thereafter is the difference between a prospect and a true contender. El Torito methodically picked his spots, and turned the tide of the bout. He began to tattoo Maldonado with thudding left hooks and vicious right hands. As the first round ended, Ayala was in complete control, and Maldonado was in trouble.

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During the next two rounds, Ayala punished Maldonado. Ayala?s attack was a study in controlled, professional fury. Jabs, short, compact left hooks to the body and head. Lead right hands followed by more hooks. Ayala effortlessly slipped Maldonado?s desperate shots, and attacked with increased fury.

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In the third round, a hook shot Mario?s mouthpiece several rows into the crowd. Shortly thereafter, Maldonado hit the deck and gradually succumbed to the pounding. The referee stopped the bout after it became clear that Mario didn?t want to continue.

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It was both a scary and revealing bout. Tony Ayala Jr. could be hurt and knocked down, but he could rise from the brink of defeat to dominate dangerous opposition. He was no longer a prospect. He definitely wasn?t a one-dimensional front runner who couldn?t handle return fire.

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A contender was born.

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He began his professional career in 1980, and by 1982 he had compiled a record of 22 wins and zero losses, with 19 knockouts. His tough and aggressive fighting style earned him the nickname El Torito, the bull-calf. On one occasion, he spit on his opponent after knocking him to the ground. He also admitted to using heroin before a fight on three occasions. In the summer of 1981, Ayala was featured in a cover story of Sports Illustrated as a rising star in boxing. Muhammad Ali's trainer Angelo Dundee said he thought Ayala could have been one of boxing's greatest fighters. On September 14, 1981, he fought on the undercard of the legendary fight between Sugar Ray Leonard and Thomas Hearns. After defeating Carlos Herrera at the end of 1982, he was scheduled to fight champion Davey Moore.

Related Topics:
1980 - 1982 - Knockout - Heroin - Undercard - Sugar Ray Leonard - Thomas Hearns - Carlos Herrera - Davey Moore

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The fight was not to be. On January 1, 1983, Ayala burglarized the home of his neighbor, a young schoolteacher, and sexually assaulted her. Although he was only 19 years old, Ayala had already been convicted twice of assaults against women. He had been given probation for these offenses. Under a repeat offender's law, he was sentenced to 35 years in prison. The prosecutor at trial argued the young boxer should serve the full term because he was a danger to the community. Ayala was paroled from prison in 1999 and resumed his boxing career, winning six fights and losing two. However, his troubles with the law continued. In 2000, he was shot in the shoulder by a young woman after breaking into her home. He received probation and a brief jail term for this offense. In 2003, Ayala was charged with having sex with a thirteen year old girl, but the charges were dismissed when the girl said she lied about it. Finally, in 2004 Ayala was sentenced to ten years in prison for repeated probation violations.

Related Topics:
January 1 - 1983 - Burglarized - Sexually assaulted

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Portions of this article were plagiarized from the following article:

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http://www.thesweetscience.com/boxing-article/2228/tony-ayala-best-prospect-all-time/

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