Tony Ayala Jr.

Template:Short description Template:Infobox boxer Antonio Ayala Jr. (February 13, 1963 – May 12, 2015) was an American professional boxer who competed in the light middleweight division. He began his professional career in 1980, and by 1982 he had compiled a record of 22 wins and no losses, with 19 knockouts. Ayala was born to a boxing family, and had three brothers who were boxers, Mike Ayala, Paulie Ayala and Sammy Ayala. Tony Ayala is considered one of the most promising boxing wasted talents by boxing writers and historians, as his career cut short after he was imprisoned in 1983, at the age of 19. His first shot at the world title never happened due to his personal troubles and later conviction, while his second shot proved unsuccessful, as he was 40 years old and out-of-shape by that time.

Biography

Early life

Ayala was born in San Antonio, Texas. Tony is the brother of former boxers Mike Ayala and Sammy Ayala and the son of trainer Tony Ayala, Sr.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Amateur career

Many have said Ayala was a boxing prodigy, he first fought at the age of five, at the age of six he avenged his first defeat. At the age of eight, he was rumored to suffer his last loss. At fourteen, he was battering a world champion around the ring. At 15, he knocked out Sugar Ray Leonard's older brother, Roger Leonard.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> At that point, his achievements was a bit overshadowed by his older brother Mike, who turned pro in 1975, and by the early 1980 was the number one ranked super bantamweight fighter in the world, so Tony was dubbed simply the "other fighting Ayala."<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Highlights

Template:Gold1 National Golden Gloves (165 lbs), Indianapolis, Indiana, March 1979:

• 1/2: Defeated Vaughn Hooks PTS
• Finals: Defeated Lamont Kirkland PTS

Template:Gold1 National Sports Festival (165 lbs), Colorado Springs, Colorado, July 1979:

• Finals: Defeated Alex Ramon PTS

Ayala won National Junior Olympic titles in 1977 and 1978 as well as a National Golden Gloves championship in 1979, compiling an amateur record of 140–8 with sixty knockouts. He was one of Olympic hopefuls for the 1980 Summer Olympics,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> but turned pro instead of qualifying at the National Olympic Trials in Atlanta, Georgia (as Ayala withdrew, Charles Carter qualified for the U.S. Olympic Team in the middleweight class, but the U.S. participation was canceled soon thereafter due to the boycott).

Professional career

Ayala turned professional in June 1980 with a one-round knockout of Zip Castillo and proceeded to score three other first round knock outs in a row. He was co-managed by the Duva family, namely by Lou Duva, Dan Duva, and Kathy Duva. By December 1981 Ayala, the 18-year-old, was rated No. 3 by the World Boxing Association.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

The young boxer was known as a savage brawler who was often considered a "dirty" fighter; for example, 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 (his brother Mike Ayala also made allegations of using drugs before his world title fight against Danny Lopez). In the summer of 1981, teenager Ayala was featured in a cover story of Sports Illustrated as a rising star in boxing. Veteran boxing writer Michael Katz claimed he was the best young fighter he had ever seen; Muhammad Ali's trainer Angelo Dundee said he thought Ayala could have been one of boxing's greatest fighters. On September 16, 1981, Ayala fought on the undercard of the legendary fight between Sugar Ray Leonard and Thomas Hearns.

Personal troubles

By summer 1982 Ayala split with and got back with his 18-year-old wife Lisa, they were living in New Jersey, not far from the Duvas. Twice a week, on Mondays and Fridays, he attended meetings of the local Alcoholics Anonymous. On Wednesdays, he drove to New York to attend meetings at the Freedom Institute. On November 19, 1982, Ayala was scheduled to meet Roberto Durán, the former lightweight and welterweight champion, in a 12-round junior middleweight bout co-promoted by Dan Duva and Don King, scheduled to be shown in prime time by NBC.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> During August–September 1982 he took a monthly course in a clinic, Care Unit Hospital in Orange, California, as part of a plea deal for one of his earlier attacks. Though he was allowed to leave for training purposes. The rehabilitation program kept him from having a $750,000 payday against Roberto Duran. When the Duran fight didn't happen, Ayala settled for about $150,000 to fight Argentinian Carlos Herrera. 'It doesn't bother me,' he said. 'I'm looking at it as a step closer to the world title. Davey Moore is going to have to meet me after this fight.'<ref name="NYT-1982-10-27">Template:Cite news</ref>

Rape conviction

After defeating Carlos Herrera, November 20, 1982, he was scheduled to fight champion Davey Moore. Ayala was to have one last "tune up" bout on January 26, 1983 when he was scheduled to fight journeyman Leslie "Sweet Lemonade" Gardner at the Ice World Arena in Totowa, New Jersey.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> By December 1982, Ayala was already a second-ranked junior middleweight in the world.<ref name="NYT-1982-10-27" />

The fight was not to be. On January 1, 1983, Ayala burglarized the home of his neighbor, a young schoolteacher, and brutally sexually assaulted her.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Although he was only 19 years old, Ayala had already been convicted twice of assaults against women. One of these attacks took place in the restroom of a drive-in theatre and left the victim with a broken back. He had been given probation for these offenses.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Ayala Jr served his sentence term at Rahway State Prison and Trenton State Prison and released in 1999.

Release in 1999

Ayala was paroled from prison in 1999 and resumed his boxing career,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> winning six high-profile fights, all by knockout. Ayala was still popular in his hometown. An eliminator against hard hitting ex-champ Yori Boy Campas brought an end to his unlikely comeback, a hand injury caused Ayala to quit on his stool after 8 rounds. His troubles with the law continued. In 2000, he was shot in the shoulder by a young woman after breaking into her home. At Ayala's trial the prosecution pointed out this was almost an exact replay of Ayala's 1983 offense. 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.

Reincarceration in 2004

In 2004, Ayala was sentenced to ten years in prison for violation of probation after he was pulled over in his vehicle for speeding, and was also charged with driving without a license, heroin possession and possession of pornography in his vehicle. Tony Jr. was housed at the private Sanders Estes Unit for lower-level offenders in Venus, Southeast of Fort Worth, where he worked as a janitor. He was also housed at the Robertson unit in Abilene Texas a maximum security prison.

Release in 2014 and father's funeral

Ayala was released on April 25, 2014. He did not grant any interviews or make any appearances or public statements during his second incarceration.

His father, Tony Ayala Sr., who still owned and operated the Zarzamora Street Gym in San Antonio, died on April 10, 2014. Tony was granted special permission to attend his father's funeral on April 16, 2014, greeting family, friends, and fans, his first public appearance in over a decade. He then returned to custody to serve the remaining nine days of his sentence. <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

El Torito at Zarzamora Street Gym

Tony Ayala Jr. assisted his brothers, Mike Ayala and Sammy Ayala, in the running of the Zarzamora Street Gym in San Antonio, following his father's death.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Death

Ayala died on May 12, 2015, age 52, from an apparent overdose at Zarzamora Street Gym, San Antonio, Texas. It has been reported in the media that drug paraphernalia was found near his body.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Professional boxing record

Template:Abbr	Result	Record	Opponent	Opp record	Type	Round, time	Date	Location	Notes
33	Template:No2Loss	31–2	Template:Flagicon Anthony Bonsante	22–3–3	TKO	11 (12), Template:Small	25 Apr 2003	Template:Flagicon Thunderbird Wild West Casino, Norman, Oklahoma, USA	Template:Small
32	Template:Yes2Win	31–1	Template:Flagicon Lee Fortune	25–20–2	KO	5 (10), Template:Small	6 Sep 2002	Template:Flagicon Roy Wilkins Auditorium, Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA
31	Template:Yes2Win	30–1	Template:Flagicon Urbano Gurrola	18–8–0	KO	2 (10), Template:Small	3 May 2002	Template:Flagicon Randy's Ballroom, San Antonio, Texas, USA
30	Template:Yes2Win	29–1	Template:Flagicon Manuel Lopez	22–2–0	TKO	2 (10), Template:Small	9 Nov 2001	Template:Flagicon Sunset Station, San Antonio, Texas, USA
29	Template:Yes2Win	28–1	Template:Flagicon Santos Cardona	39–9–0	UD	10 (10)	31 Jul 2001	Template:Flagicon Sunset Station, San Antonio, Texas, USA	Template:Small
28	Template:No2Loss	27–1	Template:Flagicon Luis Ramon Campas	74–4–0	RTD	8 (10)	28 Jul 2000	Template:Flagicon Freeman Coliseum, San Antonio, Texas, USA	Template:Small
27	Template:Yes2Win	27–0	Template:Flagicon Gerald Coleman	16–14–0	KO	2 (10), Template:Small	19 May 2000	Template:Flagicon Will Rogers Coliseum, Fort Worth, Texas, USA
26	Template:Yes2Win	26–0	Template:Flagicon Jorge Luis Vado	16–7–1	KO	4 (10), Template:Small	14 Apr 2000	Template:Flagicon Freeman Coliseum, San Antonio, Texas, USA
25	Template:Yes2Win	25–0	Template:Flagicon Tony Menefee	69–6–1	TKO	8 (10), Template:Small	11 Dec 1999	Template:Flagicon Freeman Coliseum, San Antonio, Texas, USA
24	Template:Yes2Win	24–0	Template:Flagicon Robert Koon	18–6–1	TKO	4 (10), Template:Small	24 Sep 1999	Template:Flagicon Memorial Coliseum, Corpus Christi, Texas, USA
23	Template:Yes2Win	23–0	Template:Flagicon Manuel Esparza	19–5–1	TKO	3 (10), Template:Small	20 Aug 1999	Template:Flagicon Freeman Coliseum, San Antonio, Texas, USA
Template:Small
22	Template:Yes2Win	22–0	Template:Flagicon Carlos Herrera	47–6–0	KO	3 (10), Template:Small	20 Nov 1982	Template:Flagicon Convention Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA	Template:Small
Template:Small
21	Template:Yes2Win	21–0	Template:Flagicon Robbie Epps	30–2–0	TKO	1 (10), Template:Small	1 Aug 1982	Template:Flagicon Freeman Coliseum, San Antonio, Texas, USA
20	Template:Yes2Win	20–0	Template:Flagicon Curtis Ramsey	21–11–5	UD	10 (10)	26 Jun 1982	Template:Flagicon Will Rogers Coliseum, Fort Worth, Texas, USA
19	Template:Yes2Win	19–0	Template:Flagicon Steve Gregory	26–2–2	TKO	3 (10), Template:Small	2 May 1982	Template:Flagicon Curtis Hixon Hall, Tampa, Florida, USA
18	Template:Yes2Win	18–0	Template:Flagicon Dario De Asa	8–8–0	KO	2 (10)	10 Apr 1982	Template:Flagicon Astro Arena, Houston, Texas, USA
17	Template:Yes2Win	17–0	Template:Flagicon Nat King	26–18–1	KO	4 (10), Template:Small	26 Feb 1982	Template:Flagicon Freeman Coliseum, San Antonio, Texas, USA
16	Template:Yes2Win	16–0	Template:Flagicon James Waire	17–9–1	TKO	7 (10)	15 Jan 1982	Template:Flagicon Will Rogers Coliseum, Fort Worth, Texas, USA
15	Template:Yes2Win	15–0	Template:Flagicon J.J. Cottrell	22–10–3	TKO	8 (10)	10 Dec 1981	Template:Flagicon Ice World, Totowa, New Jersey, USA
14	Template:Yes2Win	14–0	Template:Flagicon Jose Baquedano	30–7–1	KO	1 (10), Template:Small	16 Sep 1981	Template:Flagicon Caesars Palace, Outdoor Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
13	Template:Yes2Win	13–0	Template:Flagicon Nicanor Camacho	8–0–1	UD	10 (10)	23 Aug 1981	Template:Flagicon Freeman Coliseum, San Antonio, Texas, USA	Template:Small
12	Template:Yes2Win	12–0	Template:Flagicon Jerry Cheatham	31–5–2	TKO	6 (10), Template:Small	25 Jun 1981	Template:Flagicon Astrodome, Houston, Texas, USA
11	Template:Yes2Win	11–0	Template:Flagicon Pat Hallacy	27–6–1	KO	4 (10)	23 May 1981	Template:Flagicon San Remo, Liguria, Italy
10	Template:Yes2Win	10–0	Template:Flagicon Agapito Ramirez	11–12–1	TKO	3 (8)	25 Apr 1981	Template:Flagicon Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Phoenix, Arizona, USA
9	Template:Yes2Win	9–0	Template:Flagicon Mario Maldonado	11–7–1	KO	3 (8), Template:Small	28 Mar 1981	Template:Flagicon Carrier Dome, Syracuse, New York, USA
8	Template:Yes2Win	8–0	Template:Flagicon Jose Luis Baltazar	30–29–2	TKO	2 (10), Template:Small	16 Jan 1981	Template:Flagicon HemisFair Arena, San Antonio, Texas, USA
7	Template:Yes2Win	7–0	Template:Flagicon Earl Liburd	11–8–1	KO	1 (8)	20 Dec 1980	Template:Flagicon Kingsbridge Armory, Bronx, New York, USA
6	Template:Yes2Win	6–0	Template:Flagicon Lester Groves	5–4–2	KO	2 (10), Template:Small	20 Nov 1980	Template:Flagicon Ice World, Totowa, New Jersey, USA
5	Template:Yes2Win	5–0	Template:Flagicon Mike Baker	35–14–1	UD	8 (8)	1 Nov 1980	Template:Flagicon Caesars Tahoe, Stateline, Nevada, USA	Template:Small
4	Template:Yes2Win	4–0	Template:Flagicon Archie Andrews	11–12–0	KO	1 (10)	18 Sep 1980	Template:Flagicon Ice World, Totowa, New Jersey, USA
3	Template:Yes2Win	3–0	Template:Flagicon Manuel Torres	3–11–1	KO	1 (10)	28 Jul 1980	Template:Flagicon Memorial Civic Center, Corpus Christi, Texas, USA
2	Template:Yes2Win	2–0	Template:Flagicon German Marquez	2–4–0	KO	1 (8), Template:Small	15 Jul 1980	Template:Flagicon Royal Palace Ballroom, San Antonio, Texas, USA
1	Template:Yes2Win	1–0	Template:Flagicon Zip Castillo	23–16–1	KO	1 (8), Template:Small	17 Jun 1980	Template:Flagicon Royal Palace Ballroom, San Antonio, Texas, USA

External links

• Best Prospect of All-Time
• Template:Boxrec (history)