1982-83, Davey Moore vs Tony Ayala Jr, 154

Man this one is,hard to call both can bang and both are very offensive minded.
Tony threw the shorter more compact punches but Moore has the better hand speed.
I like Moore alot but the problem is he is so easy to hit and while Tony will never be mistook for Benitez his defense was significantly better.
Moore has the heart Tony is a question mark in that department and kind of struck me as having a bullies mentality. Would he fold if he can't shake Moore?
All that said I think Ayala catches Moore in the one of many exchanges and finishes Moore off.

 

I've always gone with the far more proven fighter in this one. It doesn't guarantee the win but it feels safer. TKO7

 

Indeed.

 

Hard to pick . But for what it’s worth, Ayala was seen as just about the most feared fighter in boxing. Both Ayala and Moore were predicted to do things that never came into fruition.

 

terrific fight. Wouldn't mind 2 or 3 matches between these 2 guys.

Shaky vote--very shaky--for Ayala.

Think he hurts Moore to the body with that left hook and freezes him. Starts digging in more shots and the ref waves it off. Probably sometime before the 6th round.

 

I think I like Ayala here, but would not be the least bit shocked to see a Moore TKO victory. Truly a toss up.

 

Even in his short career Moore fought far better fighters than Ayala did, and the pre-Duran version of Moore was briming with confidence while the problems that brought down Ayala were already evident. Moore by TKO late

 

This would have been a very winnable fight for Ayala. I think he would have stopped Moore in similar fashion as Duran did.

 

I believe Moore could catch Ayala coming in and get his respect early in the fight. If that happened Tony may lose the edge of his aggression just enough that Moore could have the time and room to fight his fight. If Tony starts trying to think with him or outguess him that would be Moore's fight.
Ayala was feared but Davey didn't scare easy. He had the firepower to answer back.