You really can't count that because ayala was 37 years old at the time and had just come out of prison. I don't like him any more than you do but you can't let personalities get in the was of analyisis. Him being an alcholic and a sex offender had absolutely nothing to do with his abilities in the ring. Before he commited that heinous sex crime (he was, and probably still is a mentally sick man) he was perhaps on his way to becoming an all-time great. It's sad to say, but that very sickness that he had was possibly responsible for the savage but controlled rage that he had in the ring. I think that he really liked to hurt people.
"Probably" "Perhaps" "Possibly" Boxing is not just about phycial ability. It is also about mental toughness. Hagler, Duran, Hearns, Leonard faced adversity. Win or lose, they PROVED they had the mental toughness to fight thru it. IMO Ayala's behavior outside the ring indicates a mental weakness. In his prime, he was never matched against a level of opposition to prove that he could have competed against the four I mentioned above. Davey Moore would have only been a first step. Moore was not Hagler or Leonard.
No, what I'm saying is that I think too many people base their opinions on Tony solely on what he did outside the ring. Just because Tony was a criminal, they think that makes him a bad fighter as well. As a result, they don't look at what great talent Tony had with an open mind. I've since learned that not all people are driven just by skepticism, but rather their personal prejudice.
Ive seen all of Ayala's fights. He was extremely heavy handed.... but not like Jackson. There was something almost supernatural about Jackson's power. Julian didnt score very many stoppages. Thats because he knocked guys COLD, and most the time it didnt take more than one or two shots to do it. Ayala I suspect had a good chin, but Maldonado fight proved he could be hurt. Ayala would charge right at Jackson like a Bull, he'd walk into Julian's left hook... and he'd be out before he hit the canvas.
A criminal? Don't sugar coat it. Ayala wasn't a pickpocket or a fence. He is a pervert and a low-life. That is not personal prejudice. That is FACT. As I have already said, I see his behavior as a sign of mental weakness. Ayala's talent was not proven at the top level. I admit he had potential, but it wasn't taken to next phase. People saw him destroy the usual suspects and thought that he would be able to do the same against all-time greats? In his prime, he never fought a single truly world class fighter. His first world class foe was gonna be Davey Moore. Don't confuse wasted potential (Ayala) with proven achievement (Jackson).
Don't nitpick. Criminal is a very broad term used to describe what you'd call "perverts" and "low lives" as well. You could say the same of prime Tyson, too, in regards to mental weakness. Yeah, they all say that..."Tony never fought anybody"....:nut.... Well, neither had Duran before he fought Buchanan. Neither had Tyson before he ran over Berbick. And neither had Hearns before he iced Cuevas.... Oh yeah, didn't Tony Ayala at only 14 years old school Pipino so badly in sparring even before Hearns? At the height of Cuevas' reign of terror, too. This is only one example of the juggernaut Tony Ayala was. It's amazing how people ignore the obvious.
What I'd call perverts and low lifes? Is there any intelligent rational person who does think that about a ******? Which is probably why I don't rate Tyson very highly. They all say that? Did I say he hadn't fought anybody or did I say he hadn't fought anybody world class? I could have sworn that Duran fought Ernesto Marcel and Hiroshi Kobayshi before he got a shot a Buchanan. Guess you've never heard of those two... And I thought that Hearns had defeated Eddie Gazo, Harold Weston, Angel Espadas, Bruce Curry, Saensak Muangsurin and Mike Colbert before he fought Pipino. Maybe I read it wrong? As far as Tyson goes, I seem to recall two former world title challengers (Quick Tillis, Marvis Frazier) and an ex cruiser champ (Alonzo Ratliff) on his ledger before facing Berbick. Now to be honest with you, I did forget about Steve Gregory's shot at Ayub Kalule. So I guess you could say that Ayala did face one world class foe in his prime. And about Torito's sparring session with Cuevas, interesting how it gets better with every telling. Ten years from now someone with be telling me that Pipino was beaten to death and that the paramedics revived him by shocking his heart...
The best fighter Ayala fought was probably the South american guy that gave Mo Hope a decent fight. Gregory was hapless against Kalule, floored in the first and utterly dominated throughout.He would have been stopped in two or three rounds had the Ugandan been any kind of puncher.
atsch:-( Not even close. JJ was an ATG banger. Ayala hit hard, but not near on the level of Jackson. Jackson would ko Ayala in three brutal rounds.