Paulie Ayala rated on the fringes of pound for poud contention for a couple of years between the first Tapia win and his loss to Morales. He had some good wins but also some bad decisions went his way, most notably the ghastly verdict against Hugo Dianzo. Still, he was an immaculately condition, tough, clever southpaw, who was also very humble and soft spoken outside the ring.
He always had Tapia's number. They were close fights, but I kind of always thought Ayala edged him out both times they fought.
I thought Tapia won both. Ayala had about 3 or 4 blatant gift decisions in a row courtesy of Arum. His win over Dianzo was about as bad as it gets.
Agreed, the Dianzo decision was absolutely putrid. A solid 9.5 of 10 on a scale of bad decisions, with Casamayor vs Santa Cruz or Rios vs Abril being a 10. Still, there's no question that Ayala was gutsy and very intelligent.
I wasn't a fan. a busy steady fighter without many notable attributes, but ok fundamentals.Not too skilled or versatile, didn't hit hard, not a physical standout.Tended to rely on just outworking opposition. He had a good career for the talent he had imo, though as has been implied he was a protected fighter.
I liked Paulie...thought he was a good, hard working, honest fighter who definitely had Johnny Tapia's number..he was a good guy outside the ring too...probably still is.
