The best fighter in history that Tony Ayala Jr could have beaten?

Yeah he was in his mid to late 30's and had been in prison for 16yrs prior to his comeback but he was pasting Campas before his broken hand. I don't defend one thing he did outside the ring but he was a special talent whose real career was ended when he was just 19yrs old.....we never saw his talent mature. This doesn't mean I was not rooting against his success knowing what he was but he was legitimate and most at the time knew it.

 

Yory Boy started breaking him down before he quit. Hence, no rematch.

 

lol !!!

 

It is a good story to have fun with if you were in the SA/Austin fight scene back then. SA has always been a good Hispanic fight town where the cervezas flow on Friday & Saturday nites.

 

Nobody "knew it" Rich. Many believed it or hoped it.

You said earlier "he had everything that made Duran great".

I enjoy your posts and you carry yourself well but this was more than a little left of center (especially for you) to say it nicely.

 

What I mean by "knew it" was he was seen as the heir apparent his only real weakness in the ring was being overly aggressive. In the fight community there is always discussion on who the real deal is and who is hype...gym mates, opponents, sparring stories, accomplishments in the sport...scouting.....the Ayalas as a family were the real deal in the ring and so was Tony......You can go to any upper level fight tournament and find top trainers or reps scouting fighters.....

 

He could probably beat Cuevas in his dreams.

 

Ayala certainly had what it takes to be in the mix, for sure mate.

 

I agree with all the bolded part.

He didn't beat anyone who was legitmately top 10 material - but the WAY he beat the decent Epps and Herrera was impressive.

He was clearly improving.

A fight with Davey Moore would have been an absolute war - two guys with good power, good chins and below average defense.

Since I think Ayala could have beaten Moore in early '83 when they were supposed to fight - I'll pick Davey Moore as my answer.

But I think Ayala was clearly improving so if he hadn't fu$ked up, I'd say he could have done a lot and beaten better fighters than Moore eventually.

 

All evidence points to the fab 5 (if you include Benitez) being able to beat Ayala.

His only chance is facing a totally uninterested Duran. But even a lethargic Duran's kryptonite was hand and foot speed. Ayala didn't really have much footspeed or lateral movement. Duran could counter him without having to find him.

 

from what i have seen of him he was not that good, i think it is all a myth that he was this superstar or could have been, one thing though, he was an a-hole

 

That doesn't mean he could do the same to pre-prison Ayala.

I felt like Ayala performed very well in the Campas fight considering his age and inactivity.

True, Campas was past prime as well. But, Ayala couldn't hope to be anywhere near what he was pre-prison with the massive amount of time away from boxing.

 

Wait...so we can't say anything about one of the most successful promotional/managerial entities of the '80s and '90s on a classic boxing forum?

LOLLLLLLLLLLLLL

Get out of here with such drivel.

 

He was scheduled to fight Moore

I do not think it is a given that Moore would have beaten him so it is not certain a diminished Ayala would have fought those guys - at least the first one that he fought.

I do think they'd all beat him, though, with the possible exception of the 1983 version of Jackson - that Jackson was very green.

 

He already beat much better fighters than that tomato can.

I know you are probably (half) joking.

Yes, Ayala was a sociopathic a$$hole - but that doesn't mean he didn't have the potential to be a fine fighter.