Tony Ayala Jr. Could he have competed with the fab 4?

Whoever says Haugen was just a "tough man contestant" doesn't know **** about boxing. Haugen had skills, and ring intelligence, and beat some quality opponents.

 

u forgot Mancini by tko which I loved!

technically he beat a past prime version of Camacho, badly faded, and with the help of points deductions so he never really beat Hector as badly faded as he was

as one expert once noted "Greg Haugen in his prime wouldnt have laid a glove on Hector Camacho in his prime"

Jimmy Paul I never thought much of him anyways.

 

All of the fab four would've beaten Tony.And Benitez would handle him easily, at that time.Davey Moore also would've stopped Tony late.

 

Nope...

 

Tony Ayala certainly had great potential. But he never fought or beat anyone - say a mid level top 10 guy - to give an indication of what he could do against the best. He beat Carlos Herera, but Herera was one of those overranked WBA fighters. The Duvas carefully matched Ayala. Of the fab 4, I think he would have the best chance against Duran. If he'd fought Duran in '83 I think he'd have had a chance. Hagler, Leonard and Hearns would have bee too much although maybe he could get lucky with a big punch against Hearns ala Barkely I.

 

No, Paul was a good champion. He was seen as one of the best lightweights when he fought Haugen. That was a very good win for Haugen. Probably the best of his career.

 

Ayala could probably beat 1983 Benitez but not the 81-82 version who beat Duran and Maurice Hope.

 

:rofl

 

Benitez started to slide in 1983, can't argue with you there:-(

Come to think of it Duran would have beaten Ayala easier than i originally thought, Duran was just too inconsistent after 1983, but still had enough in the tank to beat up Ayala..

Ayala could have had a pretty damn good career but the A$$HOLE screwed himself in the worst way, what a goon..

 

garbage. most of the comments here are from people who weren't even around at the time. Fact is, Ayala & Hector Camacho were the two hottest stars in 1982 along with Curry, who also 'never fought anyone' at the time

there is just too much echoing going on here. when Duran-Ayala was first made the betting was 2-1 Ayala. no way was fat pudgy past his prime Duran going to compete with someone younger and built for this weight

I know what the haters are going to say "Tony never fought anyone"

same tired unoriginal drivel as always with no thought behind any of it

Youth and superior size and strength will most always win out over the experienced but tired out fighter (see Norris-Leonard)

No, he cant compete with Hagler who was at his peak then, but the rest of them, Tony would put relentless pressure on them and mow them down

with the possible exception of Hearns who starts fast. If Tony can survive the early rounds without getting beat up too bad. considering Tommy's performance vs Mckraken in 82, Tony has a good chance

 

Rooster none of the fighters being talked about as opponents for Ayala were anywhere near the level of physical decline that the completely shot Ray Leonard displayed against Norris.
I remember the first time i saw footage of Ayala after years of reading about what a phenomenal talent he was. Underwhelmed would describe the feeling best.
The best thing Ayala did for posterity was get jailed for his peak, because he'll forever be over hyped and backed to win fights against true all-time greats who were winning title fights while he rotted in maximum security.

 

I never thought Tony was what he was being cracked up to be, but to be fair, he hadn't really reached his full potential yet.

 

I was never an Ayala fan back in the day, but he was rightfully seen then as a threat to anyone and everyone. Obviously, outside of Herrera, Epps, and Cheathem (I think he mowed over Steve Gregory with ease too, didn't he?), there was no evidence at the time to say one way or another.

I do remember being completely shocked that a late 30's version of Ayala who had been out of the ring for like 15 years did what he did with a still strong Yori Boy Campos until he ran out of gas. I look at that display as more of a barometer of how good he would have been back in 1984. I thought it was simply amazing to see how good a portly, late 30's Ayala was.

 

first of all, Leonard was NOT shot. He just met up with the wrong style opponent. Check the results from back to back outings vs Duran (winning all 12) and Norris (losing all 12)

If Leonard were shot, this wouldve been reflected in the odds. So it's never been proven as much as insisted upon

As it was, not one writer from the press gave Norris a shot to win

Now that that's out of the way, I think Duran & Benitez were lucky Tony had his career shortened. A young 20 year old whose fistic fury rivalled that of Pryor himself (not many gave Aaron a shot at turning back Arguello)

Moreover, Duran, instead of losing to Tony, lost to Kirkland Laing in September of that year. Is it a stretch to think Tony wouldnt be capable of the same? Tony is naturally stronger, bigger boned, younger. Why SHOULDNT I think he'd win?

and why should I think Duran would just walk thru him?

Benitez? He just ran into a lethargic, uninspired Duran. I wouldnt put much importance on it just becuz Benitez decisioned him. In fact, I ranked the fight as an average C performance. Neither really did ****. To be sure, Benitez sure didnt resemble anything brilliant

Look how easy Hearns beat him. Look how easy Hamsho beat him. It's just a matter of staying on him, outworking him, and an uninspired Duran just let him do what he want, gave him all the time he wanted


Hagler, I have no problem with as there was no one around who could whip him. hearns is a question mark considering the way people were going the distance, and Jeff Mckraken, who I'd never seen before or since, almost went the full ten

Tony I suspect, wouldve given him a much more interesting night by closing the distance sooner. and the probability of Tony landing something hard on Tommy's chin is very likely

I think the problem here is that may posters are severely underestimating Tony, trying their hardest to tie his worst performance as a typical performance and that can be done with anyone

anyone know what happened to LAPDX?