Tony Ayala Jr.- Untameable Rage ; (by Craig Joseph Daly)

A Fighter With A Past Sees the Future; Tony Ayala Jr. Approaches Parole And a Big Welcome

By TIMOTHY W. SMITH


LEESBURG, N.J. — From his early childhood to his late teens, Tony Ayala Jr. lived a life of violence and abuse. Before he entered the first grade, his father, an ex-Marine, had Ayala in boxing gloves. Between the ages of 9 and 11, he said, he was sexually molested by a male family friend. Soon afterward, he began shooting up heroin and drinking.

By the time he was 13, Ayala was knocking out servicemen at Kelly Air Force Base near his hometown, San Antonio. When he was 15, he attacked and assaulted a girl in the bathroom of a drive-in theater in San Antonio.

Four years later, still on probation, still abusing alcohol and drugs but skilled enough as a boxer to become a top contender in the junior-middleweight division, Ayala raped a 30-year-old New Jersey woman. He was convicted and sentenced to 35 years in prison. Ayala has served 15 years of that sentence in three state prisons and is now eligible for parole.

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And when Ayala, now 35, gets out, he has one dream.
''I see myself being raised in the air and raising the world title to the heavens and thanking God,'' Ayala said. ''I look down at my dad and say, 'We did it.' Then, I hand him the title.''

No date has been set for a parole hearing, but one thing appears certain: When Ayala walks out of Bayside Prison here not far from Atlantic City, he will resume his career in boxing, and boxing will be waiting for him. Promoters are already shopping him around.

And beyond the questions about whether Ayala should reap the financial rewards of boxing after being incarcerated for a violent crime is a more significant reality concerning his own future: Fifteen years after his rage and excess devastated his own life and victimized others, Ayala will be returning to a violent and ferocious profession.

''I'm focused on the future,'' Ayala said recently. ''I want to get on with my life. I want this chapter to be closed.''

Ayala spoke in a two-hour interview at Bayside, a medium security prison. He sat at a brown Formica table in the dimly lighted visitors' room. Across from him were beige metal doors with thick bars, then a corridor leading to the cellblock.

''I know when I get out I will meet with criticism from people who will choose to only remember my mistakes,'' he said. ''And that's O.K. They have that right. I know that my life has changed. I've matured and I know I'm not who I once was.''

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I wonder, what about Ayala Jr. vs. Angulo.