A war of two Tyson-esque fighters, with similar KO power. A tossup IMO. I know what most will say. But the insights of those who take this matchup seriously are most welcome.
With the utmost respect, I can't believe any knowledgable fight fan would take this serious??? Ayala had a ton of potential..meaning he looked on his way to stardom. He had nice power and an impressive KO percentage 19 of 22...however only 4 of those victories came against above average opponents and none of those were world beaters, with perhaps his best win coming against Epps. He was never tested (or even fought) at MW or SMW prior to prison, which makes this speculation even more difficult. Now he is going to move up a weight class against a naturally larger, taller and even more powerful opponent. Ayala's chin was never tested against a power puncher of Benn's class at 154, so there is not a lot of comparrison to make with how he would do when Benn rocks him. I don't see Ayala being strong enough to keep Benn off of him or to hurt him seriously. Benn seemed to struggle with boxer types who could frustrate him early on at MW ala Watson and Eubank...I don't think Ayala ever displayed that side of his game even against lesser opponents than Benn. So for my money Benn would take him out and most likely very early. KO 1 and little doubt in my mind that this does not last any more than 3. Ayala would seem better suited for a hypothetical match-up at 154...maybe against a Terry Norris (who I would still favor, but could possibly lose focus ala simon Brown) or someone. But with Ayala's legacy never fully reaching maturity against top flight competition it still makes speculation very difficult with him. Peace
Given his potential that remains a possibility...however we never saw him against top flight competition at 154, so it makes gauging how he would do with a jump up in weight class against a VERY GOOD MW & SMW puncher, even that much more difficult!
