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Antonio Ayala Jr. (February 13, 1963 – May 12, 2015) was an American professional boxer who competed in the light middleweight division. He began his professional career in 1980, and by 1982 he had compiled a record of 22 wins and no losses, with 19 knockouts. Ayala was born to a boxing family, and had three brothers who were boxers, Mike Ayala, Paulie Ayala and Sammy Ayala. Tony Ayala is considered one of the most promising boxing wasted talents by boxing writers and historians, as his career cut short after he was imprisoned in 1983, at the age of 19. His first shot at the world title never happened due to his personal troubles and later conviction, while his second shot proved unsuccessful, as he was 40 years old and out-of-shape by that time.

Biography

Early life

Ayala was born in San Antonio, Texas. Tony is the brother of former boxers Mike Ayala and Sammy Ayala and the son of trainer Tony Ayala, Sr.

Amateur career

Many have said Ayala was a boxing prodigy, he first fought at the age of five, at the age of six he avenged his first defeat. At the age of eight, he was rumored to suffer his last loss. At fourteen, he was battering a world champion around the ring. At 15, he knocked out Sugar Ray Leonard's older brother, Roger Leonard. At that point, his achievements was a bit overshadowed by his older brother Mike, who turned pro in 1975, and by the early 1980 was the number one ranked super bantamweight fighter in the world, so Tony was dubbed simply the "other fighting Ayala."

Highlights

National Golden Gloves (165 lbs), Indianapolis, Indiana, March 1979:

• 1/2: Defeated Vaughn Hooks PTS
• Finals: Defeated Lamont Kirkland PTS

National Sports Festival (165 lbs), Colorado Springs, Colorado, July 1979:

• Finals: Defeated Alex Ramon PTS

Ayala won National Junior Olympic titles in 1977 and 1978 as well as a National Golden Gloves championship in 1979, compiling an amateur record of 140–8 with sixty knockouts. He was one of Olympic hopefuls for the 1980 Summer Olympics, but turned pro instead of qualifying at the National Olympic Trials in Atlanta, Georgia (as Ayala withdrew, Charles Carter qualified for the U.S. Olympic Team in the middleweight class, but the U.S. participation was canceled soon thereafter due to the boycott).

Professional career

Ayala turned professional in June 1980 with a one-round knockout of Zip Castillo and proceeded to score three other first round knock outs in a row. He was co-managed by the Duva family, namely by Lou Duva, Dan Duva, and Kathy Duva. By December 1981 Ayala, the 18-year-old, was rated No. 3 by the World Boxing Association.

The young boxer was known as a savage brawler who was often considered a "dirty" fighter; for example, on one occasion, he spit on his opponent after knocking him to the ground. He also admitted to using heroin before a fight on three occasions (his brother Mike Ayala also made allegations of using drugs before his world title fight against Danny Lopez). In the summer of 1981, teenager Ayala was featured in a cover story of Sports Illustrated as a rising star in boxing. Veteran boxing writer Michael Katz claimed he was the best young fighter he had ever seen; Muhammad Ali's trainer Angelo Dundee said he thought Ayala could have been one of boxing's greatest fighters. On September 16, 1981, Ayala fought on the undercard of the legendary fight between Sugar Ray Leonard and Thomas Hearns.

Personal troubles

By summer 1982 Ayala split with and got back with his 18-year-old wife Lisa, they were living in New Jersey, not far from the Duvas. Twice a week, on Mondays and Fridays, he attended meetings of the local Alcoholics Anonymous. On Wednesdays, he drove to New York to attend meetings at the Freedom Institute. On November 19, 1982, Ayala was scheduled to meet Roberto Durán, the former lightweight and welterweight champion, in a 12-round junior middleweight bout co-promoted by Dan Duva and Don King, scheduled to be shown in prime time by NBC. During August–September 1982 he took a monthly course in a clinic, Care Unit Hospital in Orange, California, as part of a plea deal for one of his earlier attacks. Though he was allowed to leave for training purposes. The rehabilitation program kept him from having a $750,000 payday against Roberto Duran. When the Duran fight didn't happen, Ayala settled for about $150,000 to fight Argentinian Carlos Herrera. 'It doesn't bother me,' he said. 'I'm looking at it as a step closer to the world title. Davey Moore is going to have to meet me after this fight.'

Rape conviction

After defeating Carlos Herrera, November 20, 1982, he was scheduled to fight champion Davey Moore. Ayala was to have one last "tune up" bout on January 26, 1983 when he was scheduled to fight journeyman Leslie "Sweet Lemonade" Gardner at the Ice World Arena in Totowa, New Jersey. By December 1982, Ayala was already a second-ranked junior middleweight in the world.

The fight was not to be. On January 1, 1983, Ayala burglarized the home of his neighbor, a young schoolteacher, and brutally sexually assaulted her. Although he was only 19 years old, Ayala had already been convicted twice of assaults against women. One of these attacks took place in the restroom of a drive-in theatre and left the victim with a broken back. He had been given probation for these offenses. Under a repeat offender's law, he was sentenced to 35 years in prison. The prosecutor at trial argued the young boxer should serve the full term because he was a danger to the community.

Ayala Jr served his sentence term at Rahway State Prison and Trenton State Prison and released in 1999.

Release in 1999

Ayala was paroled from prison in 1999 and resumed his boxing career, winning six high-profile fights, all by knockout. Ayala was still popular in his hometown. An eliminator against hard hitting ex-champ Yori Boy Campas brought an end to his unlikely comeback, a hand injury caused Ayala to quit on his stool after 8 rounds. His troubles with the law continued. In 2000, he was shot in the shoulder by a young woman after breaking into her home. At Ayala's trial the prosecution pointed out this was almost an exact replay of Ayala's 1983 offense. He received probation and a brief jail term for this offense. In 2003, Ayala was charged with having sex with a thirteen-year-old girl, but the charges were dismissed when the girl said she lied about it.

Reincarceration in 2004

In 2004, Ayala was sentenced to ten years in prison for violation of probation after he was pulled over in his vehicle for speeding, and was also charged with driving without a license, heroin possession and possession of pornography in his vehicle. Tony Jr. was housed at the private Sanders Estes Unit for lower-level offenders in Venus, Southeast of Fort Worth, where he worked as a janitor. He was also housed at the Robertson unit in Abilene Texas a maximum security prison.

Release in 2014 and father's funeral

Ayala was released on April 25, 2014. He did not grant any interviews or make any appearances or public statements during his second incarceration.

His father, Tony Ayala Sr., who still owned and operated the Zarzamora Street Gym in San Antonio, died on April 10, 2014. Tony was granted special permission to attend his father's funeral on April 16, 2014, greeting family, friends, and fans, his first public appearance in over a decade. He then returned to custody to serve the remaining nine days of his sentence.

El Torito at Zarzamora Street Gym

Tony Ayala Jr. assisted his brothers, Mike Ayala and Sammy Ayala, in the running of the Zarzamora Street Gym in San Antonio, following his father's death.

Death

Ayala died on May 12, 2015, age 52, from an apparent overdose at Zarzamora Street Gym, San Antonio, Texas. It has been reported in the media that drug paraphernalia was found near his body.

Professional boxing record

No.	Result	Record	Opponent	Opp record	Type	Round, time	Date	Location	Notes
33	Loss	31–2	Anthony Bonsante	22–3–3	TKO	11 (12), 1:32	25 Apr 2003	Thunderbird Wild West Casino, Norman, Oklahoma, USA	for vacant IBA Super Middleweight Title
32	Win	31–1	Lee Fortune	25–20–2	KO	5 (10), 2:10	6 Sep 2002	Roy Wilkins Auditorium, Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA
31	Win	30–1	Urbano Gurrola	18–8–0	KO	2 (10), 2:52	3 May 2002	Randy's Ballroom, San Antonio, Texas, USA
30	Win	29–1	Manuel Lopez	22–2–0	TKO	2 (10), 1:10	9 Nov 2001	Sunset Station, San Antonio, Texas, USA
29	Win	28–1	Santos Cardona	39–9–0	UD	10 (10)	31 Jul 2001	Sunset Station, San Antonio, Texas, USA	96–92, 98–90, 95–93
28	Loss	27–1	Luis Ramon Campas	74–4–0	RTD	8 (10)	28 Jul 2000	Freeman Coliseum, San Antonio, Texas, USA	Ayala not out for 9th
27	Win	27–0	Gerald Coleman	16–14–0	KO	2 (10), 1:50	19 May 2000	Will Rogers Coliseum, Fort Worth, Texas, USA
26	Win	26–0	Jorge Luis Vado	16–7–1	KO	4 (10), 0:50	14 Apr 2000	Freeman Coliseum, San Antonio, Texas, USA
25	Win	25–0	Tony Menefee	69–6–1	TKO	8 (10), 1:21	11 Dec 1999	Freeman Coliseum, San Antonio, Texas, USA
24	Win	24–0	Robert Koon	18–6–1	TKO	4 (10), 1:54	24 Sep 1999	Memorial Coliseum, Corpus Christi, Texas, USA
23	Win	23–0	Manuel Esparza	19–5–1	TKO	3 (10), 2:53	20 Aug 1999	Freeman Coliseum, San Antonio, Texas, USA
Served a prison term.
	Canc.	22–0	Davey Moore	11–0–0	NR	0 (12)	29 Jan 1983	Ballys Park Place Hotel Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA	for WBA World Super Welterweight Title
22	Win	22–0	Carlos Herrera	47–6–0	KO	3 (10), 2:34	20 Nov 1982	Convention Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA	WBA World Super Welterweight Title eliminator
Took a mandatory rehabilitation course in a clinic.
	Canc.	21–0	Roberto Durán	74–4	NR	0 (12)	19 Nov 1982	USA	WBA World Super Welterweight Title eliminator
21	Win	21–0	Robbie Epps	30–2–0	TKO	1 (10), 1:32	1 Aug 1982	Freeman Coliseum, San Antonio, Texas, USA
20	Win	20–0	Curtis Ramsey	21–11–5	UD	10 (10)	26 Jun 1982	Will Rogers Coliseum, Fort Worth, Texas, USA
19	Win	19–0	Steve Gregory	26–2–2	TKO	3 (10), 2:02	2 May 1982	Curtis Hixon Hall, Tampa, Florida, USA
18	Win	18–0	Dario De Asa	8–8–0	KO	2 (10)	10 Apr 1982	Astro Arena, Houston, Texas, USA
17	Win	17–0	Nat King	26–18–1	KO	4 (10), 2:59	26 Feb 1982	Freeman Coliseum, San Antonio, Texas, USA
16	Win	16–0	James Waire	17–9–1	TKO	7 (10)	15 Jan 1982	Will Rogers Coliseum, Fort Worth, Texas, USA
15	Win	15–0	J.J. Cottrell	22–10–3	TKO	8 (10)	10 Dec 1981	Ice World, Totowa, New Jersey, USA
14	Win	14–0	Jose Baquedano	30–7–1	KO	1 (10), 1:09	16 Sep 1981	Caesars Palace, Outdoor Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
13	Win	13–0	Nicanor Camacho	8–0–1	UD	10 (10)	23 Aug 1981	Freeman Coliseum, San Antonio, Texas, USA	100–91, 100–93, 100–93
12	Win	12–0	Jerry Cheatham	31–5–2	TKO	6 (10), 1:44	25 Jun 1981	Astrodome, Houston, Texas, USA
11	Win	11–0	Pat Hallacy	27–6–1	KO	4 (10)	23 May 1981	San Remo, Liguria, Italy
10	Win	10–0	Agapito Ramirez	11–12–1	TKO	3 (8)	25 Apr 1981	Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Phoenix, Arizona, USA
9	Win	9–0	Mario Maldonado	11–7–1	KO	3 (8), 2:57	28 Mar 1981	Carrier Dome, Syracuse, New York, USA
8	Win	8–0	Jose Luis Baltazar	30–29–2	TKO	2 (10), 2:59	16 Jan 1981	HemisFair Arena, San Antonio, Texas, USA
7	Win	7–0	Earl Liburd	11–8–1	KO	1 (8)	20 Dec 1980	Kingsbridge Armory, Bronx, New York, USA
6	Win	6–0	Lester Groves	5–4–2	KO	2 (10), 0:59	20 Nov 1980	Ice World, Totowa, New Jersey, USA
5	Win	5–0	Mike Baker	35–14–1	UD	8 (8)	1 Nov 1980	Caesars Tahoe, Stateline, Nevada, USA	80–72, 80–72, 80–72
4	Win	4–0	Archie Andrews	11–12–0	KO	1 (10)	18 Sep 1980	Ice World, Totowa, New Jersey, USA
3	Win	3–0	Manuel Torres	3–11–1	KO	1 (10)	28 Jul 1980	Memorial Civic Center, Corpus Christi, Texas, USA
2	Win	2–0	German Marquez	2–4–0	KO	1 (8), 2:25	15 Jul 1980	Royal Palace Ballroom, San Antonio, Texas, USA
1	Win	1–0	Zip Castillo	23–16–1	KO	1 (8), 2:25	17 Jun 1980	Royal Palace Ballroom, San Antonio, Texas, USA

References

1. "Fight dreams born at gym in San Antonio - boxing - ESPN". ESPN. 2007-07-15. Retrieved 2012-10-17.
2. Katz, Michael (December 21, 1980). "Ayala, Veteran at 17, Wins by a Knockout". The New York Times. Retrieved 2019-06-12.
3. Garcia, Ignacio (April 1981). "Tony Ayala Jr.: Bulling His Way To The Top". NBR. 5 (3): 51. ISSN 0147-3247.
4. Amdur, Neil (August 13, 1979). "U.S. Athletes Look to Moscow: Optimism but Apprehension". The New York Times. Retrieved 2019-06-12.
5. McGowen, Deane (December 11, 1981). "Ayala Stops Cottrell in 8th". The New York Times. Retrieved 2019-06-12.
6. "Sports People; Contract Confusion". The New York Times. August 3, 1982. Retrieved 2019-06-12.
7. Katz, Michael (August 23, 1982). "A Troubled Ayala Will Enter Clinic For Emotional Help". The New York Times. Retrieved 2019-06-12.
8. ^ Katz, Michael (October 27, 1982). "Ayala Is Winning His Toughest Bout". The New York Times. Retrieved 2019-06-12.
9. "An Interview With Tony Ayala Jr - By Thomas Gerbasi". Cyberboxingzone.com. Retrieved 2012-10-17.
10. "Boxer Tony Ayala Jr., 41, was jailed for violating the... - Chicago Tribune". Articles.chicagotribune.com. 2004-07-09. Retrieved 2012-10-17.
11. "ESPN.com: BOXING - Ayala faces what could be his last bout". A.espncdn.com. Retrieved 2012-10-17.
12. "Tony Ayala, Jr. Arrested - ABC News". Abcnews.go.com. Retrieved 2012-10-17.
13. "CNN/SI - Boxing - Ayala seeks rematch with life - Monday August 23, 1999 07:42 PM". Cgi.cnnsi.com. 1999-08-23. Archived from the original on March 5, 2012. Retrieved 2012-10-17.
14. "Tony Ayala Sentenced To Ten Years In Prison!". Eastsideboxing.com. 2004-07-29. Retrieved 2012-10-17.
15. "Ayala ponders future after son again denied parole". 4 November 2012.
16. "'Torito' following in father's footsteps at Zarzamora Street Gym". 9 May 2014.
17. "S.A. boxer Tony Ayala Jr. dies at 52". Archived from the original on 2015-05-18. Retrieved 2015-05-12.

External links

• Best Prospect of All-Time
• Boxing record for Tony Ayala Jr. from BoxRec (registration required) (history)

• 1963 births
• 2015 deaths
• Boxers from Texas
• American boxers of Mexican descent
• Middleweight boxers
• American male boxers
• Prisoners and detainees of Texas
• American people convicted of burglary
• American people convicted of rape
• American sportspeople convicted of crimes
• Drug-related deaths in Texas
• 20th-century American sportsmen