Tony Ayala, Jr.
| Antonio Ayala Jr. | |
|---|---|
| Statistics | |
| Nickname(s) | El Torito |
| Rated at | Middleweight |
| Height | 5'7.5 |
| Reach | 68 in (173 cm) |
| Nationality | American |
| Born |
February 13, 1963 San Antonio, Texas, U.S. |
| Died | May 12, 2015 (aged 52) San Antonio, Texas, U.S. |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 33 |
| Wins | 31 |
| Wins by KO | 27 |
| Losses | 2 |
| Draws | 0 |
Antonio Ayala Jr. (February 13, 1963 – May 12, 2015) was an American boxer who fought 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 had three brothers who were boxers, Mike Ayala , Sammy Ayala and Paulie Ayala
Ayala was born in San Antonio, Texas. Tony is the brother of former boxers Mike Ayala, Sammy Ayala and the son of trainer Tony Ayala, Sr.
Many have said Ayala was a boxing prodigy, he first fought at the age of five and won over one hundred forty amateur fights. Ayala turned professional in June 1980 with a one-round knockout of Zip Castillo and proceeded to score three other first round knock outs. Ayala 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. After winning the NABF title Rocky Fratto was offered $40,000 by Top Rank to fight Ayala. Fratto declined the fight in favor of a WBA world title fight in November, 1981. On September 16, 1981, he fought on the undercard of the legendary fight between Sugar Ray Leonard and Thomas Hearns.
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