Ayala, Tapia view fight as turning point

Dean Juipe

Thursday, Dec. 9, 1999 | 9:57 a.m.

Rarely has the result of a single fight meant so much to the winner while proving so devastating to the loser.

Propelled by his victory over Johnny Tapia in Las Vegas' fight of the year for 1999, Paulie Ayala leapt several notches in terms of public recognition and just this week was named Ring Magazine's Fighter of the Year.

Distraught by his loss, Tapia initially announced his retirement from boxing but has since reconsidered and will launch yet another comeback when he fights Jorge Elicier Julio Jan. 8 in Albuquerque.

Ayala reached the crest of the sport by taking a unanimous decision over Tapia when they fought June 26 at Mandalay Bay. In a fight that started with a push from Tapia even before the opening bell and went on to provide nonstop action for 12 grueling rounds, Ayala got the nod from the judges by 3, 3 and 1 points.

"I've had lots of dreams where I won a world championship," Ayala said upon receiving his Ring Magazine award in Las Vegas, "but I never thought I'd win something like Fighter of the Year. Just to be considered in the mix is a great honor in itself.

"I was sort of surprised just to be nominated."

As ecstatic as Ayala has been feeling of late, Tapia's outlook stands in contrast. After several months of being consumed by self-doubt, he's trying to clear his head for a fight with a dangerous opponent who is perfectly capable of handing the former world champion a second consecutive loss.

"Just sitting around, gaining weight and being depressed," Tapia said of how he has spent much of the intervening months. "I thought I was going to retire for good."

Those type of negative thoughts hadn't entered his mind prior to losing to Ayala.

"Everything hit me at once and it hit me hard," Tapia said. "My wife told me 'You have a lot of frustrations but you have to hold on.' I had a lot of anger in me. Nobody wants to lose."

Tapia is 46-1-2 with 25 knockouts in a career that dates from 1988 but includes a three-year gap (1991 through '93) when he was incarcerated on drug-possession charges. At 32 years old he's increasingly vulnerable and Julio, 42-1 with 31 KOs, is capable of adding to Tapia's slide.

"He's a smart fighter who hits hard with both hands," Tapia acknowledged. "He's very talented, very smart and very experienced. He's tricky and a little dirty. I've got to fight smart and not do anything dumb in there."

It's not that he did anything dumb against Ayala, but more a case of having the underdog outwork him with the World Boxing Association's bantamweight title on the line.

"He'd never faced an opponent like me," Ayala remarked. "I knew we were in for a war and I wasn't going to be intimidated."

Ayala, 29, is 29-1 with 12 knockouts and has fought once since his memorable fight with Tapia, defeating Saohin Sorthanikul by decision Oct. 23 in Ayala's hometown, Ft. Worth, Texas.

Ayala will make a second defense, against an opponent yet to be determined, March 25 at Mandalay Bay. It'll be his sixth fight in Las Vegas in a career that opened in 1992 and includes but a single setback, a disputed loss in Japan to Joichiro Tatsuyoshi.

"My life has surpassed my dreams," Ayala said. "I've always been a boxing fan and to accomplish what I have is very rewarding. I'd like to think I'm just at the beginning of something big."

Glib and forthright, he admits had he been the loser in his fight with Tapia it may have seemed as catastrophic to him as the loss did to Tapia.

"I'd have to accept the consequences," he said. "If it was a close loss I would have been going back overseas to fight different guys, but if it was a one-sided loss I would have quit. I don't want to be second best."

Ayala's promoter, Bob Arum, said before the Tapia fight that Ayala would remain marketable in Asia -- where there are countless fighters in the lighter weight divisions -- no matter how he fared with Tapia. But when Ayala won, Arum also reaped the benefits in that his Top Rank company does a number of annual shows in Texas.

"Paulie's much bigger in terms of prestige now than he was prior to the Tapia fight," Arum said. "Now there's enough interest in him that there's no need to go to Thailand and places like that.

"Paulie's close to becoming a star. He's a decent kid whose stature and marketability are on the rise."

Ayala peers toward 2000 with realistic expectations, knowing the significance of his win over Tapia will always make 1999 special to him.

"It's going to be hard to surpass this year," he said. "What I've got to try and do is something that can equal it. I have to maintain my high goals if I'm going to maintain the high level that I'm at now."

A rematch with Tapia has obviously crossed his mind and could prove lucrative.

"I've thought about it," Ayala said. "On the one hand, a lot of boxing sequels don't measure up to their first fights, but maybe ours would be different. I'd fight him again if it seems like the thing to do."