Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

I’m always the underdog’

Paulie Ayala was treating it as if it was an evidentiary hearing, waving the documentary proof in his hand.

"I've got the picture, I've got the picture," he said as he approached with a photo taken an hour or so after his disputed split-decision win over Bones Adams last August at Mandalay Bay. As the photo -- reproduced with Ayala's inscription and autograph on this page -- shows, it was Adams who took a beating.

Good-naturedly, Ayala was determined to one-up Adams after the latter said in a Sun story two weeks ago that he thought he was robbed by the judges.

And the photo in Ayala's possession went a long way to support his claim.

"I hurt him, he didn't hurt me," Ayala said. "I don't know how Bones can think he won the fight."

Scored 114-113 and 115-112 for Ayala and 114-113 for Adams, the bout was close enough to merit a rematch that is on for Feb. 23 at the same site.

Both fighters were at Mandalay Bay last Friday for a press conference to kick off the promotion -- and allow Ayala to respond to Adams' taunts.

"So he thinks I should retire?" Ayala mused, again reflecting on a comment Adams had made in the earlier story. "Well, it would make his life easier if I did, but that's wishful thinking on his part.

"If anything, he's the one who has been boxing professionally since he was 14, so it seems like he's the one who should be thinking about retiring."

Adams, 27, is 41-4-3 with 19 knockouts.

Ayala, 31, is 33-1 with 12 KOs.

Surprisingly, it's Adams who's a slight betting favorite in the casino's sports book as he's a minus 130. Ayala is even. It's also a minus 250 that the fight will go its full 12 rounds, and a plus 210 that it will not.

Ayala gets $650,000 for the rematch and Adams receives $600,000.

"I'm always the underdog," Ayala said. "It's good for my people because they always win money on me.

"(But) you'd think the odds would at least be even."

Ayala has made friends and bettors alike squirm with a succession of closely scored fights in Las Vegas, and in each instance he has emerged with a victory. On the one hand, opponents marvel at his ability to take the close win while simultaneously deriding Ayala for his supposed good luck.

"I'm able to suck it up," he said of his attitude in the closing rounds of a precarious fight. "I've been boxing for 22 years and I was sparring with (former champ) Stevie Cruz when I was 16.

"I've learned a lot over the years. I'm not the biggest puncher and I'm not the fastest guy, but I'm smart in the ring and I'm in great condition.

"There's a competitiveness in me that drives me to win these fights."

The lone loss on the Texan's resume came against Joichiro Tatsuyoshi four years ago in Japan when the latter suffered a cut from an accidental head butt in the sixth round and the fight went to the judges, who had Tatsuyoshi up by 3, 3 and 1 points.

Since then, Ayala is 8-0 with two wins over Johnny Tapia mixed into a group that also includes David Vazquez, Johnny Bredahl and Adams.

"Bones was mediocre compared to Tapia and Bredahl," Ayala said. "He doesn't have the greatest chin -- he's the one who's been knocked out three times -- and if he thinks he's such a big puncher I'd like to see him try to knock me out and not leave it to the judges."

There it is: Ayala is daring Adams to bring the fight to him.

"He was hitting me on the arms, on my body, all night," Ayala said of their first fight. "I was catching everything on the arms and very few got to my head.

"It's boxing ... I've been hit before. I didn't get here overnight and I'm not a Cinderella story like he thinks he is."

The latter jab is another shot at Adams for his comments in the earlier Sun story in which he claimed, rightfully it can be argued, that his career took off after moving to Las Vegas two years ago.

"He calls himself a 'genius' for moving to Las Vegas and I guess it was a smart move," Ayala said, "but he was just a journeyman from the Midwest before that who never fought any great opponents."

Obviously, Ayala feels he will prevail when the two super bantamweights meet again.

"If he can beat me soundly, I'd consider hanging up the gloves," Ayala said. "But I don't see that happening.

"I'm looking for bigger things after this fight, and I don't think he's got what it takes to change my plans."

archive