Ayala Proves SuperBantam King

report and photos by chris cozzone for Fightnews

No doubt about it now: Paulie Ayala is the baddest and best superbantamweight champion on the planet. Nevermind the titles, too; last night, before a crowd of 4,500 at the Mandalay Bay, Ayala proved to us all that he is now the People’s Champion at 122 when he bombarded Bones Adams for a landslide 12-round unanimous.

I’d expected a close fight; one that should’ve been Bones but given to Ayala—like last time (like Ayala vs. Dianzo, or Ayala vs. Tapia II)—but last night, there was absolutely no room for questions or gifts. It was all Ayala, controlling the fight, outlanding, pressuring and batting Bones about, keeping him on the run.

Unlike last time, Adams could not adjust his game plan to deal with the relentless Ayala. While the 6^th and 8^th rounds saw Bones at his best, they were still close enough to go either way. At the end of 12, I saw it 10 rounds to 2, for Ayala. Judges scored it likewise: 118-110 times two, and 117-111.

Word at the post-fight press conference has Ayala considering a future fight at 126 against the winner of Erik Morales vs. Marco Antonio Barrera. No doubt, Paulie’s now looking at giant-sized paydays, but at Super Bantamweight, there are still great fights to consider, namely, against IBF title holder Manny Paquiao and the IBA’s man, John Michael Johnson.

Marquez Too Strong for Too Sharp

Displaying little of the razor sharp skills that christened Mark Johnson “Too Sharp,” the former two-time champ was dropped three times before the fight was stopped in Round 8 by new man-to-beat in the 118-pound division, Rafael Marquez.

Both fighters were careful early on—too careful for the crowd that continued to boo from Round Two to Round Four. Johnson picked up the early rounds, keeping on the outside while Marquez pressed forward trying to cut the ring off and get at Johnson. His power started to show in the 5^th Round on, and in the 7^th, Johnson was on the canvas. Johnson returned to the canvas in the 8^th—twice—until the ref stopped the fight at 2:41.

Now the USBA champ at Bantamweight, and the #1 to Tim Austin, Marquez juices up a division that’s needed a shot in the arm since Ayala moved up.

Undercard Action

Seeing Bones Adams and Mark Johnson dominated gave a jolt, but it wasn’t the stunner seen in Liborio Romero’s fight against the unknown 5-4 fighter Abel Ochoa.

At the end of the 1^st, I’d scrawled down in my notes, “Liborio Romero is the future of the flyweight division . . . .” That remark was scratched out in the 2^nd when Ochoa put Romero down for the first time in his pro career.

The Mexican Olympian and Mexican Opponent battled it out for the duration—a six-rounder shortened to 4 due to time constraints—making it the fight of the night. While I had Romero doing just enough to win the fight, the judges had it split: 38-37 for Romero and 38-37 times two for Ochoa.

While Liborio loses his first pro fight, what may be more important to have seen was his heart last night. Even after that 2^nd round knockdown, Liborio did not back off or let up.

While the “Baddest White Boy on the Planet” could not pull it off, we have a couple more bad-ass white boys to keep an eye on:

In a four-round junior welterweight bout, Dmitriy “the Star of David” Salita moved to 5-0 with a four round win over Abdul Blackburn. Salita, a Jewish kid from Brooklyn, needed a few more seconds to score a stoppage, dropping his opponent twice in the 4^th. He had to settle for a near-shutout decision although he did not get the honors of shaking cutman Chuck Bodak’s hand after the fight—Bodak, who worked Blackburn’s corner, shook his head and flat out refused to shake Salita’s hand when he came over to pay his respects to his opponent’s corner.

Closer to the breakthrough mark at 12-0 is middleweight Kelly “Ghost” Pavlik, who was up against the usually-durable Robert Dasoyan.

Dasoyan could not deal with Pavlik’s long reach and fast hands. He was in trouble at the end of the 1^st and then in the 2^nd, was floored at 2:15 by a right hand. Dasoyan stayed down for a while before his head cleared and he was allowed up.

Also on the card was Mexican Olympian middleweight Jose Luis Zertuzhe, who had little trouble with Antonio Maldonado. Every other punch Zertuzhe threw was an odd-but-powerful uppercut; it did the trick, flooring Maldonado in the final minute. The fight was stopped with but one second left when Zertuzhe swarmed his man.

  Marquez vs. Too Sharp Johnson

Pavlik KO 2 Dasoyan

Salita W 4 Blackburn

Zertuche KO 1 Maldonado

Zertuche KO 1 Maldonado

Ochoa W 4 Romero

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