I know we got to see Tony tested, but based on what we saw, would he have been able to beat Lopez? Its certainly not as big a stretch as asking if he could have beaten Duran.
Ayala wasn't a bum. He was a horrible human being, but that doesn't make him a bum as a fighter. There was nothing bum like about his left hook, which was legitimately devastating. And offensively, he put together punches extremely well, and mixed it up to the head and body well. Granted, Lopez could crack as well, and put punches together beautifully. I think this would be a war.
It would be totally dependent on whether or not Jose Luis was stoned enough to come into the ring with a wig
Lopez could crack? He was the hardest hitter at 147 back in the late 1990s - plus he had P4P the best chin in boxing at that time. Ayala Jr was a prospect, at best. Ibeabuchi...Ayala...mythical bandwagons that boxing fans just love to jump on.
Lopez was the hardest hitter at 147 in the late 90s? Ummmmm, there was this black guy from Puerto Rico..........
Well it's not like anybody was clamouring for that fight and Lopez didn't exactly stay on top of his game for long enough for anybody to demand it. Wouldn't matter, Oscar and Tito both would have beat him.
I remember when I was first on boxing messageboards, I noticed this hyping of Jose Luis as this "shoulda been" type of fighter and how amazing he was, etc., etc. I was really surprised by it, like "are they talking about the 90s Welterweight???" He was a decent fighter with good power and a good chin, but he was pretty basic and unspectacular...
Definitely FWIW, his best known fight is a draw with Ike Quartey (who, it seems, was ill going into the fight) ... I know he floored the guy and had him in trouble, but I thought Quartey won the vast majority of the rounds and deserved the decision... This is basically the high-water mark for Lopez's career, a controversial majority draw with a possibly compromised Ike Quartey I don't care how much dope he smoked, is there a legit excuse for losing easily to James Page?
"until one of these guys smokes a fat spliff of that good sticky icky icky and beats James Page, they can't be p4p number one!" -- George Foreman
So funny when used in conjunction with Tony Ayala Jr's name. Long stretches were his fucking forte. Like the one he is doing right now.
