Angel Ayala (18-0, 8 knockouts) rises into the air to celebrate his sixth-round knockout of Dave Apolinario (20-1, 14 KOs) on Aug. 9 in Mexico City. Ayala won the vacant IBF flyweight title with a knockout victory.
Angel Ayala left no doubt about the biggest victory of his career.
The towering flyweight won the vacant IBF title by knocking out Dave Apolinario in the sixth round. Ayala knocked down the visiting Filipino twice in a disastrous sixth round, the latter knockdown scoring a full 10 points at 2:06 of the sixth round Friday at Restaurante Arroyo in Mexico City.
With the victory, the Ayala native (18-0, 8 knockouts) won the belt won earlier this year by Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez (20-0, 13 KOs).
It wasn’t all glossy sailing for the favorite. Apolinario (20-1, 14 KOs) made the most of his trip from General Santos City, Philippines, enjoying a powerful start. Ayala never lost his composure, but struggled at times against the cautious left-hander.
Body blows were key to the change of pace that Ayala enjoyed, and the attack was telling, as Apolinario’s performance in the fifth round suggested the fight was heading toward a point of no return.
Time was called when Apolinario managed to sell the referee a low blow midway through the fifth round. Ayala’s right hook appeared to land squarely on the middle, but was instead ruled a low blow. Ayala ignored it and continued to attack Apolinario’s middle.
Ayala emphatically closed the show in round six.
His ability to seamlessly transition from orthodox to left-handed and back again was effective. Apolinario was unable to stop the attack from either side and found himself on the canvas again. This time it was ruled a knockdown, although he managed to beat the count.
However, Apolanario was not yet completely secure.
Ayala sensed the end was near and made sure he wouldn’t let his undefeated opponent slip away from his hook—literally. A series of right hooks and brutal body shots broke Apolinario’s spirit and he sent him to his knees once again. This time it was a full ten, prompting celebrations on the other side of the ring.
This victory was far more satisfying for Ayala than any other, including the win that earned him a title shot.
A controversial 12-round decision over Felix Alvarado saw Ayala advance to a mandatory fight in both the WBC and IBF. Their October 14 fight in Merida, Mexico was closely contested, but Alvarado (41-4, 35 KOs) was initially declared the winner.
The celebrations didn’t last long as the former IBF 108-pound champion. The ring announcer immediately made a correction, revealing that Ayala had won with scores of 114-113 on all three cards.
Ayala’s team opted to go the IBF route because then-WBC champion Julio Cesar Martinez was already committed to defending his title. That led to a long wait, including the cancellation of plans for a spot on the Naoya Inoue-Luis Nery card on May 6 in Tokyo.
Zanfer Boxing, Ayala’s promoter, won the bidding war with a bid of $250,500 to secure promotional rights. Ayala and Apolinario earned $125,500 each as the IBF’s top two contenders.
That evening both boxers fought their first title fight.
Apolinario fought away from home for the fourth time in his last five fights, although the fight was a massive step up in the competition. While Ayala won a title eliminator, Apolinario earned a title shot by attrition. His effort was respectable enough that he expects to return to this stage.
For now, it’s Ayala who joins the division’s top brass. He entered the fight as the No. 4 flyweight in The Ring’s rankings, a status that will improve by at least one spot by the next time the rankings are updated.
It is the third flyweight victory of 2024, with the WBC title still vacant.
Seigo Yuri Akui, the No. 2 112-weight contender, dethroned long-reigning WBA champion Artem Dalakian (22-1, 15 KOs), the No. 2 112-weight contender, on Jan. 23 in Osaka, Japan. The victory came a month after Rodriguez unified the IBF and WBO titles with a ninth-round knockout of Bright Edwards (21-1, 4 KOs). However, the unified reign did not last long. The Ring No. 5-ranked contender relinquished both belts in behind schedule March to return to junior bantamweight, where he now holds The Ring and WBC titles.
Martinez relinquished his WBC title to fight at 115 pounds, albeit under questionable terms. As reported by The Ring, he tested positive for banned diuretics in his March 30 title defense against Angelino Cordova. Martinez has since been handed a nine-month retroactive suspension.
Kenshiro Teraji (23-1, 14 KO) and Cristofer Rosales (37-6, 22 KO) are set to fight for the vacant WBC title. No date has been set for the fight, which is set to take place in the fourth quarter of 2024.
Anthony Olascuaga (7-1, 5 KOs), No. 7 at 112, won the vacant WBO flyweight title just three weeks ago when the Los Angeles native knocked out Riku Kano (22-5-1, 11 KOs) in the third round on July 20 in Tokyo.
Akui and Ayala are both rated just below former IBF flyweight champion Bright Edwards (21-1, 4 KOs). The Ring’s No. 1-ranked flyweight returned to the top of the fight charts with a technical decision victory over Adrien Curiel on June 29 on the undercard of Rodriguez’s seventh-round knockout of Juan Francisco Estrada (44-4, 28 KOs).
The victory came at a price, as Edwards suffered a nasty gash. He is now the IBF’s top-ranked contender for his venerable title, although he is not the mandatory challenger.
Regardless, a matchup between Ayala and Edwards could be considered for the vacant Ring Championship, depending on the next rankings update.
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