FLORIDA BOXING NEWS
December 2007

Amateur Boxing

Ayala Welcomes All Challenges in the Ring
By Randy Hammons
Editor/Publisher

           Jonathan Ayala doesn’t mind having the proverbial target on his back.  He simply realizes that’s just part of being a boxing champion.
            The 14-year-old Ayala has won two national championships, along with three State JO tournaments and two State PAL titles.
            His national championships came within just months of each other.  Earlier this year, he captured the national Silver Gloves championship in Independence, MO.  Then, in October, he won the 2007 National PAL in Oxnard, CA.
            Ayala has boxed for seven years.  He works out at Dan’s Boxing Gym in Kissimmee, FL.  Dan Soto, who operates the gym is Ayala’s coach and father.
            Currently competing in the 138-pound JO Open division, Ayala said he welcomes the competition his success has brought.  He said his success makes him just that much more focused. 
            “I’m doing a lot of running, trying to get my conditioning up.  Now that I have national titles, everybody’s going to want to fight me,” Ayala said.  “It’s more of a motivation factor to me and makes me want to work that much harder.  When I come to the gym, there is no joking or fooling around.  It’s all business.”
            “When he was 65 pounds, he always sparred with kids bigger than him,” Dan Soto said.  “He’s a big 14.  People think he’s been around this game forever.  When he gets in the gym, I don’t have to push him.”
            Ayala is a prime example of what people can do despite a little adversity.  He lost his first two amateur fights competing in the 2001 Sunshine State Games.  After a lot of work in the gym, he returned and won his next two bouts to capture the State Silver Gloves championship held at Royal Palm Beach, FL.  He has won Silver Gloves every year since he was eight.
            “Winning the Silver Gloves that year gave me encouragement to keep going,” Ayala said.  “I’ve become more active in the ring.  I’ve put more technique into it.  Back then I had a different style.  Now I’m a boxer-puncher.”
            Ayala’s most recent major championship was the State PAL Tournament last month in Jacksonville.  The championship put his amateur record at 31-8.
            “It felt good to win the State PAL,” Ayala said.  “It was a really great experience.  I went out there and gave it my all and came out victorious.”
            Ayala defeated Cape Coral PAL’s Augustine Omeben on points in the first round of the State PAL.  He went on to win the championship with a walkover victory against Manatee PAL’s Alan Davis, for his 16th straight victory.
            Ayala said he has a definite game-plan each time he steps into the ring.  “I use a lot of speed.  I have power, but I don’t go out there to knock people out,” Ayala said.  “To me, a knockout isn’t really that big of a thing.  If it comes, it comes.”
            Ayala likes to watch accomplished fighters like Floyd Mayweather, Jr. and Miguel Cotto play their trade.  Mayweather (38-0, 24 KOs) meets England’s Ricky Hatton (43-0, 31 KOs) this month in Las Vegas for the WBC Welterweight championship.  And, Cotto (31-0, 25 KOs) defeated Shane Mosley last month in defense of his WBA Welter-weight title.
            “Mayweather is real fast and I like his style,” Ayala said.  “Cotto goes straight and is non-stop.  You can hit him all you want to, but he keeps coming.  I take my style and mix it with a couple others.  There are a lot of different techniques to use in the ring.  I like to mix speed and different movement techniques.”
            As a natural progression, Ayala eyes fighting in the Open division when he turns 17.  But, he also aspires to something bigger than that.
            “My goals are the 2012 Olympic Games and just try to win more national titles,” Ayala said.  “I haven’t lost since 2004.”