Like most rematches, the second bout between Paulie Ayala and Bones Adams couldn't live up to the original. The toe-to-toe action that placed the first contest in contention for 2001 Fight of the Year may have been missing, but it was replaced by a masterful boxing display on the part of Paulie Ayala. Having eked out razor thin victories in his previous four bouts, Ayala silenced his critics with a performance deserving of the one-sided scorecards that were read in his favor. After only the first round, there was little indication that the rematch would lack the fireworks of the first fight. Both Ayala and Adams opted to start fast, hurling wicked punches at each other for most of the three-minute time limit. Ayala went first, dipping his knees and launching the first body shots of the evening. Adams wasted no time answering over the top with his long right hand, and the fight was on. At center ring, Adams used the distance to hurl his long arms at his opponent, landing some clean crosses and a series of flush hooks to Ayala's body. But unlike the first bout, in which he often stood and traded with Ayala, Adams now tried to land his punches and then move out of the way. This boxing-over-brawling style change might have worked against the typical opponent, but Ayala's persistence would not be denied. As Adams circled left, then right, it was Ayala that was pressing the fight, following Adams closely while throwing punches. It didn't take long for Adams to make the same mistake he had in the first fight: backing straight away from his opponent. By mid-round, Adams had backed straight into the ropes, where Ayala's shorter punches were in perfect range. A quick jab-left-hook from the southpaw stance turned Adams' head in three different directions, and got an early rise out of the largely pro-Ayala crowd. Adams, remembering the trouble he got into during the second round of the first fight, quickly returned the action to center ring. There, the two traded a variety of punches from a variety of angles, with both men landing clean. Adams continued to land to Ayala's side and Ayala's own body work was supplemented with right hooks, left crosses, and a textbook double-jab. Based on output, aggression and clean punching, the first stanza was an easy one to score for Paulie Ayala. Bones Adams continued his attempts to box in the second round, but his average footwork soon lead him into the ropes again, and Ayala was on top of him throwing punches in bunches. Pinned against the ropes, Adams' power shots were smothered. Desperate for some room to breath, Adams began loading up with his right hand. After working his way off the ropes, Adams finally landed a huge right cross to the center of Ayala's face. But no sooner could the crowd gasp at the crushing blow, Ayala answered with an equally well-timed left cross. Adams regrouped quickly, and returned his attention to his opponent's midsection, but Ayala was on a roll. By doubling up with his jab, and then occasionally hooking off the stick, Ayala raised a small welt under Adams' left eye in round two. Continuing the assault, Ayala landed yet more clean combinations to Adams' head. Soon, Adams' lateral movement began looking like partial retreat, as did an attempt to turn southpaw in the round's closing seconds. The change in stance didn't deter Ayala, who promptly landed a heavy straight left just before the bell. Another round for Ayala. Ayala's biggest strength, as displayed in his two action-packed bouts with Johnny Tapia, is a consistent workrate. As the third round began, Adams was continuing an attempt to pick his spots, fight in spurts, and land then move… and it played into Ayala's style perfectly. Occasionally, when Bones would load up with a power shot, or dig to the body, Ayala was right there in front of him punching. And when Bones sought to move away, Ayala was right there in front of him punching. What does this add up to? If you answered "a one-sided round," then score yourself a point. Although Adams occasionally landed his right, and continued to target the body when he could, he was quite simply being taken to school by Paulie's perpetual punching. By the end of the round, both of Adams' eyes began showing signs of swelling, and Ayala was having no problem making it look like he was doing all of the work. The frustration began to build in Adams in the fourth, but he couldn't channel the energy into punches. If anything, Adams began looking for the One Big Punch almost exclusively. As he moved left, then right, Adams would only occasionally stop to throw. His home run swings were easy to see coming, and Ayala looked superb slipping, catching punches on the arms, and blocking shots with his gloves before answering with crisp, clean punches to the chin. What's more, a bulked up Ayala was suddenly looking like the bigger puncher, stunning Adams with his accuracy and swiveling Adams' head with easy-to-see punches to the point of the chin. After four rounds, Ayala was up, four to zip. Adams simply could not establish a rhythm, and had to settle for landing the occasional big punch on Ayala. In the fifth round, Adams landed some of his best punches, but Ayala always answered with several return shots in combination. What's more, Adams stifled his potential rally by opening and closing the round near the ropes, the one place that he looked most vulnerable. With his back to the wall, Adams' upper body movement consisted of little more than rocking his torso back and forth. With Ayala correctly letting his own hands go during these sequences, it wasn't long before Adams' untukced chin began tasting leather. During the middle minute of round five, Adams was able to bring the fight to center ring. But every time he scored, Ayala had an answer. Adams was being outhustled, plain and simple. The first half of round six continued at a similar pace. Near the mid-way point, one of Adams' big right crosses finally found the bullseye, slamming into Ayala's nose and stopping the two-division champion in his tracks. But Adams was not prepared to follow-up his success, and after 20 seconds of waiting for another opening to land power, Ayala had shaken out the cobwebs and was returning fire. Two huge left uppercuts from Ayala regained the momentum for Paulie, and the punches drove Adams into the ropes where he was most vulnerable. Later in the same round, after Adams had managed to move the exchanges back to center ring, Ayala tagged him on the temple with a looping right hook. This punch also sent Adams retreating to the ropes, where Ayala was able to walk right up to him and begin launching heavy punches. As the 10-second warning clapped, Adams (still on the ropes) countered an Ayala hook with a punishing straight right that landed full-force in the center of Ayala's face. One-half second later, Ayala cranked off a straight left, which hit Adams equally hard on the nose. The punch snapped Adams' head straight back and allowed Ayala to close out the final seconds with a three-punch flurry. As the bell sounded to end the round, an excited Ayala lifted his hands in the air and returned to his corner claiming victory. In a way, he was right. The Boxing Chronicle scorecard listed each of the first six rounds in Ayala's favor, as did the cards of the three official judges. Bones Adams was in a terrible rut. Unable to get his hands moving, and now trailing badly on the cards, he needed to either win round seven or else pack it in. He opted for the former. Still throwing one punch at a time, Adams was still getting the worst of it. Then, an Adams left hook grazed Ayala's face. Ayala quickly shook his head that he wasn't hurt, and in that moment Adams threw yet another bombs-away right hand. The punch only clipped Ayala on top of the head, but it sent an off-balance Ayala crashing into the ropes. Unaware that Ayala had been sent reeling more by a slip than by the punch, the crowd erupted with a cheer. This reaction seemed to surge Adams' adrenaline, and for the first time a lively looking Adams began putting his own punches into combination form. Adams, sensing that Ayala was hurt, uncorked three successive one-twos, each landing flush on Ayala and sparking a serious Adams rally. Adams looked like the fighter from the first bout, and Ayala backed up a few steps with each landed combo. But just as the rally was on, Ayala timed a perfect counter left that stopped Adams in his tracks. It was now Ayala's turn to rally, and he controlled the next 30 seconds with the steady, accurate pace that had banked him the first six rounds. The round was winding to a close, and it appeared as though Adams was about to give away the one round he might have won. Luckily for him, he stopped his retreat, planted his feet, and landed his best combination of the entire night: a lead right hand followed by a right uppercut and a left hook. All three punches not only landed clean, but also landed from the distance at which Adams is most effective. The combo also came just before the round ended, ensuring that Adams would finally bank one frame in his favor. Bones couldn't afford to lose another round, and he rushed at Ayala in round eight and landed another heavy right cross to Ayala's chin in the first ten seconds. The punch made Ayala jump back a step, and then back away from Adams. It was the only time Ayala wasn't moving forward all night… but Adams couldn't capitalize. For reasons that only he can understand, Adams stopped throwing his punches in bunches and returned to the single-punch strategy that had allowed Ayala to take a commanding lead. Ayala was able to recover after 30 seconds, and soon regained control with a right hook and a series of flush body shots. Adams, desperate to maintain control, loaded up with a series of wild swings, all of which missed by a mile. Ayala twice nailed Adams with his own one-two after these misses, and Adams was once again in jeopardy of letting the round slip away. But in the final 10 seconds, Adams nailed Ayala twice with huge left hooks. Both shots landed flush and seemed to again stun Ayala. The punches saved the round for Adams. Hurt by Adams in the previous round, and perhaps tiring from his nearly-constant output, Ayala looked slower in round nine. Now it was Adams who was landing first, again beginning the round with a stream of jab-crosses. But Adams also seemed to be admiring his own work. His big blows, when they landed hard, gave him a few seconds of respite from Ayala's pressure. But these pauses weren't filled with follow-up punches, but rather lapses of inactivity on the part of Adams. Ayala was noticeably slower in this round, and when Adams ended the round with another pair of heavy right hands, he had found himself the winner of a third consecutive round. This was do-or-die time for Adams. He needed to keep up the pace, continue to land big punches, and hope to sweep the final three rounds to keep it close. But Paulie Ayala had other plans. He stormed out of his corner in round ten and showed a renewed vigor, attacking Adams with both hands. Adams continued to find a target for his right hand during the first half of this round, but Ayala was answering every single blow with two, three, and four punch combinations. Three times, Adams landed a perfect right cross only to stand still and wait for Ayala to counter with a three-punch combo. Each time, after Ayala registered his superior response, Adams dropped his hands, stood up straight, and made a face to indicate his utter frustration with his mistake. Simply put, Ayala was giving the judges no choice but to score for him. It didn't matter if Adams was hurting Ayala with the individual right hands because Ayala was able to land two or three solid shots to Adams' face after each one. Adams fell back into his early-round rut in round eleven, just at a time when he should have been displaying the desperation and determination of a fighter who knows he is behind. Instead, Adams was simply the catcher for all of Ayala's fastballs, which included a steady diet of clean two-punch combinations and a stinging right hook at round's end that may have hurt Adams. But Ayala was not only throwing more often, he was landing. His accuracy in round eleven was the best of the night; it seemed almost every punch he threw landed square on Adams' unprotected head. Adams' frantic corner let their man know that he needed to win by kayo in the final round. Bones began the last round quickly, but Ayala was more than willing to trade. At the one-minute mark, Ayala landed two lead left hands to the center of Adams' face. That was it. Adams seemed to fold up his tent at this point. He stopped throwing with intensity, and seemed to resign himself to seeing the scorecards. Ayala, despite an obvious lead, was not content to coast, and he tagged Adams with several heavy right hooks to the head and lefts to the body before the two ended the round with the requisite 10-second mutual flurry. When the bell rang, both men knew the outcome. Ayala thrust his arms in the air and screamed in joy. Adams raised his arms half-heartedly, surely knowing that the scores wouldn't be pretty. And they weren't. Two judges saw it 118-110, while a third scored 117-111, all for Ayala. Boxing Chronicle scored the bout 117-111 for Ayala, as well. And so Paulie Ayala re-established the sterling reputation that had been slightly tarnished in the wake of several controversial decisions. Unlike the first bout with Adams, Ayala looked like a solid junior featherweight, as opposed to a blown-up bantam. What's more, he once again proved that his dedication to training, aggressive style, and clean accurate punches could lead him to victory. It was a complete performance. Next up for Ayala might be the winner of Barrera-Hamed. It's difficult to imagine Ayala moving up in weight again, especially to take on two serious power punchers like Barrera and Morales. Still, given his determination and output levels, Ayala could make the fight interesting. We'll just have to wait and see. Ayala's boxing clinic came only minutes after one of boxing's best ended his long career on the canvas. Mark "Too Sharp" Johnson, who for years was considered one of the sport's pound-for-pound best, faced off against Rafael Marquez in a rematch of their sizzling 2001 war. Unlike their first battle, however, this fight was no brawl. Too Sharp, unable to bring his once-devastating power with him to the 118 lb. Division, opted to box against the crafty Marquez instead of go to war. Big mistake. The former 112 and 115 lb. champion tried to jab and move against the bigger Marquez… it was a hopeless plan. The shorter Johnson spent most of the fight thrusting out a jab that stopped at least a foot away from Marquez' face, if not his gloves. Marquez was also wary to exchange in the early rounds. The result was four rounds devoid of action and marred by constant boos from the crowd. Who would have guessed? Johnson occasionally landed a right hook in the opening rounds, but that was about it. Johnson appeared confused by Marquez, who was well-prepared and throwing punches from a variety of angles. Johnson began circling counter-clockwise in round two, a big mistake for a lefty facing a righty, and soon began catching Marquez' swift right counter. When Marquez threw his own jab, which he did infrequently in the opening few rounds, he was able to touch Johnson with ease. After finding his range, Marquez slowly began mixing in hooks, crosses, and devastating uppercuts each time Johnson got in close enough. Too Sharp was Too Slow this night, and when his boxing skills could do little more than touch air, he appeared confused and without a backup plan. It was just such confusion that engulfed Johnson in the seventh round, when he simply stood there as Marquez launched a straight right at his face. The punch landed on the button and sent Johnson down onto his back, the first time he had been downed in his pro career. Johnson remained on his back as he watched the referee count to seven. He then popped up, albeit on wobbly legs. Marquez only had 15 seconds remaining in which to flurry on Johnson, but he landed several more heavy shots before the bell. Johnson came out in the eighth looking lost. When he tried to box, he jabbed into the air, and when he tried to attack he was beaten back. A calm and collected Marquez opened with a series of body shots and right hands. As his corner screamed "Ante, Arriba" (Spanish for "Down, Up") the fighter followed the instruction to a tee. Marquez ripped off two wicked body shots and followed with a flush right to the head. Dipping downstairs again, Marquez uncorked a left hook that missed Johnson's side, but caught him in the center of the belly. The punch buckled Johnson's legs, and the follow-up right to the head knocked him to the seat of his pants. As Johnson sat on his tail and again watched the ref count, he looked finished. He nodded his head as if to say, "yeah, you got me," and then slowly raised himself at the count of eight. Marquez rushed at Johnson, missed with a jab and then landed two fierce uppercuts, one from each hand. The second one dropped Johnson for a third time, this time stiff as a board on his back. Referee Tony Weeks didn't even attempt a count, waving off the fight immediately. And so comes the likely end to the otherwise-brilliant career of Mark "Too Sharp" Johnson. He was an awesome force at 112 lbs. during the late 1990s. The big fight for him was always one division above against then 115 lb. champ Johnny Tapia. But the fight was never made, and Johnson was forced to display his awesome boxing and power punching skills against no-name competition. Perhaps his best moment came in a mandatory title defense against Arthur Johnson. It was supposed to be a solid test for Too Sharp, but he knocked Arthur out in the first round. After that fight, Too Sharp seemed on a collision course with 118 lb. champ Tim Austin, but a parole violation sent him to prison and resulted in a 19-month layoff. Too Sharp had looked pretty good in two comeback fights before dropping the decision to Marquez last year. A win in the rematch might have revived his comeback, but now it is all over. Johnson looked old, slow, and at times shot. A successful businessman outside of the ring (Johnson owns several hair salons), Too Sharp will likely now retire. He never got the recognition or paydays that were heaped upon many of his contemporaries. He was one of boxing's best-kept secrets. It's too bad that his legacy never grew to match his talent. He will be missed. Which is not to take anything away from his conqueror, Rafael Marquez. The brother of featherweight contender Juan Manuel Marquez is now guaranteed a shot at Austin. Austin, also a southpaw, is not old, not shot, and packs a much more serious wallop than Too Sharp did at 118. Austin will be a heavy favorite when the fight is made, but don't count Marquez out. He has plenty of experience, loads of talent, and has shown that he can make adjustments mid-bout. It could be a great fight. .....Chris Bushnell (Please send comments to us at: BoxingChronicle@aol.com) See also:  8/4/01: AYALA vs. ADAMS I