Angel Ayala Becomes IBF Champion By KO Over Apolinario
The fans at the Restaurante Arroyo in Mexico City, Mexico, witnessed an exciting back-and-forth battle as home area product Angel Ayala (18-0, 8 KOs) scored a sixth-round knockout over previously unbeaten Filipino David Apolinario (20-1, 14 KOs) to win the vacant IBF flyweight title.
Apolinario had his foot on the accelerator from the opening bell, throwing bombs and looking to inflict pain. The southpaw wobbled the Mexican in round one and had Ayala fighting in retreat during the first three rounds.
QUITE THE TURNAROUND
However, in round five Ayala re-calibrated himself and changed his tactics. He’s known for his vicious body punching. That became the focus of his attack and the benefits were immediate.
It was clear that Apolinario did not like getting hit downstairs as he began to retreat to his back-foot. In the opening minute of round six, a right-hand, left-hook combination to the body put the Filipino fighter down on one knee. Ayala had officially grabbed the momentum of the fight.
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Apolinario tried to fight back, but efforts were futile. Ayala looked like an animal in the wild about to pounce on wounded prey. He pounded Apolinario with an assortment of shots. The Filipino went down a second time with a minute to go in the round. There was no getting up this time, as the referee counted him out while he was withering in pain.
Ayala gave a thrilling, eye-opening performance. He is a potential force to be reckoned with in the now open flyweight division.
Didn’t see this one coming!