Ring Magazine's "1999 Fighter of the Year"...

Former NABF bantamweight champion, five successful defenses...

1989 Texas State Golden Gloves amateur champion, 119 pounds...

1986 National Junior Olympic amateur champion, 112 pounds...

2002 - IBO Bantamweight title defense- in his last fight on 2-23-02 in Las Vegas, Nevada, Paulie once again won by unanimous decision against Clarence "Bones" Adams in the rematch of their August 2001 fight. Paulie's strong punches and powerful combinations proved too much for Adams, and he easily outpointed his opponent on the scorecards.

2001 - IBO Bantamweight title - in his fight on 8-4-01 in Las Vegas, Nevada, Paulie won a split decision against Clarence "Bones" Adams in what may be one of the most exciting fights of 2001. It was clear from the start that Ayala and Adams came to brawl and they provided a crowd pleasing event that lasted a full twelve rounds. The scorecards read 114-113 Adams, 114-113 Ayala and 115-112 Ayala...

3RD WBA DEFENSE - in his fight on 3-30-01 in Ft. Worth, TX, he won a 12 round unanimous decision against Hugo Dianzo (26-5-1): it was a close, exciting fight with fast-paced action throughout; Dianzo scored a knockdown in the 4th round - he landed a punch while the two fighters' feet were tangled and Paulie went down briefly; scored 115-113, 115-113, 115-112; after the fight, Paulie said, "I love my hometown and they got their money's worth. They saw a rock 'em and sock 'em fight. I had a great time."

2000 -on 10-7-00 in Las Vegas, NV, he won a 12 round unanimous decision against Johnny Tapia (48-1-2): Paulie moved up to 123 pounds for the rematch, and it was a hard-fought, fast-paced battle; scored 116-112, 115-113, 115-113; in the post-fight reports, Tim Dahlberg of the Associated Presswrote, "Paulie Ayala was just as good the second time around."; Steve Springer of the Los Angeles Times wrote, "Again, as they had been in their 1999 Fight of the Year, they were equal in determination and passion. Again, as in 1999, Ayala was a little better on the judges' scorecards."

2ND WBA DEFENSE - on 3-4-00 in Las Vegas he won a 12 round majority decision against former European champion Johnny Bredahl (45-1): Paulie pressed forward, landed the harder punches, and scored a knockdown in the 2nd round; but Bredahl frustrated him with constant movement and made the fight very close; scored 115-113, 116-111, 114-114...

1999 - 1ST WBA DEFENSE - on 10-23-99 in Ft. Worth, TX, he won a 12 round unanimous decision against Saohin Sorthanikul (26-7): it was a hard fight; Paulie cut Saohin on the left cheek in the 5th round and rocked him in the 7th; Paulie had a bloody nose and a swelling under his left eye; scored 117-111 on all three scorecards...

WON WBA TITLE - on 6-26-99 in Las Vegas he won a 12 round unanimous decision against defending champion Johnny Tapia (46-0-2): Ring Magazine's "1999 Fight of the Year;" it was an intense battle fought at a blistering pace; Paulie scored effectively at close range and landed the harder punches throughout the fight; Tapia was cut on his scalp in the 10th round by a clash of heads; scored 116-113, 116-113, 115-114; Ed Schuyler of the Associated Press reported, "It was fast and it was furious and it was everything a fight fan could want. Every round was full of slam-bang action that had a crowd of about 6,000 in the Mandalay Bay Event Center roaring from start to finish."

1998 - WBC TITLE CHALLENGE - on 8-23-98 in Yokohama, JP, he lost a unanimous technical decision against defending champion Joichiro Tatsuyoshi (16-4-1): Tatsuyoshi won the first four rounds on two scorecards and three of the first four on the other, but Paulie came on strong and won the 5th and 6th on all three cards; Tatsuyoshi was cut midway through the 6th by an accidental clash of heads, and the fight was stopped after the round; under WBC rulenpoint ted from the uncut fiter, but it didn't affect the outcome; scored 59-56, 59-56, 58-57...

1997 - 5TH NABF DEFENSE - on 8-8-97 in Las Vegas he TKO'd Roberto Lopez (14-5-1) at 2:43 of the 5th round...

4TH NABF DEFENSE - on 1-11-97 in Las Vegas he won a 12 round unanimous decision against former two-time Mexican champion Cuauhtemoc "Famosito" Gomez (36-6), scored 115-113, 116-114, 116-112...1996 - 3RD NABF DEFENSE - on 9-28-96 in Ft. Worth he won a 12 round unanimous decision against Ivan Alvarez (12-3), scored 115-112 on all three scorecards...2ND NABF DEFENSE - on 2-22-96 in Corpus Christi, TX, he TKO'd Roland Gomez (24-10) at 1:00 of the 7th round… 1995 - 1ST NABF B DEFENSE - on 9-9-95 in Ft. Worth he won a 12 round unanimous decision against former Mexican champion Sergio Millan (22-8-1), who went on to regain the Mexican title: Paulie hurt Millan in the 5th and 10th rounds, but was penalized one point for low blows in the 9th; scored 119-108, 119-109, 119-110...

WON NABF TITLE - on 6-20-95 in Ft. Worth he won a 12 round unanimous decision against former USBA champion Mario Diaz (23-5), scored 120-108, 119-111, 117-113...

He debuted at the age of 22 on 11-27-92...

AMATEUR, PERSONAL BACKGROUND: 1989 Texas State Golden Gloves champion, 119 pounds...1986 National Junior Olympic amateur champion, 112 pounds…he started boxing at the age of 4 when he followed his older brother into the gym, and reportedly had 296 amateur fights...he was the runner-up to Texas rival Sergio Reyes in the 1992 Olympic trials - over his entire amateur career, Paulie says he went 7-5 against Reyes...he was the silver medalist at the 1992 US National championships...he is a devoted husband and father: during his interview with editor-in-chief Nigel Collins as Ring Magazine's "1999 Fighter of the Year", Paulie said, "My wife and I had a daughter in May, on Cinco de Mayo. So she was really the biggest thing that happened to me in '99."…he and his wife Leti also have a son, Paul Anthony...Paulie has said, "I don't really try to be the role model for other kids. I think that their parents should be their role models. I know kids look up to a lot of athletes and I just try to be a good example for my son and daughter. And that's basically what I'm doing. I'm not one way in front of the cameras and something else away from them. I'm myself all the time, and I'm a 'what you see is what you get' type of guy." Paulie has his own webpage at www.paulieayala.com

STRENGTHS: A southpaw with an aggressive style and good skills…a sharp, accurate puncher...physically strong, tough and durable...keeps a fast pace in the ring...is experienced against top opposition...had a strong amateur background...