Angel Ayala left no doubt in the biggest win of his career to date.

The rangy flyweight claimed the vacant IBF title with a sixth round knockout of Dave Apolinario. Ayala twice floored the visiting Filipino in the fateful sixth round. The latter knockdown produced the full ten count at 2:06 of round six Friday at Restaurante Arroyo in Mexico City.

With the win, the locally-based Ayala (18-0, 8 knockouts)won the belt vacated by Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez (20-0, 13 KOs) earlier this year.

It wasn’t all smooth sailing for the house favorite. Apolinario (20-1, 14 KOs) made the most of his road trip from General Santos City, Philippines as he enjoyed a strong start. Ayala never lost his composure but at times struggled versus the cagey southpaw.

Body punching was the key to the momentum shift enjoyed by Ayala. The attack was telling, as Apolinario’s demeanor by the fifth round suggested the fight trended towards a point of no return.

Time was called when Apolinario was able to sell the referee on a low blow midway through round five. A right hand by Ayala appeared to land squarely in the midsection but the shot was instead ruled below the beltline. Ayala didn’t pay it any mind and continued to target Apolinario’s midsection.

Ayala emphatically closed the show in round six.

His ability to seamlessly switch from orthodox to southpaw and back was effective. Apolinario couldn’t stop the attack from either side and once again found himself back on the canvas. It was ruled a knockdown this time, though he was able to beat the count.

Apolanario was far from out the woods, however.

Ayala sensed the end was near and made sure to not let his fellow unbeaten contender off the hook—literally. A series of right hands upstairs and brutal body shots broken Apolinario’s spirit and once again sent him to a knee. This time it was the full ten count, which prompted a celebration on the other side of the ring.

The victory was far more satisfying than any other for Ayala, including the one which landed him the title fight.

A controversial twelve-round decision over Felix Alvarado saw Ayala rise to mandatory with both the WBC and IBF. Their Oct. 14 bout in Merida, Mexico was tightly contested, but with Alvarado (41-4, 35 KOs) initially announced as the winner.

The celebration was shortlived by the former IBF 108-pound titlist. A correction was immediately made by the ring announcer, who revealed that Ayala won by scores of 114-113 on all three cards.

Ayala’s team opted to go the IBF route, since then-WBC titlist Julio Cesar Martinez was already committed to a title defense. It resulted in a lengthy wait, including canceled plans for a targeted spot on the May 6 Naoya Inoue-Luis Nery card in Tokyo.

Zanfer Boxing, Ayala’s promoter, won a purse bid hearing with a $250,500 offer to secure promotional rights. Ayala and Apolinario each earned $125,500 paydays as the top two-rated IBF contenders.

The night marked the first title fight for both boxers.

Apolinario fought on the road for the fourth time in his past five fights, though the bout was a major step up in competition. Whereas Ayala won a title eliminator, Apolinario was granted his title shot through attrition. His effort was respectable enough to where he figures to return to this stage.

For now. it’s Ayala who joins the top of the division’s class. He entered the fight as The Ring’s No. 4-rated flyweight,  That status will improve by at least one spot by the next ratings update.

The win marks the third newly crowned flyweight in 2024, with the WBC belt still vacant.

Seigo Yuri Akui, No. 2 at 112, dethroned long-reigning WBA titlist Artem Dalakian (22-1, 15 KOs), No. 2 at 112, on Jan. 23 in Osaka, Japan. The win one month after Rodriguez unified the IBF and WBO titles in a ninth-round knockout of Sunny Edwards (21-1, 4 KOs). The unified reign was short-lived, however. The Ring’s No. 5-rated pound-for-pound fighter vacated both belts in late March to return to junior bantamweight, where he is now The Ring and WBC champ.

Martinez vacated the WBC belt to campaign at 115, though under dubious terms. As eported by The Ring, he tested positive for banned diuretics in his March 30 title defense versus Angelino Cordova. Martinez was since issued a backdated nine-month suspension.

Kenshiro Teraji (23-1, 14 KOs) and Cristofer Rosales (37-6, 22KOs) are due to fight for the vacant WBC title. A date was not assigned for the fight, which is targeted for 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. The Los Angeleno knocked out Riku Kano (22-5-1, 11 KOs) in the third round on July 20 in Tokyo.

Akui and Ayala are rated just below former IBF flyweight titlist Sunny Edwards (21-1, 4 KOs). The Ring’s No. 1-rated flyweight returned to the win column with a technical decision victory over Adrien Curiel. It came on the June 29 undercard of Rodriguez’s seventh-round knockout of Juan Francisco Estrada (44-4, 28 KOs).

The win came at a cost as Edwards suffered a horrific cut. He is now the highest ranked IBF challenger to his old title, though not the mandatory challenger.

That said, an Ayala-Edwards clash could garner consideration for vacant Ring championship, depending on the next ratings update.

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