Mark Ibanez - RIP
Posted: 24 Apr 2018, 09:27
Former light-welterweight contender Mark Ibanez died on April 19 in his native Hawaii at the age of 62. His sister broke the sad news.
Mark earned a slice of notoriety in the early 1980s when he poleaxed Sammy Ayala at a time when the name 'Ayala' sent a shudder down the spine of many leading fighters as Sammy's brooding brother, Tony, blasted his way up the light-middleweight rankings en route to a seemingly inevitable showdown with the equally vicious Roberto Duran, while another brother, Mike, had just featured in a 15-round classic with the wide open but freakishly powerful Danny “Little Red” Lopez for the WBC featherweight title, losing in the very last round after a magnificent effort. The fighting Ayalas were gifted, troubled young men who terrified normal folk in their home city of San Antonio in Texas where they were constantly in serious trouble but they could back it up in the ring and Sammy, 13-1 (11), the one loss on a split decision, looked all set to join his brothers in the world rankings leading up to Ibanez, a prospect himself at 10-1 (7) but wholly unknown outside Hawaii.
American boxing writer Randy Gordon remembers a press conference in New York attended by the three Ayalas at which Sammy had asked, '“Randy, do you know a fighter by the name of Mark Ibanez?” before enquiring further. “Is he a puncher or a boxer? Does he take a good punch? How's his defence?” Suddenly, Tony jumped up and slapped his brother heavily in backhanded fashion. Sammy reeled from the blow. Then Tony backhanded him with another shot. “What the hell's wrong with you! Listen to yourself! You're a fighter, act like one, you're an Ayala, act like one!”' It was all reminiscent of the doomed Quarry brothers some years earlier whereby any sign of weakness was strictly forbidden by the patriarch of the family, Jack (who had the words 'Hard Luck' tattooed across his knuckles), and led to the premature deaths of Jerry and Mike at 53 and 55 respectively, while Tony died of a drug overdose at 52, alone, in a boxing gym. Sammy and Mike have survived him.
Sammy didn't survive long with the stocky, dangerous Ibanez, who blew him away in the first round in Honolulu and essentially ended his career, for Ayala was never the same and drifted out of the sport a couple of years later to yet more trouble. Mike, who once shot a man in the face, rebounded from the Lopez war with a string of wins that secured him a shot at Juan Meza for the WBC super-bantamweight title in his own San Antonio but he 'froze' and was stopped in six rounds and was also stopped in a later crack by Louie Espinoza and walked away. Both Sammy and Mike have settled down.
As for Ibanez, victory propelled him to No. 10 in the WBC light-welterweight rankings with the very real prospect of a world title shot at a time when Hawaii was enjoying a boxing boom and he cemented his rating with a five-round knockout of big local rival Ralph Aviles but at 16-1 (13), he took a risky match with American "Fireball" Willie Rodriguez, who had beaten the big-hitting likes of Norman Goins and Johnny Lira, and sure enough Rodriguez survived his early bombs to force a six-round stoppage in Honolulu, after which Ibanez's stock fell even further when left-hooking Bruce Curry (elder brother of Don) clearly outscored him in a 10-rounder and went on to win the WBC light-welterweight title on a balmy night in Las Vegas in May 1983. Sadly, Bruce was later declared insane after trying to kill his trainer.
Ibanez never recovered from those back-to-back defeats and he was later beaten in Las Vegas by Tyrone Moore, a prospect at the time but who collapsed like a tent against Chris Pyatt here in 1988. He was still only 27 when he retired in 1984 with a record of 19-4 (16) and spent the rest of his life raising and caring for a family. “We will miss you, Mark, we will miss your generous spirit, your love for laughter, and your zest for life,” his family said in a statement.
Mark earned a slice of notoriety in the early 1980s when he poleaxed Sammy Ayala at a time when the name 'Ayala' sent a shudder down the spine of many leading fighters as Sammy's brooding brother, Tony, blasted his way up the light-middleweight rankings en route to a seemingly inevitable showdown with the equally vicious Roberto Duran, while another brother, Mike, had just featured in a 15-round classic with the wide open but freakishly powerful Danny “Little Red” Lopez for the WBC featherweight title, losing in the very last round after a magnificent effort. The fighting Ayalas were gifted, troubled young men who terrified normal folk in their home city of San Antonio in Texas where they were constantly in serious trouble but they could back it up in the ring and Sammy, 13-1 (11), the one loss on a split decision, looked all set to join his brothers in the world rankings leading up to Ibanez, a prospect himself at 10-1 (7) but wholly unknown outside Hawaii.
American boxing writer Randy Gordon remembers a press conference in New York attended by the three Ayalas at which Sammy had asked, '“Randy, do you know a fighter by the name of Mark Ibanez?” before enquiring further. “Is he a puncher or a boxer? Does he take a good punch? How's his defence?” Suddenly, Tony jumped up and slapped his brother heavily in backhanded fashion. Sammy reeled from the blow. Then Tony backhanded him with another shot. “What the hell's wrong with you! Listen to yourself! You're a fighter, act like one, you're an Ayala, act like one!”' It was all reminiscent of the doomed Quarry brothers some years earlier whereby any sign of weakness was strictly forbidden by the patriarch of the family, Jack (who had the words 'Hard Luck' tattooed across his knuckles), and led to the premature deaths of Jerry and Mike at 53 and 55 respectively, while Tony died of a drug overdose at 52, alone, in a boxing gym. Sammy and Mike have survived him.
Sammy didn't survive long with the stocky, dangerous Ibanez, who blew him away in the first round in Honolulu and essentially ended his career, for Ayala was never the same and drifted out of the sport a couple of years later to yet more trouble. Mike, who once shot a man in the face, rebounded from the Lopez war with a string of wins that secured him a shot at Juan Meza for the WBC super-bantamweight title in his own San Antonio but he 'froze' and was stopped in six rounds and was also stopped in a later crack by Louie Espinoza and walked away. Both Sammy and Mike have settled down.
As for Ibanez, victory propelled him to No. 10 in the WBC light-welterweight rankings with the very real prospect of a world title shot at a time when Hawaii was enjoying a boxing boom and he cemented his rating with a five-round knockout of big local rival Ralph Aviles but at 16-1 (13), he took a risky match with American "Fireball" Willie Rodriguez, who had beaten the big-hitting likes of Norman Goins and Johnny Lira, and sure enough Rodriguez survived his early bombs to force a six-round stoppage in Honolulu, after which Ibanez's stock fell even further when left-hooking Bruce Curry (elder brother of Don) clearly outscored him in a 10-rounder and went on to win the WBC light-welterweight title on a balmy night in Las Vegas in May 1983. Sadly, Bruce was later declared insane after trying to kill his trainer.
Ibanez never recovered from those back-to-back defeats and he was later beaten in Las Vegas by Tyrone Moore, a prospect at the time but who collapsed like a tent against Chris Pyatt here in 1988. He was still only 27 when he retired in 1984 with a record of 19-4 (16) and spent the rest of his life raising and caring for a family. “We will miss you, Mark, we will miss your generous spirit, your love for laughter, and your zest for life,” his family said in a statement.
