There's an old adage in boxing: a good big man beats a good little man. This axiom was proven on November 2, 2002 when Marco Antonio Barrera used his size and strength to shut down the pressure tactics of beefed-up bantamweight Johnny Tapia in a one-sided contest. Two weeks later, the entire experiment was repeated when Erik Morales used his size and strength to shut down the pressure tactics of beefed-up bantamweight Paulie Ayala in an almost identical contest. For both Tapia and Ayala, all the heart, determination and guts in the world could not overcome the punching power of their larger opponents. Brute strength: 2, Inexhaustible effort: 0. Just as in Barrera-Tapia, the big man quickly established his advantage with crisp, concussive punches. In the opening round, as Ayala swarmed Morales and pushed through his left hand, Morales calmly backed away from danger. Occasionally, Morales would stop, plant his feet, and fire a long punch across the distance. Although Ayala's defense is usually tight, Morales' best punches were landing flush early and often. Early chants of "Paul-lie," which would return a half-dozen times during the night, could do little to reverse the fact that Ayala was simply too small to deal with Morales' offense. Confident that Ayala didn't belong in the same ring with him, Morales upped his output in the second round. Ayala caught Morales' hooks, crosses and uppercuts clean on the face. Each landed punch spurred Ayala on. Trying to establish control by jumping on Morales after he landed a blow, Ayala repeatedly charged at his assailant. The more he charged, the more he was hit. After only two rounds, it became clear that Ayala was in for a long night. Erik Morales wanted a short night, and he began tossing more bombs at Ayala in round three. The long right hand could not miss Ayala, who needed to get about a foot closer to Morales just to land a return shot. As a result, Ayala would get nailed standing out at a distance, nailed as he came in close, and then nailed again after his token shots bounced off Morales without any effect. By the end of the round, Ayala's left eye was already a serious mess. Morales, whose own face is usually a collection of scrapes, cuts and swollen mice, was completely unmarked. Ayala didn't need his corner to be told that he was getting the crap kicked out of him. When the fourth round began, Ayala charged at Morales as if to say, "If I'm going to get knocked out, let's just get it over with." Throwing compact flurries of blows, Ayala sparked a mini-rally, tagging Morales with a few left uppercuts and some clean body shots. But just as Ayala looked to be coming on, Morales beat him back down. Morales was using the ring to his advantage, stepping to the side as Ayala charged straight in and leaning back when Ayala actually caught up to him. While still relatively easy to hit, Morales' defense was much improved. His ability to duck nearly all of Ayala's wicked right hooks showed that he had done his homework during a long 12-week training camp. By the fifth round, the pace had been set: Morales on the attack, especially when Ayala dared challenge him. Morales was so confident that he routinely dropped his hands, casually approached Ayala and then tagged him. Ayala, who never dared to drop his hands, landed a beautifully timed left hand at center ring during the fifth... and Morales literally laughed it off. If you were a Paulie Ayala fan, the second half of the bout was difficult to watch. Simply put, Morales was having his way with Ayala. Worse, every time Ayala rallied, Morales would answer him with a combination that landed twice as hard. In the sixth, Ayala got another rise out of the crowd by landing a crisp left hand. But the punch enraged Morales, who spent the final minute of the round pounding a retreating Ayala from one side of the ring to the other. Ayala rarely looked wobbled, but in this sequence (and a few others) referee Kenny Bayless was taking an extremely close look at Ayala's ability to continue. In every round, Ayala would press the action... and every time Morales beat him back. Even after it became clear that Morales' hands were hurting from so many clean shots, the punishment rarely waned. In the tenth round, with Morales heavily favoring his right hand, Ayala may have squeaked out a 10-9. But Morales' strength and reach were so dominant that even a lone Morales jab kept the round close. As was the case with Barrera-Tapia, the smaller man made a last stand in the final round only to be trounced for his efforts. Ayala, knowing he needed a dramatic finish despite claims from his corner that the fight was close, attacked Morales with a feverish array of left uppercuts. Morales took his time, however, and when Ayala paused for a breath, he pounced. A series of long rights pushed Ayala across the ring into the ropes. Ayala covered up, trying to throw enough punches to keep the referee from stepping in. Twice, Ayala's knees buckled slightly, and he looked as though he would be stopped on the ropes. But his incredible heart summoned the requisite return fire, and Bayless let Ayala survive to hear the final bell. Some consolation prize. During the final three minutes, Morales threw an incredible 141 punches, only 6 of which were jabs. He landed 76 power shots on Ayala, and incredible amount in any round, let alone a twelfth. When the scores were read, Ayala had incredibly managed to do slightly better than Johnny Tapia, winning between three and four rounds on various official cards. BoxingChronicle gave Ayala only the tenth. For the second time in two weeks, a Mexican superstar featherweight had completely humiliated a smaller, more aggressive, and older opponent. The results could not speak more clearly: Morales and Barrera must meet again, to settle their two split bouts. Likewise, Ayala and Tapia must face off once more, to put a definitive stamp on their two controversial contests. Ideally, these two rubber matches could have been set up without the systematic beatings of two of the sport's nicest guys. But, hey, that's boxing. .....Chris Bushnell (Please send comments to us at: BoxingChronicle@aol.com)