Magana was knocked out in the fourth round, after which Ayala went on to score wins over prospects Evgeny Novoselov and George Acevedo.
By defeating Mike Espinoza by knockout in three rounds at the Fort Worth Convention Center, Ayala claimed the NABF bantamweight title.
Returning to the ring in September, Ayala defeated Ivan Alvarez by a decision in twelve to retain the NABF bantamweight title.
He began 1997 by defeating Cuauhtemoc Gomez by decision in twelve, once again retaining his belt as the headliner at the Tropicana Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
[9] On March 30, 2001, Ayala recovered from a fourth-round knockdown to retain his WBA bantamweight title with a twelve-round decision against Hugo Dianzo in an ESPN telecast bout.
In a rematch of their closely contested bout, Ayala successfully defended his IBO title by defeating Adams in a wide unanimous decision.
Continuing his rise in weight, on November 16, 2002 Ayala met world champion Erik Morales for the vacant WBC featherweight title, this time winding up on the losing end of a twelve-round unanimous decision.
[10] Ayala returned to the ring on November 15, 2003, dropping back down to super bantamweight and defeating Edel Ruiz in a ten-round unanimous decision in Fort Worth, Texas.
In Fort Worth, Texas at his University of Hard Knocks gym, Ayala started a program to help Parkinson's patients.
[13] Using his expertise, he teaches non-contact boxing techniques to regain coordination, strength and balance to improve the quality of life for his students and create an environment of camaraderie.