SAN ANTONIO -- Tony Ayala Jr. said he was working on his defense, but he might have trouble selling that to Tony Menefee.

Ayala battered Menefee into submission in the eighth round Saturday night for his third victory since his release from prison in April.

	Ayala turned out to be the tougher Tony on Saturday.

Ayala, 36, who served 16 years in prison for a rape conviction, had Menefee in trouble in the first four rounds, but was unable to knock him down until just before the end of the seventh.

After Ayala landed some more thunderous shots in the eighth round, Menefee's corner signaled Rubin Carrion to stop the match.

"I felt real good," said Ayala, fighting in his hometown for the second time in his comeback. "He's a tough kid and he can take a punch. I was working on my defense and didn't want to get hit by unnecessary shots.

"The bottom line is to give the fans a good fight."

Ayala brought the crowd of 5,472 to their feet when he almost put the 27-year-old Menefee down with a left-right combination at the bell ending the second round.

He then shook him up several times in the next three rounds.

"He was hitting me with solid shots," Menefee said, "but he didn't follow up and let me off the hook."

Menefee simply didn't have the firepower to hold Ayala at bay and his corner acted wisely in asking the referee to stop it.

"I could have kept going, but why?" Menefee said. "I'll live to fight another day. I was surprised by his stamina."

Early in the seventh round, Ayala was warned for a low blow and Carrion gave Menefee several seconds to recover. Then late in the round, Ayala motioned to Menefee -- who was backing away -- to come and fight.

The two men then went toe-to-toe, with Ayala landing four punches to the head and a hook to the jaw that put Menefee down just as the bell rang. Menefee got up quickly and went to his corner.

In the eighth round, Ayala came out punching and hurt Menefee with three head shots. After another flurry, Menefee's corner men climbed onto the apron and motioned Carrion to stop the fight.

The Freeman Coliseum crowd was about half the size of the turnout to see Ayala, a San Antonio native, start his comeback by stopping Manuel Esparaza in the third round Aug. 20.

Ayala, who was in line to fight Davey Moore for the WBA junior middleweight title when he was arrested for rape in January 1983, is 25-0 with 23 knockouts. Menefee is 67-7-1 with 37 knockouts.

Ayala weighed in at 161½ pounds, a half-pound less than Menefee.