SAN ANTONIO -- Tony Ayala Jr. never saw the end of his undefeated record.

Leaning back on his stool with his eyes closed, Ayala accepted treatment from his cornermen and a soothing "It's OK" from his father-manager when the bell rang to start the ninth round and he knew he wasn't going to answer it.

A broken left hand gave Yory Boy Campas a technical knockout in the middleweight bout Friday night, dropping Ayala to 27-1 and putting a big damper on his comeback from a 16-year stay in prison.

"He fought the good fight; I didn't," the 37-year-old Ayala said. "Today, I had a bad day. I will bounce back."

Ayala was 22-0 and one of the up-and-comers in the days when his weight class was dominated by Sugar Ray Leonard, Thomas Hearns and Marvin Hagler. Nicknamed "El Torito," the little bull, he was headed for his first title fight when he threw his career away.

Loaded up on heroin, cocaine and alcohol, Ayala broke into a neighbor's residence and brutally raped her. He was sentenced to 35 years in New Jersey prisons and served 16 before being released in April 1999.

He won his first five post-prison fights against mediocre competition. Campas (75-4) represented his first real challenge.

Ten mariachis serenaded Ayala as he entered the ring and the Freeman Coliseum crowd of 9,112 cheered the hometown star's every move.

In the second round, Ayala began feeling pain in his left hand after landing a headshot. After six more rounds of pounding, he was left with a broken bone on the top of his left hand.

"In the third round, I knew it would be useless," he said.

Ayala still had his chance. He cut Campas under the left eye late in the fourth round and it was badly swollen by the start of the fifth. Ayala went after the damaged area, but couldn't put away Campas.

As fans chanted "To-nee! To-nee!" Campas regained control. The fifth ended with Ayala pinned to the ropes, which is where he spent most of the fight.

"They got confident when they saw my cut," Campas said. "They didn't take advantage."

Ayala Sr. blamed the lack of a knockout blow on the injury.

"He was patting with his hand," the father said. "I should've stopped it earlier."

Campas leaped from his corner to the middle of the ring when he realized the fight was over. As he raised his arms in victory, fans began booing and throwing cups of beer into the ring.

Campas, who as a child watched Ayala's once-promising career take off, then crash, went over to console the Ayalas.

Campas was coming off a loss in his last fight and in two of his last four. A former International Boxing Federation junior middleweight champion, this may have been a last chance to retain drawing power.

Where Ayala goes from here is uncertain. Texas Rangers catcher Ivan Rodriguez suffered a similar injury this week, underwent surgery the next day and has been told to avoid athletic activity for 2-4 months.

"He will heal, rest and come back," Ayala Sr. said.

On the undercard, Tito Mendoza beat James Coker in a 10-round middleweight bout for the second time in nine weeks, this time needing a majority decision.

Mendoza (21-3) outslugged Coker (22-3) in the early rounds and held on for the victory. He won with a seventh-round TKO on May 19 that left Coker's eyes so swollen that state officials later examined Mendoza's gloves.

The state sent extra supervisors to observe both corners this time, but there was nothing suspicious.