Daniel Ponce de León (born July 27, 1980) is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2014. He was a world champion in two weight classes, having held the WBO super bantamweight title from 2005 and 2008, and the WBC featherweight title from 2012 to 2013. As an amateur, de León won a bronze medal in the flyweight division at the 1999 Pan American Games, and was a member of the 2000 Mexican Olympic team in the featherweight division.

Daniel Ponce de León
Born (1980-07-27) July 27, 1980 (age 43)
NationalityMexican
Other namesEl León ("The Lion")
Statistics
Weight(s)
Height5 ft 5 in (165 cm)
Reach70 in (178 cm)
StanceSouthpaw
Boxing record
Total fights52
Wins45
Wins by KO35
Losses7
Medal record
Men's amateur boxing
Representing  Mexico
Pan American Games
Bronze medal – third place 1999 Winnipeg Flyweight

Early life edit

Daniel is a Tarahumara Amerindian,[1] raised in the Sierra Madre Occidental mountain range. Out of five brothers he was the only one to survive, due to the harsh conditions in his tribal area, the Sierra Madre. [2]

Amateur career edit

Daniel was a Mexican National Amateur champion and a bronze medalist at the 1999 Pan American Games. He then went on to represent Mexico at the 2000 Summer Olympics, where he was defeated in the first round by Ukraine's Volodymyr Sydorenko.[3]

WBO junior featherweight champion edit

On October 29, 2005 he defeated Sod Kokietgym by unanimous decision, handing Looknongyangtoy his first career loss.[4] He has defended his WBO junior featherweight title eight times against Gerson Guerrero, Reynaldo Lopez, Sod Kokietgym twice, Al Seeger, Gerry Peñalosa, Rey Bautista and Eduardo Escobedo. Ponce de León's first loss was a unanimous decision loss to Celestino Caballero on February 17, 2005.

Ponce de León retained his title against Eduardo Escobedo on December 8, 2007 via unanimous decision, as part of the undercard of the Floyd Mayweather Jr.Ricky Hatton fight.[5] On June 7, 2008 Ponce de León was defeated by technical knockout in the first round by Juan Manuel López, losing his WBO Super Bantamweight title.

De León was the headliner of a sold out Golden Boy show[6] and inched closer to another world title shot by knocking out Puerto Rican, Orlando Cruz.[7] Daniel defeated Cornelius Lock on May 1, 2010 the undercard of Floyd Mayweather vs. Shane Mosley[8] in the MGM Grand Garden Arena on HBO PPV to retain his WBC Latino featherweight title.[9]

Super featherweight contention edit

On March 5, 2011, De Leon moved up to the super featherweight division to face undefeated prospect Adrien Broner. The fight was expected to be a showcase bout for the younger and larger Broner, however, De Leon proved to be more competitive than anticipated as Broner was awarded a highly disputed ten round unanimous decision.[10]

WBC featherweight champion edit

In an upset, Ponce de Leon emerged victorious over WBC featherweight champion Jhonny Gonzalez, coming away with an eighth-round unanimous technical decision victory before a sold-out crowd at Saturday night's Showtime-televised event at the MGM Grand.

The bout ended when a nasty gash emerged over the right eye of Gonzalez (52–8, 45 KOs), of Mexico City, after which it was determined that Gonzalez could not continue, they went to the scorecards and he won via: 79–72, 79–72, 77–74, all for Ponce de Leon. Ponce de Leon fought Abner Mares in the Mayweather-Guerrero undercard on May 4, 2013 and got knocked down in the second and ninth rounds en route to a TKO loss at 2:20 of the ninth round, losing his WBC featherweight title in the process.

Professional boxing record edit

52 fights 45 wins 7 losses
By knockout 35 4
By decision 10 3
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
52 Loss 45–7 Miguel Roman TKO 9 (10), 1:50 Jun 7, 2014 Estadio de Béisbol, Ciudad Cuauhtémoc, Mexico For vacant WBC–USNBC Silver super featherweight title
51 Loss 45–6 Juan Manuel López TKO 2 (10), 2:42 Mar 15, 2014 Coliseo Roberto Clemente, San Juan For vacant WBO International super featherweight title
50 Win 45–5 Joksan Hernandez UD 10 Nov 16, 2013 Grand Oasis, Cancún, Mexico
49 Loss 44–5 Abner Mares TKO 9 (12), 2:20 May 4, 2013 MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S. Lost WBC featherweight title
48 Win 44–4 Jhonny González TD 8 (12), 2:36 Sep 15, 2012 MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S. Won WBC featherweight title;
Unanimous TD after González was cut from an accidental head clash
47 Win 43–4 Eduardo Lazcano UD 10 May 4, 2012 The Joint, Paradise, Nevada, U.S. Won vacant WBC–USNBC super featherweight title
46 Win 42–4 Omar Estrella KO 6 (12), 1:31 Jan 21, 2012 La Bodega del Boxeo, Ensenada, Mexico Won vacant WBC–USNBC featherweight title
45 Loss 41–4 Yuriorkis Gamboa TD 8 (12), 1:24 Sep 10, 2011 Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. Unanimous TD after de León was cut from an accidental head clash
44 Loss 41–3 Adrien Broner UD 10 Mar 5, 2011 Honda Center, Anaheim, California, U.S. For vacant WBO Inter-Continental super featherweight title
43 Win 41–2 Sergio Manuel Medina TKO 7 (10), 2:59 Dec 4, 2010 Estadio Universitario Beto Ávila, Veracruz, Mexico
42 Win 40–2 Antonio Escalante KO 3 (12), 2:40 Sep 18, 2010 Staples Center, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
41 Win 39–2 Cornelius Lock UD 10 May 1, 2010 MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S. Retained WBC Latino featherweight title
40 Win 38–2 Orlando Cruz KO 3 (12), 2:37 Feb 20, 2010 El Plaza Condesa, Mexico City, Mexico Won vacant WBC Latino featherweight title
39 Win 37–2 Roinet Caballero UD 12 Sep 5, 2009 Roberto Durán Arena, Panama City, Panama
38 Win 36–2 Marlon Aguilar UD 12 Apr 25, 2009 Arena Miguel Canto Solis, Cozumel, Mexico Won vacant WBC-NABF featherweight title
37 Win 35–2 Damian Marchiano KO 4 (10), 1:41 Nov 1, 2008 Gymnasio Manuel Bernardo Aguirre, Chihuahua City, Mexico
36 Loss 34–2 Juan Manuel López TKO 1 (12), 2:25 Jun 7, 2008 Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. Lost WBO super bantamweight title
35 Win 34–1 Eduardo Escobedo UD 12 Dec 8, 2007 MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S. Retained WBO super bantamweight title
34 Win 33–1 Reynaldo Lopez KO 5 (10), 2:39 Sep 28, 2007 Morongo Casino Resort & Spa, Cabazon, California, U.S. Retained WBO super bantamweight title
33 Win 32–1 Rey Bautista TKO 1 (12), 2:30 Aug 11, 2007 ARCO Arena, Sacramento, California, U.S. Retained WBO super bantamweight title
32 Win 31–1 Gerry Peñalosa UD 12 Mar 17, 2007 Mandalay Bay Events Center, Paradise, Nevada, U.S. Retained WBO and IBA super bantamweight titles
31 Win 30–1 Al Seeger TKO 8 (12), 1:43 Oct 21, 2006 Williams Convention Center, El Paso, Texas, U.S. Retained WBO super bantamweight title;
Won IBA super bantamweight title
30 Win 29–1 Sod Kokietgym KO 1 (12), 0:52 Jul 15, 2006 MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S. Retained WBO super bantamweight title
29 Win 28–1 Gerson Guerrero KO 2 (12), 1:50 May 27, 2006 Home Depot Center, Carson, California, U.S. Retained WBO super bantamweight title
28 Win 27–1 Sod Kokietgym UD 12 Oct 29, 2005 Desert Diamond Casino, Tucson, Arizona, U.S. Won vacant WBO super bantamweight title
27 Win 26–1 Phillip Payne TKO 7 (12), 0:57 Jun 24, 2005 The Show Palace, Oceanside, California, U.S. Won vacant WBO–NABO super bantamweight title
26 Win 25–1 Ricardo Barajas KO 2 (10), 2:13 Apr 29, 2005 Entertainment Center, Laredo, Texas, U.S.
25 Loss 24–1 Celestino Caballero UD 12 Feb 17, 2005 Avalon Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
24 Win 24–0 Julio Gamboa KO 4 (10), 2:04 Nov 19, 2004 Desert Diamond Casino, Tucson, Arizona, U.S. Retained WBO–NABO super bantamweight title
23 Win 23–0 Emmanuel Lucero KO 3 (12), 2:51 Oct 22, 2004 County Coliseum, El Paso, Texas, U.S. Won vacant WBONABO super bantamweight title
22 Win 22–0 Carlos Contreras UD 10 Jun 11, 2004 Sundance Square, Fort Worth, Texas, U.S.
21 Win 21–0 Anthony Martinez TKO 7 (10), 1:15 Apr 17, 2004 Activity Center, Maywood, California, U.S.
20 Win 20–0 Ivan Alvarez TKO 5 (10), 2:02 Mar 19, 2004 Grand Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
19 Win 19–0 Cesar Figueroa TKO 6 (10), 2:12 Feb 26, 2004 Sports Arena, San Diego, California, U.S.
18 Win 18–0 Jesus Salvador Perez TKO 1 (10), 2:45 Jan 16, 2004 Dodge Arena, Hidalgo, Texas, U.S.
17 Win 17–0 Carlos Duran TKO 3 Nov 20, 2003 Mexico
16 Win 16–0 Marcos Badillo KO 3 (8), 1:58 Sep 18, 2003 Santa Ana Stadium, Santa Ana, California, U.S.
15 Win 15–0 Francisco Tejedor TKO 1 (8), 3:00 Aug 28, 2003 Marriott Hotel, Irvine, California, U.S.
14 Win 14–0 Missael Nunez TKO 4 (6), 1:14 Jul 19, 2003 Activities Center, Maywood, California, U.S.
13 Win 13–0 Trinidad Mendoza TKO 2 (10) Feb 22, 2003 Plaza de Toros México, Mexico City, Mexico Retained WBC Youth bantamweight title
12 Win 12–0 Idelfonso Martinez TKO 3 (10) Aug 17, 2002 Santa Ana Star Casino, Santa Ana Pueblo, New Mexico, U.S. Won WBC Youth bantamweight title
11 Win 11–0 Manuel Castro KO 1 (10), 1:31 Aug 2, 2002 Centro de Espectaculos Corona, Ciudad Juárez, Mexico
10 Win 10–0 Julio Cesar Avila TKO 2 (10) Jun 29, 2002 Arena México, Mexico City, Mexico
9 Win 9–0 Miguel Ramirez KO 1 Feb 23, 2002 Mexico
8 Win 8–0 Terry Evans KO 2 Dec 15, 2001 Ensenada, Mexico
7 Win 7–0 Victor Manuel Barreto KO 1 (10), 1:44 Nov 23, 2001 Salon Flamingos, Ciudad Cuauhtémoc, Mexico
6 Win 6–0 Diego Andrade KO 4 Nov 2, 2001 Gimnasio Rodrigo M. Quevedo, Chihuahua City, Mexico
5 Win 5–0 Julio Luna TKO 5 (6), 0:46 Sep 1, 2001 Don Haskins Center, El Paso, Texas, U.S.
4 Win 4–0 Jesus Jimenez TKO 1 (4), 2:45 Jul 21, 2001 Feather Falls Casino & Lodge, Oroville, California, U.S.
3 Win 3–0 Ernesto Rivera TKO 3 May 18, 2001 Estadio de la Victoria, Ciudad Juárez, Mexico
2 Win 2–0 Victor Rodriguez TKO 1 (4) May 1, 2001 Mexico
1 Win 1–0 Servando Solis TKO 1 (10) Mar 31, 2001 Poliforo Juan Gabriel, Ciudad Juárez, Mexico

Exhibition boxing record edit

1 fight 0 wins 0 losses
Non-scored 1
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
1 0–0 (1) Marco Antonio Barrera 6 Nov 20, 2021 Inn of the Mountain Gods, Mescalero, New Mexico, U.S. Non-scored bout

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Gorney, Cynthia (November 2008) Tarahumara People — National Geographic Magazine. Ngm.nationalgeographic.com.
  2. ^ Seckbach, Elie (2010-05-25) Ponce De Leon The Knockout Artist. boxing.fanhouse.com
  3. ^ "Daniel Ponce de León". Retrieved May 22, 2010.[dead link]
  4. ^ Knish, Joey (2006-10-20) Daniel Ponce De Leon In The Lion's Den. thesweetscience.com
  5. ^ Photos – Daniel Ponce De Leon vs Eduardo Escobedo – Boxing news. Boxnews.com.ua (2010-01-30). Retrieved on 2014-02-01.
  6. ^ Daniel Ponce de Leon Scores KO Win, Vivian Harris Suffers TKO Loss Archived 2010-05-31 at the Wayback Machine. Eastsideboxing.com (2010-02-21). Retrieved on 2014-02-01.
  7. ^ Magno, Paul (2010-02-21) War in Mexico: Ponce De Leon, Segura, Chavez, Espadas in Action Archived 2010-02-27 at the Wayback Machine. Inside Fights.
  8. ^ Saul Alvarez and Daniel Ponce De Leon both collect wins on Floyd Mayweather-Shane Mosley undercard. fightnewsusa.com (2010-05-01)
  9. ^ Saul Alvarez and Daniel Ponce De Leon both collect wins on Floyd Mayweather-Shane Mosley undercard – ESPN. Sports.espn.go.com (2010-05-01). Retrieved on 2014-02-01.
  10. ^ LaBate, Chris (2011-03-05) Adrien Broner Decisions Daniel Ponce De Leon in Ten – Boxing News. Boxingscene.com. Retrieved on 2014-02-01.

External links edit

Sporting positions
Regional boxing titles
Preceded by
Idelfonso Martinez
WBC Youth
bantamweight champion

August 17, 2002 – July 2003
Vacated
Vacant
Title next held by
Alejandro Valdez
Vacant
Title last held by
Jorge Lacierva
WBONABO
super bantamweight champion

October 22, 2004 – February 2005
Vacated
Vacant
Title next held by
Himself
Vacant
Title last held by
Himself
WBO–NABO
super bantamweight champion

June 24, 2005 – September 2005
Vacated
Vacant
Title next held by
Steven Luevano
Vacant
Title last held by
Ricardo Castillo
NABF featherweight champion
April 25, 2009 – September 2009
Vacated
Vacant
Title next held by
Matt Remillard
Vacant
Title last held by
Renan Acosta
WBC Latino featherweight champion
February 20, 2010 – August 2010
Vacated
Vacant
Title next held by
Gregorio Torres
Vacant
Title last held by
Luis Cruz
WBC–USNBC
featherweight champion

January 21, 2012 – May 2012
Vacated
Vacant
Title next held by
Romulo Koasicha
Vacant
Title last held by
Adrien Broner
WBC–USNBC
super featherweight champion

May 4, 2012 – September 2012
Vacated
Vacant
Title next held by
Brandon Bennett
Minor world boxing titles
Vacant
Title last held by
Al Seeger
IBA super bantamweight champion
October 21, 2006 – August 2007
Vacated
Title discontinued
Major world boxing titles
Vacant
Title last held by
Joan Guzmán
WBO super bantamweight champion
October 29, 2005 – June 7, 2008
Succeeded by
Preceded by WBC featherweight champion
September 15, 2012 – May 4, 2013
Succeeded by