Daniel Ponce de León

Daniel Ponce de León
Statistics
Real name	Daniel Ponce de León
Nickname(s)	El León
Rated at	Super Featherweight Featherweight Super Bantamweight Bantamweight
Height	1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
Reach	178 cm (70 in)
Nationality	Tarahumara
Born	(1980-07-27) July 27, 1980 Ciudad Cuauhtémoc, Chihuahua, Mexico
Stance	Southpaw
Boxing record
Total fights	52
Wins	45
Wins by KO	35
Losses	7
Draws	0
No contests	0
Medal record Men's amateur boxing Representing  Mexico Pan American Games Bronze 1999 Winnipeg Flyweight

Daniel Ponce de León (born July 27, 1980) is a Mexican professional Boxer in the Featherweight division and was a member of the 2000 Mexican Olympics team. He is the former WBC Featherweight Champion and former WBO World Super Bantamweight Champion.

He currently resides in West Covina, California.^[1]

Early life

Daniel is a Tarahumara Amerindian,^[2] raised in the Sierra Madre Occidental mountain range. Out of five brothers he was the only one to survive, due to the harsh conditions and the poverty his tribe lived in.^[3]

Amateur career

Daniel was a Mexican National Amateur champion and a bronze medalist at the 1999 Pan American Games. Ponce de León would then go onto represent Mexico at the 2000 Summer Olympics.^[4]

WBO Super Bantamweight Champion

On October 29, 2005 he defeated Sod Kokietgym by unanimous decision, handing Looknongyangtoy his first career loss.^[5] He has defended his WBO Super Bantamweight Championship 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.^[6] 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^[7] and inched closer to another world title shot by knocking out Puerto Rican, Orlando Cruz.^[8] Daniel defeated Cornelius Lock on May 1, 2010 the undercard of Floyd Mayweather vs. Shane Mosley^[9] in the MGM Grand Garden Arena on HBO PPV to retain his WBC Latino featherweight title.^[10]

Featherweight Contention

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.^[11]

WBC Featherweight Champion

In a shocker, Daniel Ponce de Leon emerged victorious over WBC featherweight beltholder 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 record

45 Wins (35 knockouts), 7 Losses (4 knockouts), 0 Draws
Res.	Record	Opponent	Type	Rd., Time	Date	Location	Notes
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss	45–7	Miguel Roman	TKO	9 (10), 1:50	2014-06-07	Estadio de Beisbol, Ciudad Cuauhtemoc, Chihuahua
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss	45–6	Juan Manuel Lopez	TKO	2 (12), 0:00	2014-03-15	Coliseo Roberto Clemente, San Juan	Rematch.
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	45–5	Joksan Hernandez	UD	10	2013-11-16	Oasis Hotel Complex, Cancún, Quintana Roo
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss	44–5	Abner Mares	TKO	9 (12), 2:20	2013-05-04	MGM Grand Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada	Lost WBC Featherweight title.
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	44–4	Jhonny Gonzalez	TD	8 (12), 2:36	2012-09-15	MGM Grand Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada	Won WBC Featherweight title.
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	43–4	Eduardo Lazcano	UD	10	2012-05-04	Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada	Won vacant WBC USNBC Super Featherweight title.
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	42–4	Omar Estrella	KO	6 (12), 1:31	2012-01-21	Bodega Del Boxeo, Ensenada, Baja California	Won vacant WBC USNBC Featherweight title.
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss	41–4	Yuriorkis Gamboa	TD	8 (12), 1:24	2011-09-10	Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss	41–3	Adrien Broner	UD	10	2011-03-05	Honda Center, Anaheim, California	For vacant WBO Inter-Continental Super Featherweight title.
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	41–2	Sergio Manuel Medina	TKO	7 (10), 2:59	2010-12-04	Estadio Beto Avila, Veracruz, Veracruz	Retained WBC Latino Featherweight title.
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	40–2	Antonio Escalante	KO	3 (12), 2:40	2010-09-18	Staples Center, Los Angeles, California	Retained WBC Latino Featherweight title.
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	39–2	Cornelius Lock	UD	10	2010-05-01	MGM Grand Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada	Retained WBC Latino Featherweight title.
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	38–2	Orlando Cruz	KO	3 (12), 2:37	2010-02-20	Auditorio Plaza Condesa, Mexico City	Won WBC Latino Featherweight title.
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	37–2	Roinet Caballero	UD	12	2009-09-05	Arena Roberto Durán, Panama City
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	36–2	Marlon Aguilar	UD	12	2009-04-25	Arena Miguel Canto Solis, Cozumel, Quintana Roo	Won NABF Featherweight title.
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	35–2	Damian Marchiano	KO	4 (10), 1:41	2008-11-01	Gimnasio Manuel Bernardo Aguirre, Chihuahua, Chihuahua
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss	34–2	Juan Manuel López	TKO	1 (12), 2:25	2008-06-07	Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey	Lost WBO Super Bantamweight title.
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	34–1	Eduardo Escobedo	UD	12	2007-12-08	MGM Grand Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada	Retained WBO Super Bantamweight title.
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	33–1	Reynaldo Lopez	KO	5 (10), 2:39	2007-09-28	Morongo Casino Resort & Spa, Cabazon, California	Retained WBO Super Bantamweight title.
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	32–1	Rey Bautista	TKO	1 (12), 2:30	2007-08-11	Arco Arena, Sacramento, California	Retained WBO Super Bantamweight title.
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	31–1	Gerry Penalosa	UD	12	2007-03-17	Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada	Retained WBO & IBA Super Bantamweight title.
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	30–1	Al Seeger	TKO	8 (12), 1:43	2006-10-21	Williams Convention Center, El Paso, Texas	Retained WBO Super Bantamweight title. Won IBA Super Bantamweight title.
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	29–1	Sod Kokietgym	KO	1 (12), 0:52	2006-07-15	MGM Grand Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada	Retained WBO Super Bantamweight title.
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	28–1	Gerson Guerrero	KO	2 (12), 1:50	2006-05-27	Home Depot Center, Carson, California	Retained WBO Super Bantamweight title.
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	27–1	Sod Kokietgym	UD	12	2005-10-29	Desert Diamond Casino, Tucson, Arizona	Won the WBO Super Bantamweight title.
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	26–1	Phillip Payne	TKO	7 (12), 0:57	2005-06-24	The Show Palace, Oceanside, California	Won WBO NABO Super Bantamweight title.
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	25–1	Ricardo Barajas	KO	2 (10), 2:13	2005-04-29	Laredo Entertainment Center, Laredo, Texas
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss	24–1	Celestino Caballero	UD	12	2005-02-17	Avalon Hollywood, Los Angeles, California
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	24–0	Julio Gamboa	KO	4 (10), 2:04	2004-11-19	Desert Diamond Casino, Tucson, Arizona	Retained WBO NABO Super Bantamweight title.
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	23–0	Emmanuel Lucero	KO	3 (12), 2:51	2004-10-22	El Paso County Coliseum, El Paso, Texas	Won vacant WBO NABO Super Bantamweight title.
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	22–0	Carlos Contreras	UD	10	2004-06-11	Sundance Square, Fort Worth, Texas

See also

• Mexico at the 2000 Summer Olympics

References

External links

• Professional boxing record for Daniel Ponce de León from BoxRec
• Daniel Ponce de León's biography (Golden Boy Promotions Inc. official site)