Daniel Ponce de León


Daniel Ponce de León is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2014. He was a world champion 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.

Early life

Daniel is a Tarahumara Amerindian, 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.

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.

WBO junior featherweight champion

On October 29, 2005 he defeated Sod Kokietgym by unanimous decision, handing Looknongyangtoy his first career loss. 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. 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 and inched closer to another world title shot by knocking out Puerto Rican, Orlando Cruz. Daniel defeated Cornelius Lock on May 1, 2010 the undercard of Floyd Mayweather vs. Shane Mosley in the MGM Grand Garden Arena on HBO PPV to retain his WBC Latino featherweight title.

Super 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.

WBC featherweight champion

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, 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

No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
52Loss45–7 Miguel RomanTKO9, 1:50Jun 7, 2014 Estadio de Béisbol, Ciudad Cuauhtémoc, MexicoFor vacant WBC–USNBC Silver super featherweight title
51Loss45–6 Juan Manuel LópezTKO2, 2:42Mar 15, 2014Coliseo Roberto Clemente, San Juan.png" />For vacant WBO International super featherweight title
50Win45–5 Joksan HernandezUD10Nov 16, 2013 Grand Oasis, Cancún, Mexico
49Loss44–5 Abner MaresTKO9, 2:20May 4, 2013 MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.Lost WBC featherweight title
48Win44–4 Jhonny GonzálezTD8, 2:36Sep 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
47Win43–4 Eduardo LazcanoUD10May 4, 2012 The Joint, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.Won vacant WBC–USNBC super featherweight title
46Win42–4 Omar EstrellaKO6, 1:31Jan 21, 2012 La Bodega del Boxeo, Ensenada, MexicoWon vacant WBC–USNBC featherweight title
45Loss41–4 Yuriorkis Gamboa8, 1:24Sep 10, 2011 Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.Unanimous TD after de León was cut from an accidental head clash
44Loss41–3 Adrien BronerUD10Mar 5, 2011 Honda Center, Anaheim, California, U.S.For vacant WBO Inter-Continental super featherweight title
43Win41–2 Sergio Manuel MedinaTKO7, 2:59Dec 4, 2010 Estadio Universitario Beto Ávila, Veracruz, Mexico
42Win40–2 Antonio EscalanteKO3, 2:40Sep 18, 2010 Staples Center, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
41Win39–2 Cornelius LockUD10May 1, 2010 MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.Retained WBC Latino featherweight title
40Win38–2 Orlando CruzKO3, 2:37Feb 20, 2010 El Plaza Condesa, Mexico City, MexicoWon vacant WBC Latino featherweight title
39Win37–2 Roinet CaballeroUD12Sep 5, 2009 Roberto Durán Arena, Panama City, Panama
38Win36–2 Marlon AguilarUD12Apr 25, 2009 Arena Miguel Canto Solis, Cozumel, MexicoWon vacant NABF featherweight title
37Win35–2 Damian MarchianoKO4, 1:41Nov 1, 2008 Gymnasio Manuel Bernardo Aguirre, Chihuahua City, Mexico
36Loss34–2 Juan Manuel LópezTKO1, 2:25Jun 7, 2008 Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.Lost WBO super bantamweight title
35Win34–1 Eduardo EscobedoUD12Dec 8, 2007 MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.Retained WBO super bantamweight title
34Win33–1 Reynaldo LopezKO5, 2:39Sep 28, 2007 Morongo Casino Resort & Spa, Cabazon, California, U.S.Retained WBO super bantamweight title
33Win32–1 Rey BautistaTKO1, 2:30Aug 11, 2007 ARCO Arena, Sacramento, California, U.S.Retained WBO super bantamweight title
32Win31–1 Gerry PeñalosaUD12Mar 17, 2007 Mandalay Bay Events Center, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.Retained WBO and IBA super bantamweight titles
31Win30–1 Al SeegerTKO8, 1:43Oct 21, 2006 Williams Convention Center, El Paso, Texas, U.S.Retained WBO super bantamweight title;
Won IBA super bantamweight title
30Win29–1 Sod KokietgymKO1, 0:52Jul 15, 2006 MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.Retained WBO super bantamweight title
29Win28–1 Gerson GuerreroKO2, 1:50May 27, 2006 Home Depot Center, Carson, California, U.S.Retained WBO super bantamweight title
28Win27–1 Sod KokietgymUD12Oct 29, 2005 Desert Diamond Casino, Tucson, Arizona, U.S.Won vacant WBO super bantamweight title
27Win26–1 Phillip PayneTKO7, 0:57Jun 24, 2005 The Show Palace, Oceanside, California, U.S.Won vacant WBO–NABO super bantamweight title
26Win25–1 Ricardo BarajasKO2, 2:13Apr 29, 2005 Entertainment Center, Laredo, Texas, U.S.
25Loss24–1 Celestino CaballeroUD12Feb 17, 2005 Avalon Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
24Win24–0 Julio GamboaKO4, 2:04Nov 19, 2004 Desert Diamond Casino, Tucson, Arizona, U.S.Retained WBO–NABO super bantamweight title
23Win23–0 Emmanuel LuceroKO3, 2:51Oct 22, 2004 County Coliseum, El Paso, Texas, U.S.Won vacant WBO–NABO super bantamweight title
22Win22–0 Carlos Contreras10Jun 11, 2004 Sundance Square, Fort Worth, Texas, U.S.
21Win21–0 Anthony MartinezTKO7, 1:15Apr 17, 2004 Activity Center, Maywood, California, U.S.
20Win20–0 Ivan AlvarezTKO5, 2:02Mar 19, 2004 Grand Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
19Win19–0 Cesar FigueroaTKO6, 2:12Feb 26, 2004 Sports Arena, San Diego, California, U.S.
18Win18–0 Jesus Salvador PerezTKO1, 2:45Jan 16, 2004 Dodge Arena, Hidalgo, Texas, U.S.
17Win17–0 Carlos DuranTKO3Nov 20, 2003 Mexico
16Win16–0 Marcos BadilloKO3, 1:58Sep 18, 2003 Santa Ana Stadium, Santa Ana, California, U.S.
15Win15–0 Francisco TejedorTKO1, 3:00Aug 28, 2003 Marriott Hotel, Irvine, California, U.S.
14Win14–0 Missael NunezTKO4, 1:14Jul 19, 2003 Activities Center, Maywood, California, U.S.
13Win13–0 Trinidad MendozaTKO2 Feb 22, 2003 Plaza de Toros México, Mexico City, MexicoRetained WBC Youth bantamweight title
12Win12–0 Idelfonso MartinezTKO3 Aug 17, 2002 Santa Ana Star Casino, Santa Ana Pueblo, New Mexico, U.S.Won WBC Youth bantamweight title
11Win11–0 Manuel CastroKO1, 1:31Aug 2, 2002 Centro de Espectaculos Corona, Ciudad Juárez, Mexico
10Win10–0 Julio Cesar AvilaTKO2 Jun 29, 2002 Arena México, Mexico City, Mexico
9Win9–0 Miguel RamirezKO1Feb 23, 2002 Mexico
8Win8–0 Terry EvansKO2Dec 15, 2001 Ensenada, Mexico
7Win7–0 Victor Manuel BarretoKO1, 1:44Nov 23, 2001 Salon Flamingos, Ciudad Cuauhtémoc, Mexico
6Win6–0 Diego Andrade4Nov 2, 2001 Gimnasio Rodrigo M. Quevedo, Chihuahua City, Mexico
5Win5–0 Julio LunaTKO5, 0:46Sep 1, 2001 Don Haskins Center, El Paso, Texas, U.S.
4Win4–0 Jesus JimenezTKO1, 2:45Jul 21, 2001 Feather Falls Casino & Lodge, Oroville, California, U.S.
3Win3–0 Ernesto RiveraTKO3May 18, 2001 Estadio de la Victoria, Ciudad Juárez, Mexico
2Win2–0 Victor RodriguezTKO1 May 1, 2001 Mexico
1Win1–0 Servando Solis1 Mar 31, 2001 Poliforo Juan Gabriel, Ciudad Juárez, Mexico