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 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, Ponce 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. He was trained by Vicente Juárez.
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Early life

Ponce de León 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 in his tribal area, the Sierra Madre.

Amateur career

Ponce de León 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.

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.
Ponce 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. Ponce de León defeated Cornelius Lock on May 1, 2010 the undercard of Floyd Mayweather Jr. 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, Ponce de León 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, Ponce de León 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 León emerged victorious over WBC featherweight champion Jhonny Gonzalez, coming away with an eighth-round unanimous technical decision victory before a sold-out crowd at a 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 León. Ponce de León 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
52Loss45–7Miguel RomanTKO9, 1:50Jun 7, 2014Estadio de Béisbol, Ciudad Cuauhtémoc, MexicoFor vacant WBC–USNBC Silver super featherweight title
51Loss45–6Juan Manuel LópezTKO2, 2:42Mar 15, 2014 Coliseo Roberto Clemente, San JuanFor vacant WBO International super featherweight title
50Win45–5Joksan HernandezUD10Nov 16, 2013Grand Oasis, Cancún, Mexico
49Loss44–5Abner MaresTKO9, 2:20May 4, 2013MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.Lost WBC featherweight title
48Win44–4Jhonny GonzálezTD8, 2:36Sep 15, 2012MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.Won WBC featherweight title;
Unanimous TD after González was cut from an accidental head clash
47Win43–4Eduardo LazcanoUD10May 4, 2012The Joint, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.Won vacant WBC–USNBC super featherweight title
46Win42–4Omar EstrellaKO6, 1:31Jan 21, 2012La Bodega del Boxeo, Ensenada, MexicoWon vacant WBC–USNBC featherweight title
45Loss41–4Yuriorkis Gamboa8, 1:24Sep 10, 2011Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.Unanimous TD after Ponce de León was cut from an accidental head clash
44Loss41–3Adrien BronerUD10Mar 5, 2011Honda Center, Anaheim, California, U.S.For vacant WBO Inter-Continental super featherweight title
43Win41–2Sergio Manuel MedinaTKO7, 2:59Dec 4, 2010Estadio Universitario Beto Ávila, Veracruz, Mexico
42Win40–2Antonio EscalanteKO3, 2:40Sep 18, 2010Staples Center, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
41Win39–2Cornelius LockUD10May 1, 2010MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.Retained WBC Latino featherweight title
40Win38–2Orlando CruzKO3, 2:37Feb 20, 2010El Plaza Condesa, Mexico City, MexicoWon vacant WBC Latino featherweight title
39Win37–2Roinet CaballeroUD12Sep 5, 2009Roberto Durán Arena, Panama City, Panama
38Win36–2Marlon AguilarUD12Apr 25, 2009Arena Miguel Canto Solis, Cozumel, MexicoWon vacant WBC-NABF featherweight title
37Win35–2Damian MarchianoKO4, 1:41Nov 1, 2008Gymnasio Manuel Bernardo Aguirre, Chihuahua City, Mexico
36Loss34–2Juan Manuel LópezTKO1, 2:25Jun 7, 2008Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.Lost WBO super bantamweight title
35Win34–1Eduardo EscobedoUD12Dec 8, 2007MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.Retained WBO super bantamweight title
34Win33–1Reynaldo LopezKO5, 2:39Sep 28, 2007Morongo Casino Resort & Spa, Cabazon, California, U.S.Retained WBO super bantamweight title
33Win32–1Rey BautistaTKO1, 2:30Aug 11, 2007ARCO Arena, Sacramento, California, U.S.Retained WBO super bantamweight title
32Win31–1Gerry PeñalosaUD12Mar 17, 2007Mandalay Bay Events Center, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.Retained WBO and IBA super bantamweight titles
31Win30–1Al SeegerTKO8, 1:43Oct 21, 2006Williams Convention Center, El Paso, Texas, U.S.Retained WBO super bantamweight title;
Won IBA super bantamweight title
30Win29–1Sod KokietgymKO1, 0:52Jul 15, 2006MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.Retained WBO super bantamweight title
29Win28–1Gerson GuerreroKO2, 1:50May 27, 2006Home Depot Center, Carson, California, U.S.Retained WBO super bantamweight title
28Win27–1Sod KokietgymUD12Oct 29, 2005Desert Diamond Casino, Tucson, Arizona, U.S.Won vacant WBO super bantamweight title
27Win26–1Phillip PayneTKO7, 0:57Jun 24, 2005The Show Palace, Oceanside, California, U.S.Won vacant WBO–NABO super bantamweight title
26Win25–1Ricardo BarajasKO2, 2:13Apr 29, 2005Entertainment Center, Laredo, Texas, U.S.
25Loss24–1Celestino CaballeroUD12Feb 17, 2005Avalon Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
24Win24–0Julio GamboaKO4, 2:04Nov 19, 2004Desert Diamond Casino, Tucson, Arizona, U.S.Retained WBO–NABO super bantamweight title
23Win23–0Emmanuel LuceroKO3, 2:51Oct 22, 2004County Coliseum, El Paso, Texas, U.S.Won vacant WBO–NABO super bantamweight title
22Win22–0Carlos Contreras10Jun 11, 2004Sundance Square, Fort Worth, Texas, U.S.
21Win21–0Anthony MartinezTKO7, 1:15Apr 17, 2004Activity Center, Maywood, California, U.S.
20Win20–0Ivan AlvarezTKO5, 2:02Mar 19, 2004Grand Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
19Win19–0Cesar FigueroaTKO6, 2:12Feb 26, 2004Sports Arena, San Diego, California, U.S.
18Win18–0Jesus Salvador PerezTKO1, 2:45Jan 16, 2004Dodge Arena, Hidalgo, Texas, U.S.
17Win17–0Carlos DuranTKO3Nov 20, 2003Mexico
16Win16–0Marcos BadilloKO3, 1:58Sep 18, 2003Santa Ana Stadium, Santa Ana, California, U.S.
15Win15–0Francisco TejedorTKO1, 3:00Aug 28, 2003Marriott Hotel, Irvine, California, U.S.
14Win14–0Missael NunezTKO4, 1:14Jul 19, 2003Activities Center, Maywood, California, U.S.
13Win13–0Trinidad MendozaTKO2 Feb 22, 2003Plaza de Toros México, Mexico City, MexicoRetained WBC Youth bantamweight title
12Win12–0Idelfonso MartinezTKO3 Aug 17, 2002Santa Ana Star Casino, Santa Ana Pueblo, New Mexico, U.S.Won WBC Youth bantamweight title
11Win11–0Manuel CastroKO1, 1:31Aug 2, 2002Centro de Espectaculos Corona, Ciudad Juárez, Mexico
10Win10–0Julio Cesar AvilaTKO2 Jun 29, 2002Arena México, Mexico City, Mexico
9Win9–0Miguel RamirezKO1Feb 23, 2002Mexico
8Win8–0Terry EvansKO2Dec 15, 2001Ensenada, Mexico
7Win7–0Victor Manuel BarretoKO1, 1:44Nov 23, 2001Salon Flamingos, Ciudad Cuauhtémoc, Mexico
6Win6–0Diego Andrade4Nov 2, 2001Gimnasio Rodrigo M. Quevedo, Chihuahua City, Mexico
5Win5–0Julio LunaTKO5, 0:46Sep 1, 2001Don Haskins Center, El Paso, Texas, U.S.
4Win4–0Jesus JimenezTKO1, 2:45Jul 21, 2001Feather Falls Casino & Lodge, Oroville, California, U.S.
3Win3–0Ernesto RiveraTKO3May 18, 2001Estadio de la Victoria, Ciudad Juárez, Mexico
2Win2–0Victor RodriguezTKO1 May 1, 2001Mexico
1Win1–0Servando Solis1 Mar 31, 2001Poliforo Juan Gabriel, Ciudad Juárez, Mexico

Exhibition boxing record

No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
10–0 Marco Antonio Barrera6Nov 20, 2021Inn of the Mountain Gods, Mescalero, New Mexico, U.S.Non-scored bout