Interview: Daniel Ponce De Leon

We had the privilege of a 1 to 1 interview with Mexican former 2 time world champion Daniel Ponce De Leon. During his prime Daniel was one of the most feared fighters in the sport and ended with a record 45-7(35). We discussed his time as an amateur, his world championship run and what he does now after his boxing career. Thank you Daniel for your time. Enjoy!!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

FN247:

What was family life like growing up in Mexico and what inspired you to first get into boxing? DPDL:

My family life was very good. I had my parents and my brothers and grew up in the Chih Mountains. I lived a fantasy childhood surrounded by mountains, rivers and dangers of the Tarahumara mountains but always with the desire to succeed in something without knowing that boxing would be my destiny that would lead me to achieve my dreams. When I was 10 years old, we went to the city to continue studying and that's where I started practicing boxing and since then I never stopped. The reason for boxing was to learn to defend myself since I liked fighting. In boxing I discovered a place to leave my courage, frustrations and people to fight, but in a ring. When I saw Finito López, Daniel Zaragoza, Chávez and many other fighters fight, they inspired me to follow in their footsteps FN247:

You had a very successful amateur record including winning a bronze medal in the 1999 Pan Am games and representing Mexico in the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. How do you look back now on your amateur career and travelling the world with the Mexican team? DPDL:

I trained for 5 years solely thinking about the Olympics. The road was not easy although I enjoyed it because I was passionate about training and in tournaments I showed my desire to fight and win. I was proud to fight for Mexico in 10 different countries of the world like Canada, USA, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Cuba, Spain, Germany, Indonesia, Australia, Panama, this gave me a lot of experience. I trained hard for days, months and years just thinking about winning and representing Mexico in the Olympics. And with the support of my teammates and coaches, we won many tournaments together and as a team, but the most important thing was to represent Mexico in the Olympic games. Thanks to my experiences in these tournaments it made it easier for me to go professional and win a world championships. FN247:

You began your pro career in 2001 with 21 straight knockouts and gaining the reputation as one of boxing best prospects however suffered a shock loss to the tall and awkward Celestino Caballero in a close fight. What are your memories of that fight and why choose to fight such a dangerous opponent so early in your career? DPDL:

It was actually 22 straight knockouts. We were very confident because I trained hard and only thought about winning, I felt nothing could stop me or take my power. But my first defeat with a top fighter made me put my feet back on the ground. As my fame increased, I received many invitations to events and parties, and I began to go out more, everything looked good and I was among the best in the world as I always dreamed that i would be. But the first defeat against Caballero made me reasses and put my feet on the ground. I returned to the gym with even more desire and determined to find opponents who pay for my defeat. The fight with Caballero was for the IBF title, unfortunately I didn't win, but that fight gave me with a lot of experience. I learned that there is no easy opponent at this level and that made me determined to continue on the path of victory.

FN247:

The loss to Caballero did not slow your career as you where world champion by the end of the same year. How did it feel to add your name to the list of great Mexican champions of the past like Chavez, Barrera and Morales? DPDL:

The defeat with Caballero did not stop me, on the contrary, it gave me a more positive mentality. I trained more eagerly and listened to my coaches, my mindset was still focussed on winning a world championship and that year I did. I managed to place myself with the Mexican champions from history . The discipline, dedication and desire to win kept me going.

FN247:

You made 6 succesful defences of the WBO title before losing it to rival Juan Manuel Lopez. How hard did the nature of the defeat hit you and was there talk of a rematch for the title at the time? Lopez did not seem to want a second fight so soon. DPDL:

I had 6 championship fights defending the WBO title, I enjoyed it because I fought in big stages like Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Texas, New York and Puerto Rico, which was where I lost the title. It is a sport in which you have to have a lot of discipline and that was what I had apart from wanting to fight and win, although López did not give me a rematch, I continued on my way in search of another championship. Yes, it hurt to lose it, but I promised myself to go back and win it again.

FN247:

Around the same time, Ireland had Bernard Dunne as world champion in your division. Was a match between the two of you ever discussed and how did you rate Dunne? DPDL:

I was looking for the championship fight but everyone turned me down, he wanted nothing with me, Bernard Dunne was the WBA champion and it was a good fight for me but we never came to an agreement. It wasn't easy but he was ready to fight other opponents.

FN247:

2011 was a year where you fought two of the hottest prospects in boxing at the time in Adrien Broner and Yuriokis Gamboa. You stepped up in weight to fight them and pushed them both close. Whose decision was it to take 2 such difficult fights in a row out of your weight class? After two losses did you feel you could still win a world title? DPDL:

This year they offered me 130 pound fights. I accepted them because we knew we would win, I think I beat Broner, only the judges saw something else and Gamboa I lost on points after a round 8 game. In 2012 I returned to 126 in search of the title.

FN247:

One of the most dangerous fighters at the time was Jhonny Gonzalez, in 2012 you beat him to win your second world title in 2 different weight divisions. How did this compare to when you first became champion in 2005 as you where an underdog going into the Gonzalez fight? Did you feel you proved a lot of people wrong? DPDL:

Many believed that they could not beat González, but I knew that I could. I studied him well and knew his weak points. When we signed the fight, I knew I was going to win. I prepared myself like never before and wanted to win another world title and thank God I did. It was unforgettable.

FN247: Your final fight was in 2014, how are you finding retirement and what keeps you busy now and is there anything else you would like to add? DPDL: My last fight was in Cuauhtemoc Chih México, that's where I started in the sport. I feel good in retirement. I had removed all my anger and frustrations and I no longer wanted to continue fighting. Other doors were opening as a boxing commentator on the Fox Sports channel and Now I continue in this sport as an a commentator and I have a gym in El Paso Texas. I send you a big hug and I advise all to play sports and even better if it is boxing. Sport is health.

#boxing #mexicanboxing #danielponcedeleon #sports