-Photo Credit: R. Lorenzo-
After an open media workout in Los Angeles yesterday, WBO World
Junior Featherweight Champion Daniel Ponce De Leon (34-1, 30
KO’s) declared that he is mentally and physically ready for his
world title defense against Puerto Rico’s Juan Manuel Lopez
(21-0, 19 KO’s) on Saturday, June 7 at Boardwalk Hall in
Atlantic City, New Jersey. The bout, which will be televised
live on HBO’s World Championship Boxing, should be another in a
long line of classic match-ups between a Mexican fighter and a
Puerto Rican fighter.
“I’ve trained really hard
for this fight and I’m positive that all of my hard work in the
gym will show during the fight,” said De Leon yesterday during
a media workout at “El Cache” Gym in Vernon, a Los Angeles
suburb. “I’ve had great sparring partners and a great camp and
I know Lopez has done the same, but my experience, my power and
my strength will be the key to me leaving the ring with my belt
around my waist next Saturday night.”
A Mexican Olympian with
concussive knockout power who participated in the 2000 Games in
Sydney, De Leon, who originally hails from Cuauhtémoc, Mexico,
is finishing his final preparations and is already on weight
for next weekend's championship showdown even though he doesn't
break camp and depart Los Angeles until Tuesday.
De Leon will be making his
seventh defense of his WBO World Junior Featherweight title
which he captured on October 29, 2005 with a unanimous decision
victory against Thailand’s Sod Looknongyangtoy. In his last
bout, De Leon beat Mexico’s highly regarded Eduardo Escobedo on
points on December 8, 2007.
The De Leon-Lopez bout is
presented by Golden Boy Promotions and Top Rank and is the
co-featured attraction of the June 7 edition of HBO’s World
Championship Boxing which features
Kelly Pavlik
(33-0, 29 KOs), from Youngstown, OH, who makes his first title
defense against No. 1 contender and mandatory challenger
Gary Lockett
(30-1, 21 KOs), from Cwmbran, Wales in the main event and
will be televised live at 10:05 p.m. ET/7:05 p.m.
PT from Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, NJ.
Remaining tickets, priced at $300, $200,
$100 and $50, can be purchased at the Boardwalk Hall box
office, by calling Ticketmaster (800) 736-1420 or online at http://www.ticketmaster.com/.
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