Ponce De Leon was originally schedule to fight Jayson Velez in early March but the bout was cancelled when Velez suffered an ankle injury. Now De Leon gets the opportunity of a life time when he faces two-division titleholder Abner Mares who recently vacated his junior featherweight title to move up in weight when he could not finalize a unification fight with Nonito Donaire.
Ponce De Leon vs Abner Mares will take place April 20 at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., in the main event on Showtime. De Leon is no walk in the park and betting odds will be up in the air as both Mares and De Leon are high caliber.
Personally I don’t know who I am will be cheering for. De Leon hits hard and lost a controversial decision against Adrien Broner in 2011 and again 6 months later to Yuriokis Gamboa after an accidental head butt.
His most recent win was against Jhonny Gonzalez. Mares has a brawling style and loves to rush his opponents. Frank Espinoza, who manages both fighters, will keep everything even between the two in the lead up to the fight.
“It’s a difficult situation for a manager to be involved with both fighters, but I plan to be neutral,” Espinoza told ESPN. “I respect both fighters. I will not be in either corner at the fight. I won’t walk with either fighter to the ring and I won’t be in the ring. I’m just going to have a seat and watch and enjoy the fight. This is a great fight for the fans. Adrenaline will be flowing at the Home Depot Center.”
This is definitely a fight you don’t want to miss.