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THAT Punch is Why Our Sport is Called The Sweet Science
TUE July 18, BUSTER PARIS - The boxing world is exploding with speculation and delight about "Sugar" Shane Mosley winning the rematch between himself and Fernando "El Feroz" Vargas via a merciful TKO in the 6th round (Saturday night - July 15th in Las Vegas) - BUT - I can't stop thinking about Daniel Ponce De Leon.
There's so much to talk about in the aftermath of Mosley v Vargas II - there's the whole Gatorade issue - for those of you that don't know - it's boxing's brand new controversy - basically should fighters be allowed to drink Gatorade between rounds as opposed to just drinking water as it's always been.
There's also the big question - is this it for Fernando Vargas? - Looking at this loss and his past few outings - is it all over for him?
There's also the even bigger question regarding Shane - what's next? - and whose next? - Could a fight at 147 lbs between him and the pound per pound best fighter in the world today - "Pretty Boy" Floyd Mayweather be in the cards? - and - how awesome would that be!
There is just so much to talk about simply based on this fight - it's a boxing writers dream - it's a boxing fans dream ... and yet - I can't stop thinking about Daniel Ponce De Leon.
Every time I start punching letters on my keyboard - that Ponce De Leon left hand smashes into my consciousness and shatters everything in my head - I can't stop thinking about it and am compelled to talk about it.
THAT punch is why our sport is called The Sweet Science.
Daniel Ponce De Leon (29 wins - 27 by knockout and 1 loss) vs. fellow southpaw Sod Looknongyangtoy (27 wins - 10 by KO and 2 losses) was also a rematch and was on the under card right before Mosley v Vargas II - a scheduled 12 rounder for the WBO Super Bantamweight Championship.
Their first fight in October 2005 wasn't anything really special and this one wasn't anticipated to be anything special either.
This is why we watch boxing - this why our sport is savagely beautiful - this is why our sport is called The Sweet Science.
Round 1 started off with Daniel throwing huge looping bombs and Sod answering back with straight rights. The thumping of leather on flesh was attention grabbingly loud - and then as the clock ticked down from 2:17 to 2:16 it happened.
Ponce De Leon was stepping backward as Looknongyangtoy was lightly moving forward - as Looknongyangtoy was "becoming" forward momentum Ponce De Leon planted himself and as he was settling he began to shift his purpose forward and he also "became" forward momentum, but with destructive and more powerful intentions.
Daniel's entire being was in his left fist as it was launched from the ground - arched upward in a bow shape and crashed smack in the middle of Sod's nose driving it down to his chin and sending everything to the mat.
That was it - perfect physics - it shut off Sod's circuit breaker and he was out before he hit the ground.
Here's a test for you - take your thumb and put it on you chin, turn it so that your fingers (or knuckles) are facing up -- now with your thumb push your chin down towards your throat.
That's just a glimpse into the science of boxing - and the pugilistic principle of what sent Sod Looknongyangtoy to the Land of OZ.
To put it another way - it was a gad-damn sweet punch!
That was it - the fight officially over at 52 seconds into the first round with Sod completely knocked unconscious, flat on his face and spread out on the canvas like he was a giant bug splattered and stretched out over the windshield that was the ring at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Daniel Ponce De Leon keeps his WBO Super Bantamweight crown and positions himself as one of the hardest hitters in his division - it's genuinely impressive that of his 29 wins 27 of them are because he knocked the other guy silly.
On this night he also earned the respect and admiration of boxing fans worldwide ... and I'm pretty sure that Golden Boy Promotions will have him back again.
It's funny - soon this punch will be filed away as merely another first round knockout punch, soon this punch will almost be forgotten in the day to day happenings of boxing - and soon there'll be another punch that draws our attention and makes us gasp, cheer and look with awe as we say "that's a gad-damn sweet punch".
But for this moment in time - that punch overshadowed "Sugar" Shane Mosley's victory over "Ferocious" Fernando Vargas - that punch overshadowed Gatorade-gate - that punch overshadowed the future of the two hall of fame bound fighters that followed it.
For this moment in time THAT punch is why our sport is called The Sweet Science.
It really was pretty damn sweet.
Buster Paris can be reached at: bparis@talkingboxing.com - and always enjoys receiving your thoughts, comments and questions
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