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Ponce De Leon - Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes
SUN, October 22 Buster Paris - Daniel Ponce De Leon will merrily punch you in the face, then he’ll punch you in the ear, then punch your neck, then your shoulder, your arm, your elbow, your stomach, your hip, your leg, your foot – whatever.
It doesn’t matter to him where he hits you – as long as he does -- his basic fight blueprint is based off of that old children’s song:
“Head, shoulders, knees and toes – knees and toes – head, shoulders, knees and toes – knees and toes -- eyes and ears and mouth and nose - head, shoulders, knees and toes – knees and toes”
I love this guy!
You know – he could use a nickname – I like “Mother Goose’s Mexican of Mayhem” because of his style and strategy of ‘head, shoulders, knees and toes’.
Saturday – October 21st 2006 at the Don Haskins Center in El Paso, TX – Daniel Ponce De Leon (W 30 – 28 ko's and L 1) took on Savanna Georgia’s Al "The Quiet Storm" Seeger (W 27 - 21 ko's and L 2) for the WBO Super Bantamweight Title.
Seeger is 3 inches taller than Daniel and has a longer reach and was supposed to be just the type of opponent to give Ponce De Leon a tough time.
Daniel is a scrapper and just throws punches – some thrown professionally and others thrown wild, but with deadly intentions – and that’s where Al was supposed to be able to capitalize and go to work as he’s a boxer and stylist – a pro – and was supposed to make Daniel pay for his controlled berserker style.
Supposed to.
Al Seeger had one good round – the 1st, but for the rest of the night each round would be progressively worse for him.
All the rounds were very similar in pace and almost identical in what took place – Seeger would circle and bounce around the outer rim of the ring and Ponce De Leon would follow and hound him while throwing bombs. Al would throw some popping shots, then grab and hold -- and Daniel would simply bully him into a corner and beat the snot out of him.
That pretty much describes the night – along with the addition of Seeger slowing down each round -- his legs less bouncy, his offensive output less busy and not as productive - and what started off as a crafty defensive strategy of circling outside became an almost desperate cliché of trying to avoid shots, but ending up absorbing a lot of punishment – mostly due to a subtle shift of tactic and perception as it became less a matter of Daniel chasing Al around the ring and more a matter of Al trying to keep away from Daniel.
Ponce De Leon was the same throughout the fight – just unloading brutal and wild shots from every imaginable and unimaginable angle. He was like some happily malicious wind up doll that was programmed to just hit the guy in front of him – and that’s what he did – over and over and over again.
“Head, shoulders, knees and toes – knees and toes – head, shoulders, knees and toes – knees and toes …”
That’s how it went for 8 rounds until during the 8th Seeger’s corner thought that Al had had enough and the fight was stopped.
Al has some talent and definitely has charm and charisma – seems like a nice kid, but he just didn’t have the experience to deal with the likes of this kind of fighter – there’s simply no way to train to face Ponce De Leon and Seeger couldn’t adapt or figure out what to do.
I love watching Daniel fight – he’s so fun, raw, honest and entertaining to watch – I felt that he was the only reason to even purchase such a dreadfully horrible fight card on Pay Per View.
What’s next for Daniel – what’s next in line for Ponce De Leon’s future? – Well, his team is trying to polish him up and give him more technique and more of a “professional” looking arsenal of weaponry. It’s a balancing act in that because he’s such a natural and brutal warrior that it makes him a unique and interesting fighter – and very fun to watch, but his style does leave him open and vulnerable to an opponent that could counter like crazy – so while he really does need improvement you don’t want to take away or change too much.
Maybe his blueprint could be that other song: Dem Bones (aka Dry Bones or Dem Dry Bones)
“The head-bone connected to the neck-bone,
the neck-bone connected to the back-bone
The backbone connected to the thigh-bone
the thighbone connected to the kee-bone
the kneebone connected to the leg bone
the leg bone connected to the foot bone
the foot bone connected to the toe bone”
Hey – it’s more methodical, disciplined and not as wild.
Whatever the blueprint is – ‘Mother Goose’s Mexican of Mayhem’ is one of my personal favorite fighters to watch.
Buster Paris can be reached at: bparis@talkingboxing.com - and always enjoys receiving your thoughts, comments and questions
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