The first of several Showtime bouts was short, but exciting. Approximately six years ago Juan Manuel “Juanma” Lopez destroyed Daniel Ponce De Leon in one round. The win propelled Juanma to the top of his division. Ponce De Leon had to fight hard to regain his position at the top level of the division. Saturday the two met again.
This time both had grown into junior lightweights, and neither was young or up and coming phenoms. Rather, both men were fighting to extend their careers be serious title contenders. The question was who had the most left?
The first round was very cautious, so much so smatterings of boos could be heard from the Puerto Rican Crowd. The round was a difficult one to score. Ponce de Leon pressed the action in the second, trying hard to protect himself from southpaw JuanMa’s powerful right hook, the punch that was responsible for his kayo loss in their first bout. It seemed like he had learned how to get under it, or block it.