According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, featherweight beltholder Daniel Ponce De Leon will defend against fomrwe Bantamweight and Super Bantamweight champion Abner Mares on April 20th at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California and will be televised on Showtime.
“Ponce De Leon versus Mares is signed, sealed and delivered,” said Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer, who promotes both fighters. “That’s a big-time fight. It’s a big opportunity for Ponce De Leon to fight against one of the best young fighters in boxing and a great opportunity for Abner to move up to yet another weight class to challenge for the world title.
“Ponce De Leon versus Mares is signed, sealed and delivered,” said Schaefer, who promotes both fighters. “That’s a big-time fight. It’s a big opportunity for Ponce De Leon to fight against one of the best young fighters in boxing and a great opportunity for Abner to move up to yet another weight class to challenge for the world title.
“It’s funny how things work out sometimes,” Schaefer said. “We’ve had some fights fall out and some are being rescheduled and some aren’t, but everything happens for a reason. With this fight, once [the Velez fight] dropped out, and with Abner moving up, it made sense. It’s definitely a great fight, a great showdown. Abner is very excited and loves the challenge and Ponce De Leon can’t wait. You will see two highly motivated guys.”
What made the fight more delicate to put together than most was the fact that Ponce De Leon and Mares are both managed by Frank Espinoza. Managers usually don’t want to match their fighters with each other, not to mention the complicating factor of it being illegal to take full percentages from both purses.
“Everything was worked out,” Espinoza told ESPN.com.
“Abner’s goal has been to win a third world championship and this is that opportunity and Ponce, as well, knows fighting Abner can only benefit his career.”
Said Schaefer, “We talked to Frank and explained to him that it was the right thing to do for both of his fighters and that he has to look at it like that, that he has to represent each one of them, but it was the right fight to make. It’s the biggest challenge for them so why stand in the way? Frank was immediately on board. He said, ‘Let me talk to the fighters and see if we can get it done.’ Frank did a terrific job getting it done with each one of them.”
Espinoza said he 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,” he said. “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.”
The proposed co-feature could be a Welterweight clash between Marcos Maidana and Josesito Lopez
