Golden Boy Promotions put on a tremendous bill from the Desert Diamond Casino in Tucson Arizona on Saturday night. HBO Latino broadcast the evening’s entertainment and the first bout from that bill that we’ll present round by round coverage for was waged for the vacant WBO Super Bantamweight title between fellow southpaws Daniel Ponce de Leon and Sod Looknongyangtoy.
Round One: The fight begins with both fighters touching gloves in the center of the ring and De Leon throwing the first punch, swinging wide and above Sod’s head with a left hook. De Leon, as expected, has come out with a lot of bounce in his legs and he is throwing the majority of the punches so far, consisting mainly of deflected jabs and hooks thrown too wide. With a minute and half left in the round, Sod is throwing a bit more then during the first part of the round, getting inside of Leon’s wide hooks which enables him to attempt to work the body. With about twenty seconds left, De Leon starts throwing the first jabs of the fight, keeping Sod on the outside for the last part of the round.
Round: De Leon 10-9
Round Two: After a fairly inactive first round, Sod begins the second by charging out at the bell to De Leon’s side of the ring and immediately knocks him down with a short right hook. De Leon gets up but looks shaken and Sod throws a couple more hooks after De Leon gets up, both being much wider then the one that dropped De Leon. De Leon seems to have recovered from the early knockdown, and is throwing his jab now, much like he did in the latter part of the first round. De Leon follows up one or his jabs with a right hook that connects to Sod’s jaw, but Sod counters with an overhand right hand that rocks De Leon and puts him off balance. Once again, De Leon recovers and coasts around the ring using his jab to keep Sod at a distance for the remainder of the round. It’s Sod’s round, but De Leon did a good job of shaking off the early knockdown and finishing strong.
Round: Looknongyangtoy 10-8
Fight: Looknongyangtoy 19-18
Round Three: De Leon comes out popping his jab again, and keeps a safe distance from Sod. De Leon is fighting defensively so far, he isn’t following his jab up much and he seems to be a different fighter then he was in round one, he doesn’t have the energy he had in the first. With a minute left, De Leon starts to follow up on his jabs a bit more, connecting with hooks to the body of Sod. He seems to have regained his composure completely after the knockdown in round one, and won this round with his ability to jab and keep Sod on the outside. Very nice recovery round for De Leon.
Round: De Leon 10-9
Fight: Even 28-28
Round Four: The round starts with De Leon popping a jab in Sod’s face early, and Sod counters with two big hooks to the body. De Leon is switching strategies throughout this round, choosing to lead with his jab and stay on the outside at times, and then leading with his left hook and trying to get inside. He hasn’t committed to one strategy thus far. When the two exchange hooks, Sod wins almost every exchange, consistently beating De Leon to the punch. However, with just twenty seconds left in the round, De Leon lands two hooks to Sod’s jaw, sending the Thai fighter stumbling, but De Leon is unable to take advantage of the off balance Sod and both fighters stay upright as the round closes. That was an exciting round, with Ponce De Leon getting the better of it.
Round: De Leon 10-9
Fight: De Leon 38-37
Round Five: Much like the previous two rounds, De Leon comes out jabbing once again. As the fight goes on, De Leon’s guard is getting lower and lower, allowing him to work the body more but also allowing Sod to connect with his big overhand rights. De Leon seems to have a gameplan now; following all his jabs with shots to the body. With about forty seconds left, the two exchange blows on the inside, with De Leon landing a big right uppercut under Sod’s chin. Sod recovers and closes the round by landing a left hook to the body at the bell. Despite the uppercut, Sod got the better of all the exchanges that round, so he gets the round.
Round: Looknongyangtoy 10-9
Fight: Even 47-47
Round Six: Like all the previous rounds, De Leon starts out by jabbing, circling the ring, and keeping a safe distance from Sod. As the round progresses, the distance closes, and Sod is utilizing his straight right hand with effectiveness, counteracting almost all of De Leon’s best offerings with it. With about forty seconds left in the round, De Leon misses wide with a lead left hook and Sod takes advantage by landing a straight right had that sends De Leon stumbling backwards. De Leon clinches, recovers, and the round ends. It was probably the least active round of the fight so far, next to the first, and Sod takes the frame.
Round: Looknongyangtoy 10-9
Fight: Looknongyangtoy 57-56
Round Seven: De Leon is still using his jab, but seems a lot more tired in the legs, putting himself against the ropes instead of circling the ring like he was in previous rounds. This is allowing Sod to charge straight in with his straight right hand and landing with frequency. With about a minute left, Sod lands a blow on the belt line, and De Leon complains to the referee to not avail. De Leon looks very frustrated. He is definitely the more tired fighter at this point, and is throwing his jab without moving his legs, which is letting Sod get inside and land to the body. That was Sod’s round by a mile, De Leon has to pick up the pace.
Round: Looknongyangtoy 10-9
Fight: Looknongyangtoy 67-65
Round Eight: The round starts with De Leon moving around a lot more then last round, lunging in with his jab and following with hooks to the head. A minute into the round, the fight shifts to the inside, with both fighters ducking each other’s hooks and neither landing any substantial blows. The fighters separate after around fifteen seconds of inactivity only to go back inside with De Leon landing two hooks to Sod’s head after the referee breaks them apart. The referee warns De Leon and the remainder of the round consists of De Leon keeping his distance and jabbing. Ponce De Leon did a good job of dictating the pace of that round.
Round: De Leon 10-9
Fight: Looknongyangtoy 76-75
Round Nine: The fighters meet in the center of the ring, and Sod immediately throws a left hook very wide that causes him to lose his balance. De Leon takes advantage by landing a jab and a straight right hand when Sod was off balance. Sod looks like he might have a minor cut on the bridge of his nose. De Leon’s south paw style seems to be giving Sod a little trouble on the inside now, as Sod is drawing his right hand back looking for an opportunity to land a straight right hand while De Leon is capitalizing on the situation by landing a barrage of right hooks. De Leon looked refreshed that round, he definitely won it because of his right hooks on the inside.
Round: De Leon 10-9
Fight: Even 85-85
Round Ten: The round begins with De Leon getting inside and throwing the hooks that won him the last round. He is really starting to put together some nice combinations, following a jab with a brutal left hook very early on. A minute into the round, De Leon lands three hooks to the jaw of Sod, who fails to answer back. Sod looks very exhausted at this point and he is getting beat to the punch consistently. When he does throw first, De Leon is just jabbing his way out of any potential trouble. With about twenty seconds left, Sod shows a bit of life by landing a straight right hand that pushes De Leon to the ropes before the round ended, but that wasn’t enough to steal the round from De Leon.
Round: De Leon 10-9
Fight: De Leon 95-94
Round Eleven: After a brief timeout to wipe the ring down, both fighters get on the inside and exchange hooks. As has been the case in the last few rounds, Sod is getting better of the exchange, landing the first four punches to De Leon’s body before De Leon ever throws a punch. Both fighters separate after several clinches, and with a minute left in the round and just four minutes left in the fight, De Leon backs straight up and is caught with another one of Sod’s straight right hands. De Leon escapes any danger though, and once again reverts back to his jab to keep his distance. While it was a closer round then the last, it was still Ponce De Leon’s round.
Round: De Leon 10-9
Fight: 105-103
Round Twelve: The fighters start the twelfth and final round by embracing in the center of the ring, acknowledging the good efforts that both have put forth thus far. For the first minute or so, De Leon looks like he has no intention of trading on the inside, jabbing his way around the ring and keeping his distance. Whenever the fight does go inside, De Leon quickly clinches and wrestles Sod. De Leon seems to think he has won the majority of the rounds thus far, and just has to make it out on his feet this round to win the fight. De Leon keeps jabbing throughout the remainder of the round. With about forty seconds left, De Leon gestures for Sod to come inside and once Sod does, De Leon immediately clinches and starts wrestling some more. The fight comes to a close after a fairly uneventful round twelve De Leon gets the round for being able to keep the fight on the outside and not allowing Sod to get any shots in.
Round: De Leon 10-9
Final Card: De Leon 115-112
The official scorecards are read 118-109 and 115-112 twice, with Daniel Ponce De Leon winning the vacant WBO Super Bantamweight title. The man from Cuauhtemoc, Mexico climbs to 27-1 (25) while Sod Looknongyangtoy, of Petchaboon, Thailand suffers his first career loss and drops to 25-1 (10).