2010 Most Improved? :think He gets my vote. The Rarámuri tribesman and slugger-turned-boxer/puncher was already a fan-favorite by the time he ran into breakout star Juan Manuel Lopez, having strung together several very nice wins since losing a war to Celestino Caballero (most notably Sod Looknongyongtoy twice, Al Seeger, Gerry Penalosa, unbeaten Boom Boom Bautista, Rey Lopez, and Eduardo Escobedo). Lopez blitzed him in a quick and savage few minutes, which catapulted the Puerto Rican to the top of the rankings and the watch-lists of even casual fans. Since then, DPDL has been quietly rebuilding after going back to the drawing board and has begun to assemble another very nice run using his new style, which emphasizes the right jab to set up his still-considerable power. Most recently he has completely dismantled a pair of come-forward brawlers in Cornelius Lock and Antonio Escalante, both of whom have recently been involved in FOTY nominees (Lock in 2008 against Roger Gonzalez, and Escalante this year against Miguel Roman - and the 2009 scrap between Escalante and Lock wasn't too shabby, either). He stopped the latter in very impressive fashion via right hook after making him miss and softening him up with left crosses - again, putting everything together behind his much-reformed southpaw jab. He might not be a threat to the young phenoms at the top of his division, but this hard-working and likable fighter with his student mentality and an equalizer at the end of either arm certainly has a presence among the contenders and may at this stage be one of the best of the bunch without a belt.
No. He still fairly slow and Escalante was made for him and had a weak chin. Though I am a fan of Ponce De Leon and he picked his shots real nice on saturday night.
No to what? The most improved part? (or him being one of the better non-titlists at 126?) That doesn't mean he's on any top p4p lists - it just means he's come a long way stylistically. Who exactly would you put out there as having come further in a short time? :think
Haven't really thought about it but I dont think its De Leon. Hes just been matched well and always was a good fighter. He just picks his shots more nicely now and has a bit of a better D. Not a massive imporvement.
I predicted an early TKO win for PDL (always knew Escalante has a bad chin) but didnt expect him to outbox him as well. Escalante just never got into rhythm and was intimidated from the start of round 1. From those 3 rounds PDL wasnt throwing wide hooks like he did with JML, but kept coming in with straight punches. Took some good shots too so thats assuring to know that JuanMa didnt completely shatter his chin. At featherweight PDL is just too deep in a division to be considered elite, 2 of the top guys already beat him in embarrassing fashion. Although if TR still wants to keep juicing up a Gamboa/JuanMa matchup then a Gamboa/PDL match would be great while we wait for the JuanMa fight. Hell I wouldnt mind seeing John/PDL go at it but thats very unlikely. As for most improved dont really know for sure. I guess so since there arent many notable candidates for this gimmicky award.
He'd probably lose, but Ponce De Leon would be incredibly dangerous for Gamboa. That Gamboa-Lopez fight could easily be derailed if he gets embarrassingly KTFO (not all that far-fetched a possibility). Moderate reward at huge risk. Arum wouldn't.
Agree with the OP. De leon has made some improvements. He is still telegraphing some of his shots but is quicker to jump back to his defensive posture afterwards. Don't see any improvement to his speed but his reflexes seemed a bit sharper against Escalante. For those who missed last night's card, the whole undercard is already on U2be.
De Leon has improved, He's realy been working that jab. Something he rarely did before his fight with Lopez. I was impresssed with the way he outboxed Lock.
