Estrella Likes His Chances in Daniel Ponce De Leon Bout

By Miguel Rivera

Tijuana featherweight Omar "Dinamita" Estrella (15-3-2, 10 KOs) has a great opportunity before him when he faces the former champion at super bantamweight, Daniel Ponce De Leon (41-4, 34 KOs), in Mexico. The ten round bout is set for a regional title on January 21 and co-promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and Erik Morales' Box Latino. The main event will be broadcast live in Mexico by Televisa.

Estrella trains under the tutelage of former two-division champion Raul "Jibaro" Perez. Estrella has worked as a sparring partner for a number of champions such as the aforementioned Erik Morales, Humberto Soto, Antonio Margarito, Antonio DeMarco and others. Collecting victories in his last four fights, Estrella has not tasted defeat since 2010 when he lost a controversial decision against Jorge "Comino" Perez in Mexico City. Since that night, he scores four victories, all by knockout.  

The popular Ponce De Leon is a former champion at 118-pounds under the World Boxing Organization. He lost the strap to Juan Manuel Lopez in 2008. Since that defeat, the Ponce won seven of their last nine contests. In his last two fights, Ponce De Leon lost unanimous decisions to Adrien Broner and Yuriorkis Gamboa.

"I have great respect for Ponce De Leon, for his record and his career, but we are confident that we have the style to beat him. This is a great opportunity for me and I'm sure that with my team, with Jibaro "Perez, we'll have the right strategy to return to Tijuana with the win," Estrella said.