NEW YORK–World Ranked Junior Lightweight Erick De Leon showed the heart of a champion by fighting 9 1/2 rounds with an injured shoulder, but still won just about every round in his ten round unanimous decision over tough veteran, Adrian Young.

The bout took place at The Lakefront Arena in New Orleans and was shown live on ESPN+.

De Leon was knocked down in the 1st round with a left hook.  De Leon dislocated his shoulder in that same round, and fought through his injury.  De Leon fought well over the next nine rounds. De Leon boxed very well over the final nine rounds to get the victory by scores of 98-91 and 97-92 twice.

De Leon was able to fight on despite the severity of the shoulder injury, which required hospitalization following the fight.

De Leon of Detroit remains undefeated at  18-0-1.  Young of Los Mochis, MEX falls to 25-5-2.

“I went into this fight knowing it wasn’t going to be easy, but I had all the tools necessary to walk out victorious. I did just that while facing adversity with one hand. This was just another stepping stone I needed to overcome to get me a shot at a world title in the near future,” said De Leon

“Erick dislocated his right shoulder when he fell in the 1st round.  He got up and won nine straight rounds with only one arm.  How can you not love a guy like that,” said David McWater, CEO of Split-T Management.

De Leon is promoted by Top Rank.