Leon strives for gold

by Brett Hedges

Instead of wrestling farm animals like most boys born in Essex County, Dante Leon will be trying to defeat men much older than him to achieve his goals in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

The 17-year-old Harrow native will be competing in the Abu Dhabi Jiu-Jitsu Pro Trials in Flushing, N.Y. Oct. 27 for a chance to compete in the World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Cup.

“I’ve been training hard for this opportunity,” said Leon. “If you win there, you get a paid trip to Abu Dhabi to compete in the Jiu-Jitsu World Cup, that’s my goal.”

As a well-kept secret in Windsor and Essex County, Leon is a two-time world champion and three-time Pan American champion in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and is ranked number one in the world for fighters under 19. But that doesn’t stop him from training every day.

“All of the competitors in New York will be tough,” said Leon. “Everyone wants the ticket and no one’s there to mess around. It’s the toughest tournament around besides the worlds, in my opinion.”

Leon may have as many as 12 fights in New York, having to win his own weight division before fighting the winners of each other weight division in order to be declared champion. Last year, Leon made the final of the tournament but lost to a man in his 20s.

“His ranking can’t get higher until he’s 19,” said Dino Leon, a Muay Thai expert and Dante’s father. “The kid is good and I’m not shy about saying it to anyone.”

Dino is trained in Muay Thai, Wing Chun, boxing, kickboxing, Kali, Tai Chi and Laido. He spent his whole life in Martial Arts and retired with an impressive Muay Thai record of 17-1. After the pro trials in New York, the next big tournaments for Leon are the Pan American and World Championships, both of which will be held in California in 2013.

“There’s still a ways to go yet,” said Leon. “There is still a lot of training and competitions before that, but I’m looking forward to it.”

Although he has a wall full of medals and trophies, his goals are very clear.

“My goal in the sport is to be the best I can be. I want to continue to win, spread my jiu-jitsu to the world and better the sport while being the best there is.”