Marvin Sonsona: Marvelous Indeed!

September 7th, 2009

One aspect of boxing that I have always been very intrigued by is the results of amateur fights involving boxers that went on to become world champions. In the Philippines, the national amateur tournaments are full of potential champions and if you ever get a chance to go check one of them and by all means go and do so because you will be seeing some potential stars of Philippine boxing. I have been to some of these tournaments and I witnessed dozens of talents. I saw Manny Pacquiao when he was 16 years old and when he became a household name in a local boxing show called "Blow-by-Blow" early in his boxing career. I was present watching at the time he fought countryman Dele Decierto in Manila back in 1995. It is amazing and interesting to me that you can be at what might appear to be an average run of the mill tournament somewhere and you have no idea who the guys on the show may or may not turn out to be in the future.

Like last Friday night at Casino Rama in Ontario Canada, Marvin Sonsona (14 (12 KO), 0-0) stunned all the Filipino boxing fans when he dropped Jose "Carita" Lopez (39 (32 KO),8-0) with a huge left hook in the 4th round enroute to win a unanimous decision victory. Sonsona who amassed 200+ solid amateur fights, began his professional career last 2007 as a 17 years old light flyweight, winning his 12 bouts all via TKO within 5 rounds. If there's one thing that Sonsona proved last Friday night is that the Filipino sledgehammer comes to fight and he fights as hard as he hits, his record shows it all. Not only can he knock-out his opponents, but he can also be dominant for twelve full rounds of exciting fight. Exhibiting remarkable power and resiliency against top opposition, Sonsona has shown that he will not shy away from a challenge. With his iron fist long left hand, southpaw stance, reach and a 5'8" body frame work, he can become an imposingly a very
dangerous warrior and a potential superstar in the making.

The Friday night's main event was featured sizzling exchanges in every round, majority of the round was being controlled by the young skillful challenger Sonsona using footwork, jab and straight left hand to neutralize Lopez lead right hand. It was an amazing display of power considering the type of caliber by his Puerto Rican orthodox opponent, a very skillful veteran.

Lopez is definitely no push-over. He is not world champion for nothing. Before this fight, he has never lost a match in his last 16fights for the past seven years. And seven years is a very long winning streak! So this Puerto Rican champion has been in this game for several decades and record shows he has the power to knock his opponents out. And for a tall and skinny kid like Sonsona, Lopez seems to be a very dangerous challenge to conquer. Remember 32 of his 39 wins are by way of knockout. Before the fight, there were speculations if Marvin Sonsona is even ready to fight for a title shot. A lot of questions were raised about Marvin’s stamina to last 12rounds as he has never went more than 5 rounds before. And does Sonsona mature enough to conquer a tough veteran of this fight game?

Indeed, I saw Sonsona felt Lopez’ power from time to time. I can see Marvin slow down whenever Jose connects with those short right hands from the inside. But what impressed me is the fact that not only Marvin Sonsona can throw power punches, he can take power punches too! Marvin Sonsona wisely circled away out of trouble whenever Lopez gains momentum which gives him time to recover. And when Marvin gets his wind back, he surely unleashed his own arsenal of firepower. There was never a dull round in that boxing match. Each round is as exciting as the others. Which brought me to ask; “Does Marvin Sonsona has enough in his tank to finish this intense fight?” I must also commend Sonsona’s corner for asking him to pace himself. And rightly so, I saw Marvin did just that; wisely conserving his energies whenever he has the chance by just evading Lopez’ attacks. But not so much as neglecting to win the rounds, because he sure rained some bombs on
Lopez for the full 12 rounds. Although Lopez was deducted points for low blows, in my unofficial scorecards Sonsona still wins the fight with or without the deduction. People might say “But he hasn’t knocked Lopez out!” Well…who has anyways? Lopez is one tough customer for anybody. And taking Lopez’ belt the way Sonsona did in this fight deserves a commendation.

From what I saw last Friday, Marvin Sonsona is the complete package. Talents like these are what boxing needs. With proper guidance and self-discipline, this kid, 19years old Marvin Sonsona, the youngest Filipino World Champion, is looking onto a very bright future. I’m excited to see Marvin Sonsona’s next fight!