EXPECT A COMPLETELY NEW SONSONA ? LEWKOWICZ
By Dong Secuya
PhilBoxing.com
Mon, 09 Mar 2015
?There is no great genius without a mixture of madness? ? Aristotle
?He calls me Papa, I call him crazy? ? Lewkowicz
MACAU -- In the continuing saga of the roller-coaster life of Filipino boxing phenom 'Marvelous' Marvin Sonsona who at age 19 captured a world title but went into a well-documented tailspin shortly thereafter but reemerges in the boxing scene early last year with a knockout-of-the-year trashing of Japanese contender Akifumi Shimoda but later almost went into another downturn after his not so impressive victory over erstwhile tormentor Wilfredo Vazquez Jr in June, Sonsona's American promoter Sampson Lewkowicz told Philboxing that Sonsona is well on his way to completely overhaul his image ? physical and otherwise.
A series of moves by Lewkowicz in the last couple of months had him Sonsona well-positioned to take his career into another level. For starters, Sonsona left the Philippines to train in the US where there is minimal distraction. Then Lewkowicz hooked Sonsona up with conditioning guru Angel Heredia and then had Sonsona signed up with highly influential boxing adviser Al Haymon. Additionally, Lewkowicz rented a comfortable 3-bedroom apartment with new appliances next to a beautiful park for Sonsona in Las Vegas.
Lewkowicz, his partner Filipino promoter Samson Gello-ani and Sonsona's manager Dr Rajan Yraola have never wavered in their for support for Sonsona even as they allowed Sonsona to break their hearts many times by either not training for scheduled fights or not answering their calls altogether. Sonsona has been known for his out of the ring indiscretions.
?All crazy people comes to be a champion ? like Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, Oscar de la Hoya, and others, and why not Manny Pacquiao too?? Lewkowicz told Philboxing on the eve of the Amnat Ruenroeng vs Zou Shiming title fight. ?Because to be a great champion you cannot be a normal person. Maybe 80% per cent of the great champions have this craziness and Marvin Sonsona is one of those,? Lewkowicz said.
Lewkowicz, who had discovered Manny Pacquiao in the US, still believes that Sonsona will carry the torch of Philippine boxing after the Manny Pacquiao era.
Lewkowicz also said that controversial conditioning guru Angel Heredia and Sonsona had clicked working together. ?Sonsona arrived in the US bloated and his weight was three divisions up. But Angel Heredia changed his life. Now Sonsona tells me that he wants to stay in the US and that he believes his future is the US,? Lewkowicz said.
According to Lewkowicz, Heredia complimented Sonsona by saying that ?the talent and the will to work hard ? his name is Marvin Sonsona.?
Additionally, with former IBF flyweight champion Johnreil Casimero staying in the US and training together with Sonsona, according to Lewkowicz, was a great help for Sonsona. ?Although Casimero is a young person, but as a friend and adviser to Sonsona, he is invaluable. I would like to thank publicly Casimero's help and maybe I'll pay him as an adviser to Sonsona,? Lewkowicz said.
Sonsona (19-1-1, 15KO), who is rated No. 3 by the WBC in the featherweight division, is set to face undefeated Puerto Rican Jayson Velez (22-0-1, 16KO), the No. 4 contender, for the right to become the mandatory challenger of Mexican champion Jhonny Gonzalez. The fight date though has not been set and according to Lewkowicz may be held at the end of May or first of June this year.
Lewkowicz said he will be posting information on Sonsona's progress at his twitter account at @SampsonBoxing.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Dong Secuya.
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