SONSONA ARRIVES IN PUERTO RICO FOR TITLE FIGHT
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Tue, 16 Feb 2010
Undefeated former WBO super flyweight champion “Marvelous” Marvin Sonsona of the Philippines has arrived in Puerto Rico for his WBO super bantamweight title fight against Wilfredo Vazquez Jr, son of the legendary former world champion.
Sonsona battles Vazaquez in a clash of undefeated fighters in the main event of a fight card at the Ruben Rodriguez Coliseum in Bayamon, Puerto Rico on February 27.
The 19 year old Sonsona who lost the super flyweight title on the scales when he failed to make the 115 pound limit in his first title defense last November in Ontario, Canada has a record of 14-0-1 with 12 knockouts while Vazquez has a record of 17-0-1 with 14 knockouts.
The WBO super bantamweight title was relinquished by Juan Manuel “Juanma” Lopez who moved up top featherweight and won the title from Steven Lueavano. He is scheduled to face the Philippines Bernabe Concepcion sometime in June.
Concepcion who is handled by world pound-for-pound king and “Fighter of the Decade” Manny Pacquiao and his adviser Michael Koncz won the right to challenge Lopez with a solid nanimous ten round decision over hard-hitting Puerto Rican southpaw Mario Santiago last February 13 at the Las Vegas Hilton on the “Pinoy Power III/Latin Fury 13” fight card presented by Top Rank.
Vazquez Jr. is seeking to avenge the defeat suffered by countryman Jose “Carita” Lopez who lost his super flyweight title to Sonsona who put on a rousing performance to win the title last September at Casino Rama in Ontario, Canada.
Sonsona who is handled by Sammy Gello-ani in partnership with international matchmaker/promoter Sampson Lewkowicz decided to move up two weight divisions after failing to make the super flyweight limit in his first title defense.
Sonsona who trained at the Kennel Boxing Gym in California will himself try to make up for the bitter first round knockout loss suffered by Ciso “Kid Terrible” Morales who trained alongside him under Nonito Donaire Sr.
Morales told us just hours before we left Las Vegas that the morning after his knockout by WBO champion Fernando “Cochulito” Montiel who sent him crashing to the canvas agonizing in pain after a vicious left to the mid-section that his stomach still ached.
Montiel told Dyan Castillejo of ABS-CBN and this reporter who worked the fights with her that his having to reduce 12 pounds in some six days was too much and that eating a lot after virtually starving for a week told on him.
We covered several of Morales’ fights in the Philippines for Viva Sports weekly boxing show “The Main Event” presented by Tnduay, the No.1 Rhum and couldn’t understand how Morales who often fought as a super bantamweight and was growing could be asked to reduce so much and fight a veteran world champion like Montiel who was far more experienced than the Filipino and had more than twice as many knockouts to his name as the wins by Morales.
It was plainly an awful mismatch in which “Kid Terrible” took a terrible and unnecessary beating.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.
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