MAYOL AND SONSONA: BOTH HAVE SOMETHING TO PROVE
By Rene Bonsubre, Jr.
PhilBoxing.com
Sat, 27 Feb 2010
It was on November 21, 2009 that Rodel Mayol finally won a world title belt when he beat WBC champ Edgar Sosa by second round TKO in Palenque de la Feria, Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas, Mexico.
On that same day, Marvin Sonsona lost his WBO title after weighing 2.6 lbs over the superflyweight limit and toiled for twelve agonizing rounds to earn a split draw against Alejandro Hernandez of Mexico in Casino Rama,Ontario, Canada.
As fate would have it, these two Filipino boxers will be fighting again on the same day in separate venues. This February 28 (Manila Time) Mayol will make his first title defense at the Coliseo Olympico de la UG, Guadalajara,Mexico while Sonsona will fight for the vacant WBO superbantamweight title at the Coliseo Ruben Rodriguez , Bayamon,Puerto Rico.
It took the 28 year old Mayol four attempts to finally win a world title. The win against Sosa came three years and six months after he lost in his attempt for the WBC strawweight title against Eagle Kyowa. That is a very long time to wait, especially for someone who during his early years as a pro was tagged as a future champ.
He was a former local amateur standout and four time national champion. But he seemed doomed to be another unfulfilled promise. There were moments when Mayol wanted to hang up his gloves and forget about his title quest. His losses to Ulises Solis and Adrian Hernandez were low points in his life. There were also those frustrating technical decisions against Ivan Calderon.
When he was losing, he was mocked by boxing fans ? most of them his own countrymen - in various internet forums and chat rooms. But Mayol persevered. He may have been driven more by desperation rather than a lingering ambition.
Still, his world title belt has not silenced his detractors. Mayol knows that he is the target of a ?vendetta?. Edgar Sosa and obviously the entire Mexican boxing nation never agreed with the verdict of the World Boxing Council which upheld Mayol?s win despite their protests. They would love to see him fall at the hands of Omar Ni?o Romero.
The 33 year old Romero is from Guadalajara. He is best known for dethroning Brian Viloria in an upset unanimous decision win in 2006. He held Viloria to a majority draw in their rematch but failed a post fight drug test. Romero lost to Filipino Juanito Rubillar by split decision in a title eliminator in 2008 but beat Rubillar by 8 round technical decision last June 2009 to reappear in the title picture.
Both Mayol and Romero made the required weight limit during the official weigh-in. Mayol weighed in at 107.8 while Romero weighed 108 lbs.
In an article posted on the Spanish language website notifight.com, Sosa had words of advice for Romero, "Use distance and lateral movement. Do not enter forward, beware of the head of Mayol.?
The 19 year old Sonsona on the other hand had things relatively easy. He got a world title shot with only 13 fights under his belt against a 48 fight veteran Jose ?Carita? Lopez. He won by unanimous decision and entered the record books as the second youngest Filipino world boxing champion.
Being another southpaw from Gen. Santos City also helped as the media and fans buzzed about the next Manny Pacquiao. But when Sonsona lost his title, he too became subject of ridicule by his own countrymen. He did invite some of the scorn that came his way when stories of his lack of focus and episodic sloth appeared on the internet.
He now has another title shot three months after the draw with Hernandez. But Wilfredo Vasquez,Jr. has his own plans. The 25 year old son of a former three division world champ has pedigree and the crowd on his side. Based on the film clips of his fights on the net, he has the tools to bring to an end Sonsona?s title ambitions and anticipated greatness.
Sonsona made weight this time together with Vasquez. Sonsona weighed 121.4 lbs while the hometown boy Vasquez weighed 122 lbs. They both were on target with their weights one week before the official weigh-in.
Sonsona will also have questions to answer come fight time:
1. Does he still have power at 122 lbs considering that he never scored a knockout in two fights at 115 and 117.6 lbs.?
2. Was the victory against Lopez a prelude of greater things to come? Or will he be relegated to being a mere footnote and join the long list of Filipino champions with very short reigns?
Both Mayol and Sonsona have their own personal motivations for winning. But the desire to silence their detractors will surely fuel both boxers when they compete before hostile crowds.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Rene Bonsubre, Jr..
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