Eden Sonsona: I Admit the Ring Rust but I?m Back on Track!
By Chito Yu Katangkatang
PhilBoxing.com
Tue, 09 Aug 2011
Last Saturday, Gerry Pe?alosa made his so far the biggest and most successful promotional event in partnership with GMA 7 Kapuso Network. Laban ng Lahi: Dugong Kampeon treated the fans with a superb line up of fights which featured Dodie Boy Pe?alosa Jr. vs. Kong Kiatpracha, Rodel Mayol vs. Jason Rotoni and the comeback of Eden Sonsona who traded leathers with Eman Labanza. Also in the card were the PABA Title Fight between Randy Petalcurin vs. Michael Rodriguez and Jimrex Jaca vs. Philip Demecillo. The event dominated TV Ratings and was graced by an international quality of audience in the likes of Australian Promoter Peter Maniatis, Panamanian Sports Writer Carlos Costa, Japanese Boxing Manager Kyosuke Washio and guests from the US.
Eden Sonsona made his appearance before the boxing fans after almost a year of lay off. It was his first step towards re-building his boxing career which faded for a while after his loss to Jonathan Oquendo. Sonsona showed that he still had the skills and the poise of the elite fighter he used to be but his performance was far from his encore moments against Elon Kedem and Mauricio Pastrana. He escaped with a majority decision against journeyman Eman Labanza which was not impressive enough to gain the applaud of the meticulous Cebuano boxing fans. However, Sonsona showed total ring domination in terms of technique and ring generalship. He also possessed the same ring attitude which could draw the attention of fight fans.
This writer sat down with Eden Sonsona after his recent victory:
CYK: Hi Eden! How are you doing after the fight?
EDEN: I am very fine. No serious injury on my part except for some aching muscles due to my accumulated punches. I wasn?t really hurt but I admit Labanza has his owned moments and was a very tough guy to fight with.
CYK: I have been a fan since you fought under the Pacquiao undercards, I saw raw talent and a potential world champion in you. You still did well but not great enough compared to your previous fights. What happened to the old Eden Sonsona?
EDEN: I admit that the almost one year lay-off caused a lot of rust to my system. It was ring rust. I came back clean from my past vices but it?s not that easy to build myself back to the old Me. My brain knew what to do but my reflexes did not respond that well. I knew I could easily beat my opponent but I could not bring him down.
CYK: What do you think was wrong with the way you fought?
EDEN: I did not execute the game plan. I am a ring tactician more than a brawler. But I fought Labanza?s game and went toe to toe. It was wrong. I could have completely dominated him by using the ring to my advantage but I also wanted to give him war. I know people expected me to easily win but hey, a win is a win and I am happy that the fight turned out as an entertaining show. I am still proud because GMA showed it on-air and it means a lot to me. It means that I am still worth watching.
CYK: Can you tell the boxing fans what your direction will be after the win?
EDEN: I will leave it up to my advisor Ian Bicera and my promoter Gerry Pe?alosa. According to my promoter, I will face more tests in the coming months and fight a few more games. The fights will get bigger depending on my performance.
CYK: People criticized you because of your past vices and failures. Any message to your critics?
EDEN: I was hurt by some criticisms which I thought were too personal but after thinking about it, I think I should not make a big deal out of it. I took them as a challenge. I needed to show people and boxing fans that my talent would not be put to waste just because of certain mistakes I made in the past. People deserve chances and I deserve just the same. So I am asking my dear boxing fans not to judge me but to give me a chance to change my ways and fix my boxing career. I will do my best to climb my way back to the top and win a world championship.
CYK: As closing, who are the people you would like to thank?
EDEN: I would like to thank God for the grace of victory in my recent fight, Sir Ian Bicera for giving me this chance to rebuild my career, Sir Gerry Pe?alosa for promoting my comeback fight and for all the other help he extended, GMA 7 for the chance of having my fight seen on TV, special thanks to Sir Chino Trinidad and Maam Marivic of GMA, Coaches Lito Monte and Angelo Mejia, to my family, friends, supporters and people in the media who continued to support me. Thanks everyone and I promise you better performances in my future fights.
CYK: Thanks for your time Eden and good luck in all your future endeavours.
EDEN: Thanks Sir Chito and to philboxing.com!
Photo: Eden Sonsona (L) takes the offensive against Eman Labanza during their fight last Saturday in Mandaue City, Cebu.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Chito Yu Katangkatang.
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