BRIAN VILORIA AND MARVIN SOMODIO: THE ILOCANO CONNECTION PRODUCED HISTORIC RESULTS
By Rich Mazon
PhilBoxing.com
Mon, 19 Nov 2012
There is a new boxing trainer in town and his presence was felt and known for the first time at the L.A. Memorial Sports Arena in Los Angeles.
The unheralded name in Brian Viloria?s big unification victory last night over Hernan Marquez was his new trainer, Marvin Somodio.
Somodio is the same strength and conditioning coach who helped Filipino boxing icon, Manny Pacquiao prepare for his last fight against Timothy Bradley last year. He was brought over to the Wild Card Gym by no less than famed trainer Freddie Roach to help not only with Pacquiao?s conditioning but also to help out with Roach?s other fighters.
Somodio was introduced to Viloria by Roach when the Hawaiian-Filipino boxer consulted Roach with regards to preparation to his fight with Marquez. The duo trained for almost four months at Roach?s Wild Card Gym and those months of hard work finally paid off with Viloria?s win last night.
?Talagang masaya.? (I?m really happy.)was Somodio?s reply when Philboxing.com asked him about last night?s event. ?Kung ano yung pinagaralan naming sa gym, iyun yung lumabas sa laban kaya masaya kaming lahat.? (The things that we practiced in the gym are what exactly happened after the fight, everybody is happy with the outcome.) Somodio told this scribe.
Somodio explained that they practiced going to the body all throughout camp, a strategy that worked well for Viloria last night against Marquez. Their plan was to initially target Marquez?s body and then go to the head afterwards.
?Apat na buwan naming minaster yang mga body punches na iyan atsaka balik sa taas.? (We mastered those body punches for four months and then we planned to go to his head after those body shots.) explained Somodio.
?Atsaka iyong left hook, sabi nila pinag-aralan nila yung left hook ni Brian. Pero pagkatapos namin sa katawan, siguradong makakalimutan niya lahat ng pinag-aralan niya.?
(And the left hook as well, they said they studied Brian?s left hook. But we knew that after we go to his body, he will forget what they trained in camp for.) Somodio accounted.
Viloria?s left hook was so devastating, that it ended Marquez?s night and hopes of unifying the flyweight titles last in L.A. yesterday. But he admitted in the post-fight interview that body punching was the key to his victory over Marquez.
?That was what we were working on. It slowed down Marquez in the beginning of the round. He did not come up with his punches as heavy as we thought they were going to be. So that helped a lot. It took fifty percent of his energy and I could hear him grunt from those body shots.? Viloria said.
Both fighter and trainer had the scare of the night when Marquez exploded in round 5 and bombarded the trapped Viloria with hard combinations.
?Ninerbiyos lang ako pero alam ko naman na okay siya. Kasi sa sparring, ganun din siya eh. Pero kinabahan na ako dahil baka i-stop ng referee, kasi di siya nag-counter. (I got nervous but I knew he was okay, because he does that in sparring too. I was nervous because I am afraid the referee will stop it because he was not countering.) explained the debuting trainer.
?Pero nung nakita kong ngumiti siya at nakita siya ng referee kaya parang nabunutan ako ng tinik. Sabi ko sa sarili ko, okay yan.? (But when I saw him grinned at the referee saw it too, I felt relieved. I told myself, he is okay.? narrated Somodio.
Viloria himself admitted that he did not look good at that instance but the WBO champ maintained composure when Marquez rained punches on him.
?I knew it looked bad. But I wasn?t hurt at all. I knew he was going to get winded after those punches and I think he did. He slowed down a little bit and that helped me recover a little bit also.? Viloria said after the fight.
Viloria and Somodio?s team worked from the moment they started working together maybe because they share more than boxing. The two hail from the northern part of the Philippines, popularly known as ?Ilocandia.? Viloria traces his roots from Narvacan, Ilocos Sur and Somodio is from the mountainous resort of Baguio City.
And that connection was an advantage that worked well for Somodio during camp and during fight night itself.
?Parang gumagaan ang loob niya niya kapag nag-I-Ilocano ako sa corner. Minsan, naubusan ako ng English kaya ini-Ilocano ko muna para me reserba na naman ako.? (He feels at ease when I talked to him in Ilocano in the corner. Sometimes, I run out of words in English so I talked to him in Ilocano until I get my English back together.?) Somodio enthused.
?Parang awkward tingnan na nag-e-English siya at nag-I-Ilocano ako pero naintindihan niya kasi.? (It looked awkward because he is talking to me in English and I am talking to him in Ilocano, but he definitely understands and gets it when we do that.) remarked the 29 year old trainer.
Viloria, despite growing up in Hawaii is fluent in speaking the local Ilocano dialect, something that brought him and Somodio closer as a team.
Brian Viloria unified the flyweight titles last night with his 10th round TKO of Hernan Marquez. It was a feat that took 47 years in the making, the last one being the 1965 unification match between WBC titlist Salvatore Burruni of Italy and WBA champion Pone Kingpetch of Thailand.
It was a historic accomplishment for the former U.S. Olympian and now unified champ from Ilocos Sur. It was also historic feat for Marvin Somodio who won big in his first outing as a boxing coach.
The ?Idyay bangir? connection between Viloria and Somodio is a beautiful thing.
You can email the author at rrmaze24@aol.com for any reactions to this piece.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Rich Mazon .
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