SONSONA-VAZQUEZ FIGHT IN THE GARDEN REVISITS ELORDE-NARVAEZ FIGHT 49 YEARS AGO
By Dong Secuya
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 08 Jun 2014
NEW YORK ? ?This is quite a test for the ability of the roof of the newly renovated Garden to stay erect Saturday night,? thus head of HBO Sports pay-per-view Mark Taffet addressed MSG's executive vice-president for sports and arena renovation Joel Fisher during Wednesday's final press conference of the highly anticipated Miguel Cotto vs Sergio Martinez world middleweight championship bout to be held on Saturday at the mecca of boxing the Madison Square Garden.
Taffet was referring to the expected full-house attendance of passionate and rabid Puerto Rican fans to support their icon Miguel Cotto and other Boricua boxers fighting on Saturday. Taffet was also alluding to the newly completed renovation of the historic 19,000+ capacity Madison Square Garden that cost close to $1 billion dollars.
Thousands of Puerto Ricans will be in a celebratory mood this week because of the scheduled Puerto Rico Day Parade that will take place on Sunday, June 8, along Fifth Avenue from 44th St to 86th St, an annual parade that through the years has become one of the largest parades in New York City and attracts nearly two million spectators every year. Additionally, highly popular Puerto Rican boxer Felix 'Tito' Trinidad will be inducted to the Boxing Hall of Fame, also on Sunday, in Canastota, New York. Seven of the nine featured fights of the Cotto-Martinez world championship bout will have a Puerto Rican fighting in one corner so it will not be an exaggeration to say that the mecca of boxing Madison Square Garden Arena will be transformed into a great house party that will rock to its roof courtesy of Puerto Ricans fans come Saturday night.
It is in this backdrop that former Filipino world champion Marvin 'Marvelous' Sonsona (18-1-1, 15KO) will try to exact revenge from the loss he suffered from Puerto Rican former world champion Wilfredo Vazquez Jr in the main undercard of the eagerly anticipated Miguel Cotto vs Sergio Martinez WBC world middleweight championship which will be shown on HBO pay-per-view. Sonsona lost to Vazquez by 4th round KO during their first encounter in 2010 in Bayamon, Puerto Rico for the vacant WBO super bantamweight title.
The Sonsona-Vazquez fight turns an important chapter in Philippine boxing history and revisits the fight between Philippine boxing great Flash Elorde against Puerto Rican lightweight Frankie Gomez at The Garden on August 4, 1965. When Elorde was awarded a split-decision victory over Narvaez after a 10-round contest, fans threw bottles and other objects to the ring and a full-blown riot ensued. The Sarasota Journal reported the following day that ?parts of Madison Square Garden looked like a disaster area... the worst riot in the 40-year history of the famed sports arena.?
FANS DID MOST OF THE FIGHTING -- The worst riot in the 40-year history of Madison Square Garden took place Wednesday night following a heavily contested split decision, giving world junior lightweight champion Flash Elorde a victory over the people's favorite, New Yorker Frankie Narvaez. Surprisingly enough, injuries were kept at a minimum. AP Wirephoto. [SARASOTA JOURNAL PHOTO AND CAPTION AUG 5, 1965]
Two more boxing riots happened in The Garden involving Puerto Ricans, on March 10, 1967 when Panama's Ismael Laguna beat Frankie Narvaez by whopping margins and on May 16, 1967 when Dick Tiger of Nigeria was awarded a split deicision victory over Jose Torres of Puerto Rico. As a result MSG banned Puerto Rican boxers to fight in The Garden for some time.
?Oh it won't happen again,? Sonsona's Filipino promoter Sammy Gello-ani, who himself hid under the ring during the riot that ensued in Buenos Aires, Argentina on Feb. 10, 2012 after his boxer Johnreil Casimero stopped local boy Luis Alberto Lazarte in the 10th round to capture the IBF interim light flyweight title, told Philboxing. ?But if happens again this time, then that will make me a veteran of ring riots,? Gello-ani quipped.
Sonsona himself is not very much concerned about the historical significance of his fight with Vazquez Saturday night. Nor was he concerned about the Puerto Rican crowd who would probably turn against him as soon as he makes his ring walk. He sure got a taste of it during Friday's weighin when a jampacked Madison Theatre with a crowd of about 4,000, mostly Puerto Ricans, booed every non-Boricua fighter who stepped on the sclaes.
All Sonsona knew was he wanted to avenge the only loss of his career, a loss that sent him to a downward spiral that almost cost him his boxing career.
NOTES FROM NEW YORK...
Friday morning, Marvin Sonsona got a call for an interview with HBO. Sonsona's Filipino promoter Sammy Gello-ani thought the interview was a one-on-one quickie where, Gello-ani thought, HBO would just need a short segment from Sonsona to plug it in on their coverage of the event. To Team Sonsona's big surprise, HBO came in full force ? a panel of nine interviewers, including Jim Lampley, the revered Larry Merchant, Roy Jones, Chystin Poncher sitting in front of Sonsona. They also brought old hand Filipino interpreter Ernie Calauag. Sitting with Sonsona opposite the HBO panel were Gello-ani, Sonsona's American promoter Sampson Lewkowicz, trainer Jun Agrabio and Sonsona's manager Dr Rajan Yraola. The interview lasted more than an hour and appeared more like a grilling on Sonsona than a plain interview. HBO wanted to know more of Sonsona's past, his personal life and his future plans. Merchant asked Sonsona ?why have you wasted so much of your time with the kind of talent that you have?? Gello-ani commented to Philboxing afterwards ?I got a feeling HBO has big plans for Sonsona.?
SONSONA HBO INTERVIEW: (L-R, fronting camera): Promoter Samson Gello-ani, Interpreter Ernie Calauag, Marvin Sonsona, Promoter Sampson Lewkowicz, Trainer Jun Agrabio and Sonsona's manager Dr Rajan Yraola.
Sonsona is the underdog in his fight against Vazquez, registering a +2.50 in online sportsbooks, meaning a $100 bet on Sonsona earns for the winner $250. Vazquez is -180, meaning, to win $100, you have to bet $180.
I've been to New York a couple of times before, during the Roy Jones vs Joe Calzaghe fight in Nov. 2008 and Paulie Malignaggi vs Amir Khan fight in May 2010, both fights were held at the Madison Square Garden. But this is my only time where I got to explore a little bit of the city, walking around mid-Manhattan... teeming with live bodies, the city just feels like you're in the Philippines or other Asian cities. Thanks to Rodene Cortez, Homer Sayson's friend, for bringing me around to the famous Times Square and to Wall St., the financial capital of the world. Former Cebu newspaper The Freeman editor in chief Noel Pangilinan invited myself and my room mate Sammy Gello-ani to a sumptuous dinner at IchiUmi Korean eat-all-you-can restaurant at Korean town in Manhattan. It's been great talking to Noel, whose family now resides in New York since 2003. I last met him in Cebu before Y2K. Great to finally met Oliver Iglesias, one of the many contributors of Philboxing from across the globe. Olie now raises his young family in New Jersey. Dr Allan Recto, another Philboxing regular, is in New York with his wife to see their kid wh o is studying in New Jersey. Philboxing's primary East Coast correspondent Rich Mazon has been very helpful to cover events in the area. Thanks Rich.
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