It was this lazy morning when I was scanning our TV set for whatever show is interesting. Knowing that they usually reserve Sunday mornings for boxing events I tuned in to Solar Sports and was lucky enough to catch the start of a boxing match between champion Jose Lopez of Puerto Rico and Marvin Sonsona of the Philippines. Lopez is defending his World Boxing Organization (WBO) Junior Bantamweight (115 pounds weight limit) belt against Sonsona who incidentally, is fighting outside the Philippines and in an international stage for the first time in his career. The bout was being held at the Casino Rama in Ontario, Canada.

Honestly, I don’t know much about Marvin Sonsona. This was the first time I heard of his name. From the commentators, I’ve learned that he hails from Gen. Santos City. Yes, that is where Filipino pride Manny Pacquiao’s resides. Like the “Pacman”, Sonsona who has the nickname “Marvelous” is also a southpaw.

Sonsona is still very young at 19 and has an impressive record of 13 wins (12 via KO) and 0 loss while Lopez is already 37 years old with a record of 39 wins (32 KOs) 7 losses and 2 draws.

Sonsona was very aggressive right at the start of the bout and was relentless in his assault of the defending champion. In the 4th round, he landed a power shot to Lopez’ face that sent the champion to the canvass. But the champ withstood it and survived the round. However in the later rounds, Lopez used dirty tactics by repeatedly tagging Sonsona with low blows and was penalized two points in the 8th round because of that. But Sonsona did not let it affect him and used his impressive boxing skills by keeping Lopez at bay.

Here’s the video of the 4th round knockdown:

At the end of the bout, Sonsona raised his arms knowing that victory is in the bag. He won via unanimous decision with the judges scoring it 114-111, 115-110 and 116-109. It was the first bout for Sonsona to go the distance as all his previous fights did not go beyond 5 rounds.

By winning, the guy became the second youngest Filipino world champion after Morris East, who was 19 years and 1 month old when he won the World Boxing Association (WBA) light welterweight crown. Sonsona is just older by 1 month.

He now joins the ranks of reigning Filipino champions which include IBF flyweight champ Brian Viloria, WBA Interim world super-flyweight champ Nonito Donaire, WBO minimumweight champ Donnie Nietes, and of course, Manny Pacquiao, the IBO light-welterweight and pound-for-pound king. He is also being groomed as the one who will follow the footsteps of Pacquiao. This guy has plenty of upside so it might happen.

Marvin “Marvelous” Sonsona will make his first title defense on November 21 in Canada against Mexican Alejandro Hernandez.

Note: The Solar Sports show I watched this morning was just a replay as the actual bout happened last September 4 (Saturday morning here in the Philippines).

Please read my related posts:

1. Marvin Sonsona Loses Belt Then Salvages a Draw This is why there can never be another Manny Pacquiao. Touted as the next in the long line of Filipino boxers groomed to follow the footsteps of the greatest Filipino boxer, Marvin Sonsona delivered a disappointing performance not worthy of...
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3. HBO Boxing After Dark | Lopez KOs Luevano to Become New WBO Featherweight Champ In the January 23, 2010 edition of HBO Boxing After Dark, Juan Manuel “Juanma” Lopez moves up in weight to challenge Steven Luevano’s WBO Featherweight Championship belt. This 12-round bout will be held at the Wamu Theater, Madison Square Garden,...
4. Double Assault | Sonsona Not Marvelous After All Last September 2009, Marvin “Marvelous” Sonsona became the second youngest Filipino world champion in history after defeating WBO Junior Bantamweight champion Jose Lopez of Puerto Rico. After that, many jumped on the bandwagon and hailed him as the next Manny...
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Tags: filipino, marvin sonsona