Marvin Sonsona seeks vengeance against Vazquez Jr. in New York

MANILA, Philippines – The gym where Marvin Sonsona did the bulk of his training looks like half a boxing gym and half a dentist’s office. 

Inside the garage of his manager Dr. Rajan Yraola’s home in Tandang Sora, Quezon City, is a boxing ring adjacent to a beaten up punching bag, a dusty slip bag and a speed bag that is more bag than speed. This is probably the only boxing training location where a dental chair can be found. 

In Quezon City, Sonsona is provided with all of the bare essentials to prepare for a fight under the watchful supervision of his trainer and manager while avoiding the distractions that surround him in his hometown. 

“There’s a huge difference in training here and training in General Santos City,” said Sonsona (18-1-1, 15 knockouts) when contrasting his manager’s gym with his home gym. “In GenSan if I feel tired then I don’t train, but here training is training.” 

It doesn’t look like much, but out of this two-car garage Sonsona has shaped himself into one of the best conditions of his career.  

His rematch with former WBO junior featherweight champ Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. (23-3-1, 19 KOs) on June 7 at Madison Square Garden in New York looks to reverse the lone defeat on his career, a fourth round knockout loss in 2010. The knockout blow – a left hook to the body which left him breathless on the canvas in Puerto Rico – knocked the wind out of his career as well. 

The loss began a 20-month self-imposed exile from the ring during which Sonsona lived, by his own admission, a very rough life. Drinking and partying were the norm for him, after winning and losing the WBO junior bantamweight title at age 19. It was a way to distance himself from the expectations that come along with being a heavy-handed prodigy in a short-sighted sport. 

“Yung pagkatalo ko talaga parang nahihiya ako sa buong mundo na natalo ako via knockout pa,” admits Sonsona. “Mahaba naman training ko noon pero wala ako sa gana na lalaban kay Vasquez sa Puerto Rico. Inayawan ko yung laban na yun eh nakapirma na ako sa kontrata eh hindi na daw pwede ayawan. Yun ang sabi ng promoter ko ‘sige labanan mo na lang.” (“When I lost I felt embarrassed to the whole world especially that I lost by knockout. I had a long training camp but I had no motivation and didn’t feel like fighting Vasquez in Puerto Rico. I declined that fight but since the contract has already been signed I was told that I can no longer pull out. My promoter said ‘just fight him.'”) 

“Pagkatalo ko nag nasa isip ko…. huminto muna ako.” (When I lost my thinking was to stop and do the things I do.”) 

Jhun Agrabio, who had trained Sonsona from age of 16 to 19 before Sonsona switched briefly to Nonito Donaire Sr., had remained in touch with Sonsona. He had known Marvin since he was three years old, having been a friend and stablemate of Sonsona’s father Ben Samson, a pro fighter from 1984-86, and said that his relationship with Marvin was like father and son. 

“Marvin became so big and famous because he won a world title,” said the 39-year-old Agrabio. “He had money when he returned to GenSan, so he went out and partied and forgot about boxing.” 

Exile

From 2011-2013, Sonsona fought once a year without a plan or direction, returning to his old routines and squandering his momentum. That’s when he had his wakeup call in the form of a house fire just before this past Christmas gutted the home he shared with 9 others burned to the ground, forcing him to sleep in a local gym for 3 weeks. 

He admits that he didn’t want to return to boxing initially, but, at age 23, Sonsona realized that his fists were his only ticket out of poverty.

“My family told me that if I don’t get back to boxing, what will my future be? For example if I get married, I will have nothing to feed my family, especially my parents who have no work. I am the only breadwinner. So it made me return.” 

(RELATED: Marvin Sonsona: The new ‘Bad Boy from Dadiangas’)

After years of irrelevance, Sonsona made his return in a big way this past February, knocking out former junior featherweight titleholder Akifumi Shimoda in three rounds in Macau. The coup de grace – a perfectly-timed left uppercut – became an immediate contender for Knockout of the Year. 

That fight was taken on short notice with an abbreviated training camp. For this fight, which will take place beneath THE RING magazine middleweight championship fight between Sergio Martinez vs. Miguel Cotto, Sonsona has had a full 6 weeks to prepare, sparring 12 rounds at a time followed by an incredible 14 rounds on the pads. 

“I’m excited for this coming fight because Marvin is not lazy to train now,” said Agrabio. “We worked together here, this gym is not good but he’s doing good here.”

Together with unbeaten flyweight prospect Froilan Saludar, Sonsona left Manila for the United States on Sunday, May 25, where he will finish up training at Donaire Sr. Boxing & Fitness Gym in Oakland, Calif. 

‘Won’t be overconfident’

The Vazquez that Sonsona will face this time may be a different fighter from the one he faced in 2010 – for better and worse. Three of his last 6 fights have ended in punishing defeats to Jorge Arce (TKO 12), Nonito Donaire Jr. (SD 12) and Yasutaka Ishimoto (MD 12), raising the possibility that the 29-year-old from Bayamon, Puerto Rico, may be older than his years.

“Tingin ko kay Vasquez magaling si Vasquez kahit natalo sya ni Nonito, ni Arce, ni (Nishimoto),” said Sonsona. “Pero hindi ako magkukumpyansa kasi kung sa magaling, magaling talaga si Vasquez pero gagawin ko makakaya ko para manalo sa laban.” 

(“I think Vasquez is good even after he lost against Nonito, Arce and [Nishimoto]. I won’t be overconfident because he’s really good. I’ll just do my best to win the fight.”) 

Agrabio is even more cautious. He feels that Vazquez’s relationship with Angel “Memo” Heredia – the former BALCO chemist implicated in the biggest performance enhancing drug scandal in sports history – may have made Vazquez a physically stronger fighter than he was four years ago.

Heredia has been a controversial figure in boxing recently, as many have credited him for adding muscle to Juan Manuel Marquez at the age of 40.

“The conditioning of Heredia, I studied what to do if he take the drugs, but I don’t worry because Marvin would beat him still.”

Sonsona acknowledges that he has much to improve on from the first fight. He appeared impatient at times, winging his southpaw lefts from wide angles and missing badly. His jab was absent as well. 

He lost that night, but takes confidence in that he has never lost with Agrabio in his corner. Sonsona is all out of second chances, but a win would likely lead to a shot at a featherweight title belt. If this is his last dance, he’s going to dance with the one who brought him to the party. 

“I have high regard for my coach,” said Sonsona. “We studied how to hit him with punches and correct my own punches because sometimes I slap. I will have a better showing this time compared to the first fight because we were more focused in training.” – Rappler.com with translations from JM Siasat

 

Ryan Songalia is the sports editor of Rappler, a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) and a contributor to The Ring magazine. He can be reached at ryan@ryansongalia.com. An archive of his work can be found at ryansongalia.com. Follow him on Twitter: @RyanSongalia.