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TheStar.com | Boxing | Fighter gets ready for battle of the ages
Fighter gets ready for battle of the ages
RICK MADONIK/TORONTO STAR
Marvin Sonsona, 19-year-old rising boxing star from the Philippines, works the speed bag on Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2009 at Cabbagetown Boxing Club before his first world title shot Friday night at Casino Rama.
Filipino teenager set to take on 37-year-old Lopez in world title bout at Rama this week
Sep 02, 2009 04:30 AM
Morgan Campbell
SPORTS REPORTER
As he glides around the ring at the Cabbagetown Boxing Club, hitting his trainer's hand-held pads, 19-year-old Marvin Sonsona looks a lot like the other kids training there.
He's a little older than the pre-teens whacking nearby heavy bags, but his thin limbs suggest he still hasn't filled out his 5-foot-7 frame, and his smooth face hints he hasn't yet started shaving.
But you hear the difference between him and the others in the straight left that smacks the trainer's mitt, the sound of the impact echoing off the gym's dingy walls. And you see it when he rips a right hook that knocks his trainer's hand pad flying.
Sonsona, a 115-pound phenom from the Philippines, arrived here less than a week ago with hopes of becoming the youngest Filipino to win a world boxing title when he faces Puerto Rico's Jose Lopez at Casino Rama on Friday night.
Lopez, 37, holds the WBO's 115-pound title.
For Sonsona (13-0, 12 KOs), the fight is the biggest of his career and his first outside the Philippines.
And for his co-promoters at Orion Sports Management, Sonsona gives them something they've previously only had in former world champ Steve Molitor: A high-level fighter with strong local appeal.
Orion publicist Jason Abelson stresses that the company is working hard to build a roster of Canadian fighters to complement Molitor, who is fighting in Friday's co-feature.
Meanwhile they're hustling to sell Sonsona to the GTA's huge Filipino community (nearly 172,000 according to the most recent census) waiting to embrace him. So while Orion waits for mainstream sports fans to embrace their lesser-known fighters, they can showcase Sonsona to a sizeable niche market. "Sonsona appeals to a very passionate local fan base in the Filipino community. They love boxing, and we've seen that with (140-pound champ) Manny Pacquiao," Abelson said. "We don't grow a lot of (world class) fighters in this province, so we do what we have to do."
Even before Sonsona's arrival in Toronto, Orion promoted him among Filipinos here, buying ads in Filipino newspapers and arranging appearances at local events.
So far, the marketing campaign appears to be working.
Rob Cruz, a local correspondent for Philboxing.com says several of his relatives and most of his friends plan to attend the fight, and estimates that roughly 1,000 Sonsona fans will be at the fight.
"Filipinos are crazy about boxing right now because of Pacquiao," he said.
"And this guy is similar to him."
Pacquiao, of course, went from standout to superstar with his eight-round dismantling of Oscar de la Hoya last December, and his two-round destruction of Ricky Hatton in May.
Like Pacquiao, Sonsona's a hard-hitting southpaw from General Santos City.
And while Pacquiao's success has raised boxing's profile in the Philippines, it has also created a dilemma for fighters like Sonsona, who hope to gain fame of their own. "Pacquiao made his own road. I have to make my own road," Sonsona said through an interpreter. "That's why I train hard ... to win this fight."
mcampbell@thestar.ca
http://www.thestar.com/sports/boxing/article/689734
TheStar.com | Boxing | Fighter gets ready for battle of the ages
Fighter gets ready for battle of the ages
RICK MADONIK/TORONTO STAR Marvin Sonsona, 19-year-old rising boxing star from the Philippines, works the speed bag on Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2009 at Cabbagetown Boxing Club before his first world title shot Friday night at Casino Rama.
Filipino teenager set to take on 37-year-old Lopez in world title bout at Rama this week
Sep 02, 2009 04:30 AM
Morgan Campbell
SPORTS REPORTER
As he glides around the ring at the Cabbagetown Boxing Club, hitting his trainer's hand-held pads, 19-year-old Marvin Sonsona looks a lot like the other kids training there.
He's a little older than the pre-teens whacking nearby heavy bags, but his thin limbs suggest he still hasn't filled out his 5-foot-7 frame, and his smooth face hints he hasn't yet started shaving.
But you hear the difference between him and the others in the straight left that smacks the trainer's mitt, the sound of the impact echoing off the gym's dingy walls. And you see it when he rips a right hook that knocks his trainer's hand pad flying.
Sonsona, a 115-pound phenom from the Philippines, arrived here less than a week ago with hopes of becoming the youngest Filipino to win a world boxing title when he faces Puerto Rico's Jose Lopez at Casino Rama on Friday night.
Lopez, 37, holds the WBO's 115-pound title.
For Sonsona (13-0, 12 KOs), the fight is the biggest of his career and his first outside the Philippines.
And for his co-promoters at Orion Sports Management, Sonsona gives them something they've previously only had in former world champ Steve Molitor: A high-level fighter with strong local appeal.
Orion publicist Jason Abelson stresses that the company is working hard to build a roster of Canadian fighters to complement Molitor, who is fighting in Friday's co-feature.
Meanwhile they're hustling to sell Sonsona to the GTA's huge Filipino community (nearly 172,000 according to the most recent census) waiting to embrace him. So while Orion waits for mainstream sports fans to embrace their lesser-known fighters, they can showcase Sonsona to a sizeable niche market. "Sonsona appeals to a very passionate local fan base in the Filipino community. They love boxing, and we've seen that with (140-pound champ) Manny Pacquiao," Abelson said. "We don't grow a lot of (world class) fighters in this province, so we do what we have to do."
Even before Sonsona's arrival in Toronto, Orion promoted him among Filipinos here, buying ads in Filipino newspapers and arranging appearances at local events.
So far, the marketing campaign appears to be working.
Rob Cruz, a local correspondent for Philboxing.com says several of his relatives and most of his friends plan to attend the fight, and estimates that roughly 1,000 Sonsona fans will be at the fight.
"Filipinos are crazy about boxing right now because of Pacquiao," he said.
"And this guy is similar to him."
Pacquiao, of course, went from standout to superstar with his eight-round dismantling of Oscar de la Hoya last December, and his two-round destruction of Ricky Hatton in May.
Like Pacquiao, Sonsona's a hard-hitting southpaw from General Santos City.
And while Pacquiao's success has raised boxing's profile in the Philippines, it has also created a dilemma for fighters like Sonsona, who hope to gain fame of their own. "Pacquiao made his own road. I have to make my own road," Sonsona said through an interpreter. "That's why I train hard ... to win this fight."
mcampbell@thestar.ca
http://www.thestar.com/sports/boxing/article/689734