FOR former world champion Marvin Sonsona to redeem his lost glory, his promoter Sammy Gello-ani believes that Sonsona has to take his upcoming world title battle with unbeaten Wilfredo Vasquez Jr. in Puerto Rico on Feb.27 seriously.
“If he has the right training and the right preparation, then, he can win the world title,” Gello-ani told Sun.Star Cebu.
Gello-ani said Sonsona is lucky to have been given another opportunity by the World Boxing Organization (WBO) to fight for a world title despite losing his WBO super flyweight at the scales.
The 19-year-old Sonsona relinquished his WBO super flyweight title after being 2.6 pounds over the 115-pound limit in his first world title defense last November in Canada against Alejandro Hernandez, setting the record of being the Filipino world champion with the shortest reign of 77 days. Luckily, the youngster from Gen. Santos escaped with a draw and kept his undefeated record intact.
“It was a big loss for Marvin losing his title that way.
He must recover and win his next fight so that he can get back his integrity,” said Gello-ani, who feels that Sonsona will fit in the 122-pound category.
Sonsona, who is currently ranked third in the WBO super bantamweight ratings was immediately given another world title fight by the WBO because the No.1 contender Zsolt Bedak is unavailable for the February date.
Despite Sonsona’s immaturity, Gello-ani is confident that he will mature as a fighter if properly guided by Gello-ani himself and trainers Nonito Donaire Sr. and Jun Agrabio.
“He has to be serious because this is his last opportunity to revive himself,” said Gello-ani. “There are a lot of fighters that are looking for opportunities to fight for a world title and Sonsona is just being spoon-fed for a world title,” he added.