Marvin Sonsona runs to the corner after knocking down Carlos Fulgencio of the Dominican Republic during their non-title bout held in Lapu-Lapu’s Hoops Dome in 2012. | CDN File Photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Former world champion Marvin “Marvelous” Sonsona has still what it takes to impress in the ring after ending his four-year hiatus with a victory against Boyce Sultan in Lagonglong, Misamis Oriental last Sunday.
The 31-year-old Sonsona, who became the youngest Filipino boxing world champion at 19, scored a unanimous decision victory against Sultan after eight rounds.
It improved his record to 22 wins with 15 knockouts coupled with one defeat and one draw. Sultan suffered his 14th loss with 10 wins, five knockouts and one draw.
It was a sweet victory for Sonsona, the former World Boxing Organization (WBO) world super flyweight champion who is trying to revitalize his very promising boxing career.
Ironically, Sonsona’s record on paper looks far from retirement. However, his life behind closed curtains is a roller-coaster ride.
After his last bout in 2018, Sonsona found himself with financial problems and even resorted to ask help publicly.
However, way before 2018, Sonsona’s career has no shortage of drama and controversy. After winning the world title in 2009 against Jose Lopez via unanimous decision in Canada, Sonsona found himself with numerous problems.
In his first world title defense, Sonsona was stripped of the title after weighing 2.5 pounds over the weight limit.
Many boxing experts believed that Sonsona lacked self-discipline despite having tremendous talent in the ring.
He was given a chance by his manager and promoter Sampson Lewkowicz by landing a world title bout in 2010 against Puerto Rican Wilfredo Vasquez Jr. but fell short after getting knocked out in the fourth round.
Instead of giving up on Sonsona, Lewkowicz continued to rally behind him by promoting a comeback fight in 2011 in Lapu-Lapu City’s Hoops Dome against Carlos Jacobo of Mexico where he won by unanimous decision.
Sonsona managed to win six straight bouts and clinched numerous titles such as the WBO international featherweight title and the NABF featherweight strap in the process.
However, in 2015, he and Lewkowicz cut ties along with his local promoter Samson Gello-Ani due to undisclosed problems. Many boxing experts believe that Sonsona lacked the commitment and discipline that could’ve landed him marquee fights to revive his career.
One of his most notable controversies was his failure to fly to Manila to arrange his papers to train in the United States alongside Manny Pacquiao and John Riel Casimero.
Disappointingly, he failed to appear in Manila twice, forcing Gello-Ani to freeze their promotional contract with him.
However, Sonsona clarified that he was forced to hang his gloves in 2015 to take care of his daughter who was born prematurely amidst the allegations of him indulging in vices such as gambling and drinking.
In 2018, he made a comeback and won against Indonesian Arief Blader in a non-title bout held in Manila.
In 2020, Sonsona humbly asked the public for help financially through a YouTuber and promised to repay them once he gets back into the ring.
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