SONSONA MAKES WEIGHT, EAGER TO PROVE HE?S BACK AS A TITLE CONTENDER

?Marvelous? Marvin Sonsona who weighed in at 125.6 pounds for his WBO International featherweight title fight against former WBA super bantamweight champion Akifumi Shimoda of Japan who tipped the scales at 125.8 pounds for their showdown at the Cotai Arena of the plush Venetian Resort Hotel & Casino on Saturday.

Sonsona told the Manila Standard shortly after the weigh-in "It will be a good fight and I will try to go for a knockout if I get the opening but I am ready to go twelve rounds if I have to.?

The lanky southpaw from General Santos City has trained hard although the one month period seemed a little too short. However he told the Standard he is totally ready to prove he is back as a title contender.

ABS-CBN Sports & Action, the revamped Studio 23 channel will telecast the fight at 12:00 noon on Sunday.

Sonsona (17-1-1, 14 KO?s) who became the second youngest Filipino world champion at the age of 19 when he handily beat veteran Puerto Rican super flyweight champion Jose Carita Lopez but then fell prey to good times and a carefree lifestyle, seeks to resurrect his stature in what many consider a career defining fight.

Photo: Sonsona (L) and Shimoda (R) pose during Friday's weighin. Photo by Chris Farina / Top Rank.