MANILA ? For the nth time, well-liked promoter Sammy Gello-ani has accepted prodigal fighter Marvin Sonsona back into his fold.
For countless times in the past, the one-time world superflyweight champion Sonsona missed flights that would have sent him to training camps here and abroad.
But because of his supposed immense talent at a still young age of 24, Gello-ani maintained his belief Sonsona will soon mature and realize his potentials as a boxing superstar.
?I?m still not giving up on him. He is really a very nice kid but sometimes he is too good to a fault,? said Gello-ani.
A few weeks ago, Sonsona met up with Gello-ani and the two struck a deal to work together again and aim for a title attempt. It was Gello-ani who guided a then 19-year-old Sonsona to the world crown when the General Santos City native boxer won the World Boxing Organization (WBO) superflyweight back in 2010 in Canada.
What may be bothersome in this saga is Gello-ani?s reason when he was asked why he believes Sonsona is all set to focus on his career.
?Wala nang pera. He was asking for money but I told him you will never get an advance from me anymore. You will only get money if you train,? said Gello-ani.
For now, it remains to be seen how long will Sonsona last in his latest training camp in Las Vegas where he is joined by rising trainer Jun Agrabio and stablemate Johnriel Casimero.
Three years ago, Sonsona was sent to Oxnard, California to train under Argentine Pablo Sarmiento, the longtime trainer of former world middleweight champion Sergio Martinez.
The union did not last as Sonsona eventually asked Gello-ani to send him back to the Philippines.
?Back then he actually had an injury although his being homesick was the factor. Also, he was also all by himself. For this latest training, he is with Agrabio and Casimero which hopefully will make him more comfortable while there,? said Gello-ani.
While in Las Vegas, another issue that may fester Sonsona?s training is the involvement of controversial Mexican conditioning and athletics coach Angel ?Memo? Heredia.
Heredia is said to be the creator of doping substances and developed methods that made those substances almost undetectable by most drug testing schemes.
After serving as witness in investigations done by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) from 2008 to 2011, Heredia, started to refer himself as ?Angel Hernandez? in an obvious attempt to bury the past that tarnished his credibility.
To date, Heredia, or Hernandez, has claimed that he is now into strictly applying legal ways to enhance his clients? performances which include high altitude training and legal nutritional supplements.
Hernandez? list of top class athletes include Juan Manuel Marquez and longtime world flyweight champion Juan Francisco Estrada.
Gello-ani meanwhile seemed to have bought into Hernandez? assertion of promoting clean living.
?Don?t worry about Memo. I assure you he will be helping Marvin and Johnriel mentally and physically the legal way because I have seen him work before,? said Gello-ani.
