MANILA, Philippines ? Once thought to be a lost cause, the career of enigmatic former WBO 115-pound titleholder Marvin Sonsona appears to be back on the upswing.
Sonsona (15-1-1, 12 knockouts) will make his second ring appearance since a 20-month layoff in February against journeyman Carlos Fulgencio (19-5-1, 12 KO), of the Dominican Republic, in a junior featherweight fight at the Hoops Dome in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu, Philippines.
Sonsona’s domestic promoter Sammy Gello-ani says the date will either be Feb. 4 or 11.
The hard-hitting 21-year-old General Santos City native is currently training with interim trainer Celso Epanto away from his hometown distractions in Gello-ani’s newest compound in the Mindanao province of Misamis Occidental, where he has been based since returning to the ring in October for a unanimous decision victory over Carlos Jacobo.
International matchmaker Sampson Lewkowicz, who made his bones in the business by bringing Manny Pacquiao to America, will afford Sonsona with the same opportunity after February’s match, which he says will result in an April appearance on the Showtime series ShoBox: The New Generation against an opponent to be determined.
Once Sonsona begins campaigning in America, Lewkowicz says that he will move him further away from his stomping grounds ? all the way to Oxnard, Calif., that is ? to see how “Marvelous Marvin” fits with trainer Gabriel Sarmiento, the Argentinian boxing guru who guides the career of RING middleweight champion Sergio Martinez.
