MANILA, Philippines – “Marvelous” Marvin Sonsona was stripped of the WBO superflyweight title when he failed to make the 115-pound limit at the weigh-in but avoided a loss by battling Mexican challenger Alejandro (Payasito) Hernandez to a split 12-round draw at the Casino Rama in Ontario, Canada, yesterday morning (Manila time).
It was a courageous effort by the 19-year-old General Santos City fighter who faded badly in the late going due to his drained condition. Under Canadian boxing rules, the weigh-in was set on the morning of the fight and Sonsona scaled 2.6 pounds over the limit after a grueling grind to make the cut. Sonsona was given two hours to make the weight but didn’t bother to try, fearing he would be too dehydrated to put up a fight that night.
Early indications pointed to Sonsona’s inability to make the superflyweight limit. He was eight pounds over the cap when leaving Manila for Canada last Nov. 13 despite training for more than a month in Cebu. Two days before the fight, Sonsona was six pounds over.
The fight went on despite Sonsona’s failure to make the weight with the condition that if Hernandez won, the Mexican would become the new WBO titlist. In the event Sonsona won, the throne would remain vacant.
Sonsona started off strong in the bout, landing right jabs and left straights from a southpaw stance. Hernandez had difficulty moving in the ring and before the third round, changed his fighting boots to running shoes. Sonsona, however, took four of the first five rounds handily as Hernandez couldn’t cope with the Filipino’s blinding combinations from long distance.
Hernandez relentlessly pursued Sonsona and in the sixth, began landing power shots. Switch-hitting to confuse Sonsona, the Mexican kept moving forward and pressed the attack. In the seventh round, Sonsona staggered Hernandez with a left to the face but couldn’t put the rugged Mexican away. Hernandez bled from a cut over the right eye in the ninth round as Sonsona gave it all he had to score a knockout and prevent a prolonged agony. Then it was downhill for the Filipino who was nearing exhaustion.
Hernandez swept the last three rounds as Sonsona, all tired out, held on to survive the bout on his feet.
TV analyst Russ Anber saw the fight a draw, 114-114. The judges scored 115-113 for Sonsona, 115-113 for Hernandez and 114-all, making it a split draw.
Promoter Allan Tremblay knew as early as last Thursday, Sonsona wouldn’t make the weight when he motored in from Toronto.
“It happens, he’s just a young man growing into a man,” said Tremblay, quoted by writer Dave Spencer. “He’s gained an inch and a half in height since he was here last (September). He’s just exploded. It’s really not his fault. He really can’t make the weight at this point, he just can’t do it. He’s got a future and we have a plan for him. He’ll be in the mix at 122 pounds very quickly. He’s still got a hell of a career ahead of him.”
There is talk of pitting Sonsona against unbeaten Puerto Rican sensation Wilfredo Vasquez Jr. for the WBO superbantamweight title vacated by Juan Manuel Lopez. It is tentatively set on Feb. 20 in Manila.
Vasquez Jr., 25, has a 17-0-1 record, with 14 KOs, and stopped Genaro Garcia in the seventh round last Friday. His father Wilfredo Sr., 49, held the world bantamweight, superbantamweight and featherweight crowns in a career that ended in 2002.
In the undercard, Cagayan de Oro superbantamweight Ciso Morales carved out a majority eight-round decision over rugged Mexican Miguel Angel Gonzalez Piedras. The scores were 77-75, 78-74 and 76-all. Morales upped his unblemished record to 14-0, with eight KOs.
In Mexico yesterday morning (Manila time), two Filipino challengers had mixed results in their bids to win world crowns.
First, Sonny Boy Jaro was pulverized in the first round by a body shot from WBA lightflyweight champion Giovanni Segura in Merida. It was Jaro’s second attempt to win a world title. Last year, he was outpointed by Edgar Sosa in a WBC 108-pound championship match.
Jaro, 27, was supposed to fight Segura last July but failed to obtain travel documents to make the trip to Mexico. Instead, Segura feasted on Filipino replacement Juanito Rubillar who took the fight on a 48-hour notice and was halted in the second round. The loss to Segura dropped Jaro’s record to 30-8-5, with 19 KOs. Segura improved to 22-1-1, with 18 KOs.
In Chiapas, Manny Pacquiao’s prot?g? Rodel Mayol of Mandaue City finally hit paydirt in his fifth try for a world title. Mayol blasted Sosa, making the 11th defense of the WBC lightflyweight throne, into submission in the second round.
Mayol, who trains at the Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles, had failed in four previous bids for a world title but this time, made sure he wouldn’t be denied. He raised his record to 26-4-1, with 20 KOs.
Mayol, 28, joins Pacquiao, who just won the WBO welterweight crown, WBO minimumweight champion Donnie Nietes and IBF lightflyweight titlist Brian Viloria as the only reigning Filipino champions today. Nonito Donaire Jr. holds the interim WBA superflyweight crown.
