The Kid's the Real Deal - Sonsona Decisions Lopez

Andrew Fruman recaps last night's Rumble at Rama IX show.

Photo © Ivan Montiel

Long after his victory over Jose Lopez had ended, young Marvin Sonsona was still signing autographs and posing for photos outside the Casino Rama Entertainment Center. Smiling, but bruised – his left eye had a bump over it, and his right was adorned with a small white bandage covering a single stitch needed to close a cut – the new title holder graciously interacted with the fans still milling about.

He was enjoying the attention, and it had been thoroughly deserved for it had been a grueling give and take battle that after a strong beginning looked to be slipping from his grasp. Lopez had made a valiant charge over the mid to late rounds, and Sonsona appeared to be wavering, but showing poise beyond his years, the 19 year old weathered the storm and buckled down late to cement the unanimous decision win.

Marvin Sonsona Gym Workout Photo Gallery

After a closely fought opening few rounds in which Sonsona had a slight edge, the Filipino southpaw broke through by dropping Lopez along the ropes in round 4 with a big left hand. Lopez made it to his feet, but looked far from steady and was forced to call on all of his ring savvy to escape further danger.

After the fight, Sonsona said he believed he was heading for a knockout win at that point and was surprised by Lopez’ resiliency. He was not alone, as it appeared to just about everyone in the building that the 37 year old veteran was in big trouble and ready for the taking, but instead of folding, Lopez made a determined stand and was gamely fighting back by the end of the round.

Building on his gutsy survival effort in the 4th, Lopez made a good showing in taking the 5th and re-established himself in the fight by battling on level terms through the next two rounds. Then in the 8th, he put together by far his best round of the fight, landing a number of solid hooks and right hands to the body and head, only to lose 2 points in the closing seconds of the frame for what was deemed by referee Rocky Zolnierczyk to have been an intentional low blow.

While Lopez had been warned for straying low in the 6th round, deducting 2 points appeared to be an overreaction on the ref’s part. The punch appeared to land on the hip and did not look like it was purposely thrown south of the border.

Undaunted by the penalty, Lopez continued to have the better of the action in round 9. Grimly determined to hold onto his strap, he kept working hard to the body (which resulted in a couple more low blows) and the steady pressure had Sonsona less willing to engage and starting to look discouraged. Having never been beyond the 5th round, the 19 year old was now fighting only in spurts as his energy levels had dropped noticeably.

The 10th round was a close one with Lopez continuing to press the action, and doing the steadier work, but a couple big flurries from Sonsona indicated he still had something left in the tank.

With the fight hanging in the balance, Lopez came out for the 11th putting the pressure on, but was met by a more willing Sonsona. Having found his second wind, the young challenger let his hands go with more conviction than he had shown in several rounds. Both men had their moments in closely contested frame, with Lopez still plugging away to the body and landing several good right hands, with Sonsona finding the mark with right hooks and straight lefts.

Sonsona was the busier of the two fighters over the final three minutes, as the effects of working so hard to get back in the fight from round 5 on had finally caught up with the older man. The youngster was clearly spent as well, but he dug deep and out-hustled Lopez over the final 3 minutes to take the frame on all 3 judges cards.

The final scores were unanimous in favor of Sonsona, 114-111, 115-110 and 116-109.

The Boxing Bulletin scored the contest 114-111 for Sonsona.

After the bout, promoter Alan Trembley said Sonsona could return to Casino Rama for his first defense, and Sonsona's team indicated it was a very real possibility. The crowd definitely took to the youngster, and with a big Filipino community in the Southern Ontario area, future appearances seem to be a natural fit. The possibility of a double-header involving Steve Molitor was discussed.

In the main supporting bout, the aforementioned Molitor scored a TKO over Dario Azuaga. Towering over the Argentinian, who looked like he belonged a couple weight classes south of the featherweight class, Molitor had his way throughout the bout, landing a number of clean right hooks and left hands.

After dropping Azuaga with a hard straight left in the 4th round, Molitor finished his game but badly over-matched opponent with two more knockdowns in the 5th. The official time was 1:50.

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Rumble at Rama IX: Jose Lopez vs Marvin Sonsona Preview

Andrew Fruman previews tomorrow night's Rumble at Rama IX show featuring super-flyweights Jose Lopez and Marvin Sonsona.

Photos © Giordano Ciampini

Tomorrow night in Rama, Ontario, Canada, Puerto Rican Jose "Carita" Lopez puts his 115 pound WBO strap on the line against Filipino southpaw "Marvelous" Marvin Sonsona. It’s an intriguing match-up featuring a battle hardened veteran going up against a talented but unproven teenage phenom.

The offensive minded title holder brings a significant edge in experience to the contest, with almost 50 fights to his name spanning a pro career dating back 18 years. During that time, the affable Lopez has endured his share of disappointments, having come up short in four attempts at a major title between 1996 and 2001. He finally broke through earlier this year and claimed a major belt with a unanimous decision win over Thailand’s Pramuansak Posuwan.

If his record is any indication (he's undefeated over his last 16 bouts) Lopez appears to be one of those rare pressure fighters that get better with age – a small man’s Glen Johnson if you will. Like the rugged Jamaican light-heavyweight, he is a dedicated body puncher who loves to come forward and press the action.

Lopez' main weapon is his hard right hand, which he sometimes throws in a slightly overhand style, but he also shoots it straight through the guard. As most southpaws are vulnerable to the straight right, it will be a key weapon against Sonsona.

The steady pressure, which Lopez promises to bring right from the start, combined with his commitment to the body will definitely test the youngster’s resolve - but will also leave the older man open to return fire. How much he has to worry about what comes back will be depending greatly on Sonsona’s ability to stand in under that pressure.

As the naturally bigger man with advantages in height and reach, Sonsona appears to have the physical tools to try and keep the fight at long range, but don’t expect the 19 year old southpaw to play keep away as he prefers to forgo the safety first approach to holding his ground and ripping hard counters with both hands.

That said - its one thing for Sonsona (pictured right working the pads with trainer Jhun Agrabio, while co-trainer Nonito Donaire Sr. looks on) to plant his feet and fire off shots against overmatched opposition, but another to do so against an opponent the caliber of Lopez. This is a huge step-up for a fighter with only 38 pro rounds under his belt – mostly against suspect opposition.

It wasn’t until his previous outing in which he dispatched Wandee Singwancha with a devastating left uppercut, that the heavy handed Sonsona faced anyone of real quality. As impressive as that showing was, the quick nature of the bout didn’t tell us much about his ability to take a shot or how he'll respond when really challenged.

For all his natural talents, we won't know how tough Sonsona is until he's tested and Lopez promises to do just that.

Is the kid ready?

We'll find out tomorrow night in a bout that has all the ingredients to produce some memorable fireworks.

On the undercard...

Steve Molitor, the usual headline attraction at Rama, will be keeping busy with an 8 rounder against Argentinian Dario Azuaga.

The 35 year old Azuaga brings a record of 75-15-2 into the contest and on the surface looks like a solid foe. However, a closer look at his ledger reveals his last victory over an opponent with a winning record came way back in 2003. Since then he’s lost 11 straight when stepping up in competition with 8 of those defeats coming by stoppage.

Canadian broadcaster TSN certainly don’t anticipate Azuaga providing much trouble as they’ve got Molitor penciled in as the television analyst for the main-event. It's not unusual to see fighters in the broadcast booth, but generally not immediately after they’ve fought, and at yesterday’s press conference, Molitor assured the assembled gathering that he was taking his opponent seriously, despite his scheduled double duty.

Also on the card will be unbeaten Canadian heavyweight champion Greg Kiesla (10-0) in a 10 rounder against Michigan heavyweight Kevin Montiy (17-6-1), plus a 4 rounder featuring prospect Felix Mercedes. Mercedes, a welterweight prospect from Buffalo who promoter Alan Trembley speaks highly of, will be attempting to move his record to 3-0 when he takes on Dan Caron.

Rounding out the show are a pair of 4 rounders between super-middleweights Pedro De Melo (1-0) and Steven Boyd (8-3-1) and junior-middleweights Justin Fountain (5-1-2) and Frankie Abbiw (4-2).

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Molitor Edges Past Ruiz

Andrew Fruman recaps last night's Casino Rama main-event between Steve Molitor and Heriberto Ruiz.

Scattered boos met the action last night in Rama, Ontario as Steve Molitor laboured to a split decision win over Mexico’s Heriberto Ruiz. It was hard to blame the crowd’s frustration, as the fight was a listless affair from the get go with shows of initiative rare by either man.

Molitor had his best success when he came forward throwing combos, with his straight left and right hook finding the mark when he did let his hands go. It was however not a common occurrence as The Canadian Kid appeared tight and overly tentative throughout the dull 12 rounder.

A little caution was understandable given what took place last November against Celestino Caballero, but with a clear edge in speed and skills over the plodding, wide swinging Ruiz, it was frustrating to watch Molitor lay back round after round.

Ruiz was just as guilty for the lack of action, seemingly content to sit back and look for countering opportunities. He landed the occasional decent right hand, but was mostly too slow to react and came up short with most of his counters.

Adding to Molitor’s struggles was a nasty gash high on the left side of his forehead suffered during a 7th round clash of heads. It was the typical southpaw-orthodox situation with Molitor trying to come inside with a left hand as Ruiz leaned in to throw a right.

To his credit, Molitor apologized to the crowd after the bout and promised better in the future. He’ll have to deliver on that, because this type of performance won't get the desired results against the elite of the division.

The scores were 116-112 twice for Molitor, and 116-112 for Ruiz on the other card.

After the bout, promoter Allan Tremblay said Molitor will likely meet the winner of Kiko Martinez and Takalani Ndlovu next time out. That will possibly take place on September 4, but it could happen as late as November, depending on when Martinez and Ndlovu go at it.

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