THE sadly wayward ways of former World Boxing Organization super flyweight champion Marvin Sonsona has ruined what was clearly a very promising career and an opportunity for our country to have another world champion.
But the curse of the “barkada” phenomenon has eroded Sonsona’s values and has enticed him to drink, move around with women and abandon a sport that could have given him so much.
Fighters need to realize that discipline is a cornerstone to success in the ring and there could be no better example than eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao whose relentless training for a fight has amazed Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach.
The other sterling example of a disciplined fighter is reigning WBO light flyweight champion Donnie “Ahas” Nietes, the longest-reigning Filipino world champion.
Donnie is small even for a light flyweight and the older he gets, the harder he trains which is the hallmark of his success in the ring.
Regrettably, Marvin Sonsona has failed to follow the example of his General Santos colleague Pacquiao or even Nietes.
The sad part is that Sonsona is an unbelievably talented fighter, who is a southpaw, tall, young, quick-footed and with hand-speed and punching power—all the elements inherent in a great fighter.
Unfortunately, his lack of discipline, the tendency to follow a wild and woolly path, which reminds us of another great champion who squandered his career and indeed his life – former world junior lightweight champion Rolando Navarette.
The pity of it all is that internationally known promoter and matchmaker Sampson Lewkowicz and his Filipino partner Sammy Gello-ani have given Marvin all the chances in the world to mend his ways, bending backwards to accommodate his every wish, with Lewkowicz lining up some worthy opponents and fight purses that were more than most fighters would earn considering their standing.
Both Sampson and Sammy realized the inherent talent in Sonsona and while it is a given that if his career progressed like it could have —and should have—they too would enjoy their fair share of financial benefits and a chance to share in the spotlight.
But Marvin threw it all away and failed in a very un-Filipino fashion to discard the virtue of gratitude for all that his promoters had done for him, far beyond what they needed to do.
A prime example was when Lewkowicz, in order to free Sonsona of any distractions or concerns while training in Las Vegas, spent more than half-a-million pesos for Marvin’s mother’s urgent kidney operation at the National KIdney Institute in Manila and didn’t even think of deducting the amount from Sonsona’s purse from his last fight.
Marvin’s constant postponement of his departure for Las Vegas and his habit of always asking for advances on his fight purse have finally turned off Lewkowicz and Gello-ani, as well as the powerful Al Haymon, who has also invested in Marvin’s career. They have warned of serious legal implications should any promoter fall prey to Sonsona’s efforts to promote his fights.
At one time, Marvin Sonsona was “Marvelous” but that monicker has been painfully erased by his attitude, utter lack of discipline and worst of all his ingratitude.
What a crying shame!