Sonsona 'Marvelous' indeed Dethrones Lopez to become RP's newest world boxing champion at 19

CEBU, Philippines - The undefeated ‘Marvelous’ Marvin Sonsona became the newest toast of Philippine boxing after he claimed the WBO junior bantamweight title with a well-deserved unanimous decision victory over wily veteran Jose “Carita” Lopez of Puerto Rico yesterday at the Casino Rama in Ontario, Canada.

Drawing energy from the cheers of several Filipino fans waving miniature RP flags, the power-punching Sonsona ganged up on Lopez early on and landed powerful bombs throughout the 12-round skirmish.

A fourth round knockdown and two points deduction from Lopez’s card for low blows earned Sonsona the nod of the three judges. The official scores were 116-109, 115-110, and 114-111.

Aside from extending his unblemished record to 14-0 spiked with a dozen knockouts, Sonsona also joined the ranks of Morris East and Malcolm Tuñacao among the youngest Pinoy world boxing champions at 19 years old and five weeks.

Curiously, Lopez suffered his first loss in eight years in his first defense of the WBO belt he captured by defeating Thai Pramuansak Posuwan last March. He slipped to 39-8-2 dotted with 32KOs.

“Lopez was such a tough fighter, and winning a decision against him shows that I’m a real fighter, and a worthy champion,” said Sonsona in a report by fightfan.com.

 “The Filipino people here were so great, and made me feel at home. That helped give me the strength to be a champion,” added the General Santos City-native ring gladiator.

Lopez also had several solid shots that baffled Sonsona, but in the end the big heart and fighting spirit of the young Filipino fighter prevailed.

While he is expected to take the much-needed rest, Sonsona will be back in the gym soon as he is set to return to the site of his monumental triumph to defend his throne on November 21 with no confirmed opponent according to a report by boxing scene.com. (FREEMAN NEWS)