Jaro vows to dethrone Sosa

Oriental champion Sonny Boy Jaro of Silay City, Negros Occidental, said yesterday he’s not intimidated by facing WBC lightflyweight champion Edgar Sosa in Mexico City on Sept. 27 and vowed to bring back the title against the odds of fighting on hostile territory.

Jaro’s cousin and manager Aljoe Jaro went a step further and predicted a knockout win for the challenger.

“I’ve seen Sosa fight four times and I’m not impressed,” said Aljoe. “He has no knockout power. He’s easy to hit. He stays in front of you. He’s not quick. Sonny Boy won’t find it hard to hit him and when he does, Sosa’s going down.”

Sosa, 29, won the vacant title via a majority 12-round decision over Brian Viloria in April last year and has since turned back five straight challengers. He’s easily the most active world champion today with five defenses in less than a year. Sosa hasn’t lost since dropping a majority 12-round decision to Ulises Solis five years ago and is unbeaten in his last 20 outings.

Jaro, 26, has a record of 28-6-5, with 17 KOs, compared to Sosa’s 32-5, with 17 KOs. Last June, he outpointed Along Denoy to claim the vacant Oriental 108-pound crown in Palawan.

Aljoe said he plans to leave for Mexico with the challenger on Sept. 14, allowing close to two weeks to acclimatize. The other day, they went to the Mexican Embassy to apply for visas. Traveling with the two is Aljoe’s brother Francisco.

“Before Sonny Boy takes off, he’ll finish at least 170 rounds of sparring,” said Aljoe. “Right now, he’s done 96 against big guys like featherweight Edgar Gabian, bantamweight Jun Eraham and junior featherweight Dexter Mendoza. He’ll be more than ready for Sosa when the fight comes.”

Aljoe said he worked on his own to land the title crack.

“I didn’t go through an agent to get this contract,” said Aljoe. “I’m grateful to (WBC executive secretary) Mauricio Sulaiman for making it happen. I met Mauricio when I accompanied Bernabe (Concepcion) for a fight in Mexico City last February. We hit it off. He even gave me a WBC mini-title belt that is now displayed on my desk. We began emailing each other and I asked him to give Sonny Boy a chance.”

Aljoe said when Concepcion went back to Mexico City for another bout last April, he met Sulaiman again. The big break came with Jaro winning the Oriental title last June. Aljoe immediately emailed Sulaiman to report the news. Thewin earned for Jaro a No. 7 world ranking.

“Since Sonny Boy was rated in the top 10, he became eligible as a challenger,” said Aljoe. “Luckily, Mauricio took notice and put me in contact with Sosa’s manager Jacques Deschamps. They offered Sonny Boy a purse of $20,000, which I negotiated up to $25,000. They also agreed to pay for three round-trip tickets. Mauricio even sent me a DVD of Sosa’s last two fights.”

Deschamps, quoted recently in Mexican media, said Sosa isn’t taking Jaro lightly, describing the fighter as “dangerous” because “Filipinos are feared in the 105 and 108-pound divisions.”

“Sonny Boy has a big chance to win,” said Aljoe. “This is his dream - to win a world title. Sonny Boy has the power that Sosa lacks. I’m confident he’ll win by knockout.”

Aljoe said Sulaiman is assigning three neutral judges for the fight. Who will be the referee has not been announced.

Meanwhile, the WBC has ruled that the Sosa-Jaro winner must stake the title next against mandatory challenger Juanito Rubillar of Bebot Elorde’s stable. Last June, Rubillar beat former WBC champion Omar Niño Romero in Mexico City in a title eliminator. Jaro said he will overcome Sosa’s hometown advantage like Rubillar did in thrashing Romero in Mexico City.

Aljoe, who relinquished managing former IBF minimumweight champion Florante Condes because of a contract dispute, said he’s pinning his hopes on Jaro to bring another title to the country.

“It’s too bad what they did to Condes,” said Aljoe. “A lot of people got involved and poor Condes wound up losing the title. Someone told me he’s now just selling suman in Cainta. Anyway, I’m finished with Condes. I’ve got more fighters like Sonny Boy and Bernabe to take care of.”

Aljoe said Jaro is pumped up to win. “He got married last year so he’s got a wife (Jane) to provide for,” he continued. “He’s disciplined and very focused. He knows this chance might not come again so he’s making sure he comes home with the title.”