Sonsona: It’s not in the rising but in the falling

By Al S. Mendoza

(Happy, happy birthday tomorrow, Nov. 30, to Bonifacio M. Sison, the greatest lawyer Mangatarem has ever produced.)

* * * *

MARVIN Sonsona does not only make me sad.

He also makes me angry.

Here he was, fighting for a world crown a second time, and he came in overweight.

What does that make of him?

He was to defend a world title he won not even a couple of months ago.

And next, he fights overweight?

Either he is a jerk or simply nuts.

And he calls himself a Pacquiao fan.

And we even call him “Marvelous.”

If he was referring to the old Pacquiao, fine.

In 1999, Pacquiao was a model for non-discipline. As a result, he lost his world crown in the 112-lbs division – at the scales.

After that though, Pacquiao, learning a bitter lesson, transformed himself into a paragon of discipline.

As a result, in his next six world title fights, he won them all.

Today, Pacquiao is the Mt. Everest of boxing: He owns an unprecedented 7 world crowns in 7 different weight divisions.

I don’t see someone else erasing that – even equaling that – in the next generation or two.

Not even Sonsona?

Well, on second thought, Sonsona might just do it.

He has the arsenal, the goods, to do it.

He is tall, equipped with the fundamentals and seems to have boundless energy like Pacquiao.

He displayed that when, despite almost being drained of energy for trying to hit the 115-lb limit, he survived 12 rounds against Mexican Payacitos Hernandez on Nov. 22.

That split draw he had plucked out from the jaws of defeat made Sonsona’s unbeaten record intact as he is now 14-0-1 (win-loss-draw), with 12 knockouts.

He is 19 – a good credential to make him still a force to reckon with in pugilism.

To him, the world is there for the picking.

He is now almost 5-9, a height that his manager had said was more than two inches when he won the 115-lb crown only last September 4, also in Canada.

But then, before Sonsona starts thinking of scaling the heights again, he must first reprogram, again, his mind-frame.

First off, in all his coming fights, he must do his damndest to keep his weight right on weigh-in day.

That is the trademark of all great athletes, as personified by Pacquiao today.

Sonsona has all the time to make amends. His next fight is on February 2010. Lots of time for atonement.

Pacquiao accomplished his record 7 world titles in 7 different weight divisions in 10 years from 1999 to 2009.

He was also 19 when he launched his campaign for greatness.

The similarities are really there between Sonsona and Pacquiao.

It’s just that Pacquiao has already done what needs to be done.

It is now up for Sonsona to do a Pacquiao.

It begins with discipline – as in all spheres of life.

Without discipline, Sonsona will end up like the rest: A flash in the pan.

A one-hit wonder.

Back to Homepage

Share your Comments or Reactions

comments

Powered by Facebook Comments