Sonsona offers fight to Gorres

MANILA, Philippines - WBO superflyweight champion “Marvelous” Marvin Sonsona of General Santos City said yesterday he is dedicating his first title defense against Mexico’s Alejandro (Payasito) Hernandez in Ontario, Canada, to stricken fighter Z Gorres, now in stable condition after a two-hour surgery to relieve pressure on his brain in a Las Vegas hospital.

Sonsona, 19, is set to face Hernandez in a scheduled 12-round bout at the Casino Rama tonight (tomorrow morning, Manila). In the undercard, unbeaten Cagayan de Oro superbantamweight Ciso Morales takes on Mexico’s Miguel Angel Gonzalez Piedras in an eight-rounder.

“I’m dedicating my fight to Gorres, for his fast recovery and to all of his fans,” said Sonsona from his suite at the Delta Chelsea Hotel in downtown Toronto, about a 2 1/2-hour drive to the Casino Rama.

Gorres collapsed in the ring after he was declared the winner by unanimous decision over Colombia’s Luis Melendez at the House of Blues in the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas last Nov. 13. He was rushed to the University Medical Center where a team of five doctors led by neurosurgeon Dr. Michael Seiff performed surgery to drain blood from his head.

Gorres’ manager Michael Aldeguer said yesterday the fighter’s condition has dramatically improved, quoting attending trauma surgeon Dr. Michael Casey.

“Buchoy has a good chance to live a functional life not necessarily yet a normal life for now because he may need to rehabilitate his left side which may take time,” said Aldeguer. “He is not critical anymore but is still in a serious situation. However, in the next 48 hours, doctors may get him off the ventilator.”

Aldeguer said according to Dr. Casey, a normal patient would recover in two weeks what Gorres did in five days because of his age and excellent physical condition.

Sonsona, trainer Nonito (Dodong) Donaire Sr., manager Dr. Rajan Yraola and Morales left Manila for Canada last Nov. 13. They came in from Cebu where the fighters trained, stayed in Manila for a few hours then took the flight to Canada. Donaire, Yraola and Arvin Jugarat will be in Sonsona’s corner for the fight. His other trainer Jun Agrabio failed to make the trip because of illness.

Yraola said two days ago, Sonsona was still eight pounds over the 115-pound superflyweight limit but should be able to make the cut at the weigh-in, scheduled on the morning of the fight.

Yraola said Sonsona missed watching Manny Pacquiao’s disposal of Miguel Cotto on live TV but read all about in the newspapers and the internet.

“Marvin did not watch Manny’s fight because we just arrived that day but he was very much inspired by the victory,” said Yraola, a 30-year-old dentist who also dabbles in boxing. “He also got excited when I told him his cousin Eden won in the undercard.”

Sonsona’s cousin Eden, a bantamweight, stopped Israel’s Eilen Kedem at 0:17 of the second round in the Pacquiao-Cotto undercard at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas last Nov. 14.

Sonsona wrested the WBO crown from Puerto Rican veteran Jose (Carita) Lopez via a unanimous 12-round decision at the Casino Rama last September. The unbeaten teener dropped Lopez in the fourth round and won handily as judge Harry Davis scored it 114-111, judge Kelly Zolnierczyk 115-110 and judge Ted Ginza 116-109, all for the Filipino. The win raised Sonsona’s record to 14-0, with 12 KOs, since turning pro two years ago.

Sonsona is the Philippines’ second youngest world boxing champion after Morris East.

Hernandez, 23, is ranked No. 15 by the WBO and has a 22-7-1 record, with 11 KOs. Last year, he lost a decision to Omar Narvaez in a bid for the WBO flyweight crown in Argentina. The former WBO Latino flyweight and WBC Mundo-Hispano flyweight champion is making his debut in the 115-pound division. A durable warrior, Hernandez has never been stopped in his career.

Morales, 21, has a 13-0 record, with eight KOs, and holds the WBO Oriental superbantamweight crown. His last four victims were foreigners and he’s looking to add another. But Gonzalez Piedras is determined to snap Morales’ win streak. The Mexican has won his last five fights and his only loss so far was a six-round decision to Ramon Maas in Guadalupe two years ago. It will be Gonzalez Piedras’ first fight outside of Mexico.