MANILA – Filipino teen boxer “Marvelous” Marvin Sonsona will be having the biggest challenge of his young career when he faces battle scarred WBO super flyweight champion Jose “Carita” Lopez on Friday (Saturday in Manila) at the Casino Rama in Ontario, Canada.

It’s no question that the 19-year-old Sonsona has a daunting task in hand as the 37-year-old Puerto Rican champ has a wide advantage in terms of ring experience.

“I know this fight will be a tough one, but I’ve trained hard, and am confident that if I stick to my game plan I’ll come home a champion,” Sonsona said during a press conference two days before the fight.

The hard hitting Sonsona, who has an unblemished record of 13-0 with 12 knockouts, burst into the international boxing scene with a spectacular second round TKO over former world champion Wandee Singwancha last May.

Sonsona said that his preparations for the fight have been good. He said part of his strategy is guarding against Lopez’s potent right straights and right hooks.

“I feel good during this training and trained very hard, two months and 15 days now,” he said.

Lopez, on the other hand, boasts of 39 wins, 32 of them coming by way of knockout, 7 loses and 2 draws.

“Well if we are talking about power, I have 32 knockouts… we shall see how this kid reacts once we get in the ring. I have many weapons that I am sure he hasn’t seen before. I’ve seen so many types of fighters I just don’t see this fight going the distance,” said the WBO champion.

Sonsona, meanwhile, urged his fellow Filipinos to pray for his success against the Puerto Rican champion.

“Ako po ay humihingi ng suporta at panalangin sa darating kong laban,” he said.

He also thanked the Filipino community in Canada who gave him a warm welcome upon his arrival in Ontario.

“Mainit ang pagtanggap sa akin dito ng mga kababayang Pinoy. Naging inspirasyon ko sila upang mapagsikapan kong manalo sa laban,” said Sonsona. With reports from TheFightnetwork.com, PhilBoxing.com and FightFan.com