Marvin Somodio, Freddie Roach’s assistant, procures a US Visa

His third time, as the popular saying goes, turned out to be charm. Twice he applied for a US Visa and twice he was denied but now with the backing of Manny Pacquiao and Freddie Roach, local trainer Marvin Somodio has procured a US Visa and will be heading to the United States to help out in Pacquiao’s preparation for his fight against Timothy Bradley. Somodio, a diminutive trainer from Baguio’s Shape-Up Boxing Gym, has been with Roach since Pacquiao started training in Baguio. Now, his dream has finally come true. It’s been a long road for Somodio, who got into boxing by accident. The young Marvin Somodio didn’t have anything to do after school so he went with some of his friends to boxing training. The boxing coach asked him to train so he did. It was the start of a long relationship between Marvin and boxing; a relationship that almost ended because of a clueless coach. “Pro debut ko na dapat kaso ‘yung coach ko, ‘di alam yung ginagawa,” Somodio said. “Pinapatakbo ako ng apat na oras, mitts ng 12 rounds tapos speed bag, jump rope, at heavy bag ng 12 rounds pa. Kapag sinasabi kong namamaga na yung kamay ko, sinasabihan ako na mag-push-ups pa.” He left the coach and his dreams to be a pro fighter. He knew he could train fighters better than his coach so he decided to be a full-time boxing trainer. Marvin worked diligently in training anyone who came into the Shape-Up Boxing Gym in Baguio. In his first match as a trainer, his fighter disregarded all his instructions and lost the fight. “Masakit para sa akin kasi alam kong hinanda ko naman siya. Pagkatapos ng laban, naisip ko na ayaw ko na munang mag-train. Ako na lang ang lalaban,” he shared. But it was too late for Somodio. He was able to win a couple of fights but starting his professional boxing career at the age of 27 didn’t really work out well for him so he concentrated on honing his skill as a trainer. And now, it’s all paying off. Somodio has also studied Alex Ariza’s methods in conditioning so he can both hold the mitts and help with plyometrics. Wednesday, his application for a P1 Working Visa was approved. Somodio plans to leave Friday to ply his trade at the Wild Card Gym of Los Angeles. - AMD, GMA News