Manny Pacquiao coach Marvin Somodio says Eduard Folayang was ‘born to be a fighter’
Marvin Somodio, assistant coach to former eight-division boxing world champion Manny Pacquiao, recently spoke about former ONE lightweight world champion Eduard Folayang in an interview with The MMA Superfan.
Somodio and 'The Landslide' go way back as far as childhood days. In the interview, the legendary boxing trainer spoke about the potential the Filipino MMA legend showed even at a very young age:
"Back then, he was already super competitive. He’s really a fighter. I didn’t know then in what field he was gonna invest that spirit in. When they were playing sepak takraw, I already saw him possessing leadership qualities in that he drives them to always get the win. I saw it in his heart that he was born to be a fighter."
Watch the full interview here:
Somodio further expounded on his history with Eduard Folayang, who went to the same high school with him in Baguio City, Philippines:
"We were both athletes: I was a boxer, he [Folayang] played sepak takraw which is why he kicks so hard. I think we were in our third year in high school in around 1998-99 because we graduated as part of batch 2000."
For those who don't know, Sepak Takraw is considered one of the most prominent team sports in South-East Asia and the Philippines, where it's called "Sipa" (kick) in Tagalog. It's basically volleyball but instead of arms, the athletes use their legs to toss the ball over the net. Judging by that description alone, you'd know how Folayang got his remarkable kicking ability.
Though their paths have separated since high school, Eduard Folayang and Marvin Somodio stayed within the combat sports world and found tremendous success in their own respective fields.
Somodio became coach and trainer to the great Manny Pacquiao alongside fellow Filipino boxing mitts expert Buboy Fernandez and boxing Hall of Famer Freddie Roach. He also coached and trained former world champions Ruslan Provodnikov and Miguel Cotto.
As for Eduard Folayang, he became the first true Filipino MMA star and inspired generations of fighters from his country to excel on the world stage. He has become one of the few Filipino MMA world champions and a great ambassador of the sport to his country.