by Eric 'Sugar Foot' Duran

As Sonny Fredrickson (8-0, 5 KO’s) prepares for the biggest moment of his career, he does so from humbling beginnings.  Fredrickson hails from Toledo, Ohio, a city known for drugs and corruption.  Toledo ranked 8th in Forbes top 20 most miserable cities in 2015, “to me it's a good city but it's also tough,  you can see the struggle for most in the city,” stated Fredrickson. Fredrickson credits his humble nature to a loving and caring family, “although Toledo is rough, I come from a good family that has always supported me,” stated Fredrickson.

Fredrickson got a surprise last year when representatives from Roc Nation visited his gym, “we were looking for a promoter, I knew my management team was speaking with them,” stated Fredrickson.  Apparently the representatives saw something they liked as they signed Fredrickson to a promotional contract, “this has been a great opportunity so far, they have treated us well,” stated Fredrickson.  Fredrickson wasn't the only fighter they signed from the gym, they also signed featherweight prospect, Tyler McCreary.

Fredrickson credits the signing of himself and his teammate, McCreary, to the man who has trained them since kids, Coach Lamar Wright, “he’s just not my coach, he's been like a father figure to me,” stated Fredrickson.  Fredrickson stated his father wasn't in his life growing up and that coach Wright provided that adult male figure he needed to succeed not only in boxing but in life, “he's helped me in life, in general.  He made me believe in myself even when I didn't”.

Fredrickson has always been a fan of the fight game, learning and idolizing fighters such as Oscar de La Hoya, Felix Trinidad and Vinny Panienza, “they were fan friendly fighters, always in exciting fights,” stated Fredrickson.  Although Fredrickson is solely focused on his own career at this moment, he's still finds time to watch current fighters and continue to learn, “I like to watch  Miguel Cotto but I'm trying to build my own legacy and following,” stated Fredrickson.  Fredrickson says his style is similar to those mentioned above, “I'm a press forward fighter, I work behind my jab.  You'll notice a lot of body work when I fight but I love to box and give the fans something to cheer for,” stated Fredrickson.

On Saturday June 20th live on BET and from the Oracle Arena in Oakland, CA, Fredrickson will battle stoned chinned Juan Santiago of Denver, Colorado, “he's a slow starter, can't slip a jab.  I plan on taking the fight to him, I want to stop him early if I can.  If I don't get him out of there early, I'll beat him for all scheduled 6,” stated Fredrickson.

Fredrickson plans on using his nationally televised fight as a platform, “it's good to have boxing on BET, it was smart on he part of Roc Nation.  It's an honor and great opportunity for myself to build a fan base,” stated Fredrickson.  Fredrickson plan is simple for the remainder of 2015, “take it fight by fight, keep wining and move on to 8, maybe 10 round fights,” stated Fredrickson.  Fredrickson-Santiago will be the second bout telecast on BET featuring the return of Andre Ward.

Roc Nation presents “Throne Boxing”, a night of professional boxing and musical entertainment.  Ward will face Paul Smith over 12 rounds in the Light Heavyweight division.  The card also features prospects Antonio Neives, Daniel Franco and Luis “Cuba” Arias.  The card is promoted by Roc Nation Sports and shown live on BET networks.