'Hawaiian Punch' Viloria back to heavy training for unification fight

Reigning WBO flyweight champion Brian “The Hawaiian Punch” Viloria (31-3-0, 18 KOs) was originally scheduled to take on WBA flyweight champion Hernan “Tyson” Marquez (34-2-0, 25 KOs) last September 29, only for the fight to be postponed to the dismay of the excited Filipino-American. After taking a short break, Viloria is now back to heavy training at Freddie Roach’s Wild Card Gym under the tutelage of long-time mentor Ruben Gomez and Filipino trainer Marvin Somodio. “Hindi naman nawala ang kundisyon ni Brian kasi tuloy lang ang training namin kahit na-move yung laban niya," Somodio said. “Binigyan lang namin siya ng break, mga one week, at balik na uli sa training pero light lang hanggang sa magkaroon na ng exact date ang laban niya.”

The fight was later rescheduled for November 17 (November 18, PHL time) at the Sports Arena, in Los Angels, California. Somodio admitted that Marquez has good power but Viloria had more speed. “Si Marquez malakas din pero sa tingin ko mas malakas si Brian kaya paunahan na lang ng makatama,” the trainer said. “Right and left hook lang naman nakikita namin na madalas binibitawan ni Marquez na malakas. Pero napakadali lang din niya tamaan.” Because they are weary of the power of Marquez, Viloria and his team are currently putting a premium on their defensive tactics. “Sa depensa nagtatrabaho kami pero walang problema sa depensa ni Brian,” Somodio said. “Matibay at matalino maglaro si Brian. Ang pinaka-importante makuha namin ang 100% na kundisyon ni Brian sa araw ng laban niya at wala na kaming nakikitang reason para matalo siya ni Tyson Marquez.” Another Filipino pugilist will also box in the fight card. Drian “Gintong Kamao” Francisco (23-1-1, 16 Kos) will be making his US debut against a yet-to-be-determined opponent. Francisco, the former interim WBA super flyweight champion, scored a big first round knockout victory over Jose Carlos Vargas of Mexico and will now fight in an IBF Eliminator match. WBO light flyweight champion Donnie “Ahas” Nietes (30-1-3, 16 KOs) was also rumored to have been offered a unification fight against WBA champion Roman Gonzales (33-0-0, 28 Kos) but that bout failed to materialize. Gonzales will still fight, although it will be a regular title defense against Juan Francisco Estrada (22-1-0, 18 KOs). Viloria aims to be the second Filipino to hold unified titles. Nonito Donaire, who held the WBO and IBF super bantamweight titles, also claimed the Ring Magazine title with his win over Toshiaki Nishioka last Sunday. - AMD, GMA News