Viloria confident against Mexican challenger Segura

Giovani Segura may hold a fearsome record, but World Boxing Organization (WBO) 112-pound champion Brian Viloria said there is nothing to be scared of when he faces his deadly Mexican challenger on Sunday. “I’m not afraid of him, not unless he’s got four arms and four legs,” Viloria said, drawing laughter from the packed crowd at New World Hotel’s The Palladium for the official press conference of his 12-round fight against Segura for the WBO flyweight title. “I’ve trained hard for this fight. I’m confident about this fight. It doesn’t matter whether he’s the pound-for-pound fighter of the world. I hope Giovani is ready for us to give fans a good fight,” said the 30-year-old Viloria, owner of a 29-3 record with 16 knockouts. The title match dubbed ‘Island Assault 3’, will be held at the Ynares Sports Arena and will be aired by GMA-7 and Solar Sports. Segura, formerly the WBO light-flyweight champion, holds an impressive 28-1-1 record with 24 of those wins by KO. His last loss, via unanimous decision, was against Colombian Cesar Cancila on July 26, 2008. And the 29-year-old challenger, ranked ninth in the pound-for-pound list of The Ring Magazine, the so-called Bible of boxing, made no secret of his intention to knock Viloria cold and bring home the Filipino’s flyweight crown back to his hometown of Ciudad Altamirano in Guerrero state. Segura was known to be the only boxer to beat former world champion Ivan Calderon of Puerto Rico twice. Calderon, who had never been KO’d after 34 fights in his pro career, lost his WBO and The Ring flyweight titles to Segura by an eighth-round KO loss in their first meeting in 2010. Segura then destroyed Calderon in three rounds in their 2011 rematch. But the Mexican, who speaks fluent English after growing up in California, admitted Viloria is a different kind of fighter than Calderon. “Brian is a better fighter than Calderon. He has more power and speed,” said Segura, who is trained by controversial Mexican cornerman Javier Capetillo. Capetillo is best remembered for the hand wraps scandal that hounded Antonio Margarito’s career. Both Viloria and Segura maintain a high regard for each other since they used to be sparmates, a connection that evolved into a strong friendship outside the boxing ring. “Me and Brian are friends,” said the challenger, who added that he'll put his friendship with the Filipino-American champion on hold once the opening bell rings. “Everybody knows Segura has power and his record shows, that’s no secret to nobody,” said the champion, making the mandatory defense of the title he won after a 12-round unanimous decision against Julio Cesar Miranda last July. “Now, we’ll see during the fight if he can land those shots.” Former North American Boxing Organization (NABO) lightweight champion Martin Honorio will challenge Thailand’s Fahsai Sakkreerin for the International Boxing Federation (IBF) Pacific super-featherweight title. — JVP, GMA News