Gentleman warrior Viloria "licking his chops" for Romero clash

ORTIGAS—World Boxing Organization (WBO) flyweight champion Brian Viloria encountered two familiar faces as he approached the center table for Wednesday's press conference at the Discovery Suites Hotel. Omar Niño Romero, whom Viloria will face on Sunday at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City, sat there vigilantly waiting for the event to start, as did Julio Cesar Miranda, who lost the 112-pound belt in 2011 to the Filipino-American fighter, as he will be facing former champion Rodel Mayol in the co-featured bout. Instead of engaging in pre-fight hostilities with Niño, who had handed him his first defeat back in 2006, Viloria embraced both of his former ring opponents. The gentlemanly demeanor of both Viloria (30-3, 17 knockouts) of Waipahu, Hawaii and Niño (31-4-2, 13 KOs) of Guadalajara, Mexico provided a stark contrast to the pitched battle many are expecting on Sunday. "I'm licking my chops," said Viloria, "The Hawaiian Punch" who has held three world titles in two divisions after representing the United States in the 2000 Olympics as an amateur. "I'm ready to go. I'm ready to lace the gloves and go at it right now." Niño, who is four years Viloria's senior at 35, was accompanied by his trainer Manuel Montiel Jr., former two-time world champion Fernando Montiel's brother. The Mexican was respectful of his opponent, whom he defeated by decision in 2006 and then was held to a draw in a rematch later that year, only to have the fight overturned to a no decision after he tested positive for amphetamines. "I have nothing but respect for him," said Niño of Viloria. "It's a great experience being in front of a gentleman." "I want to thank all of the Filipino fans for giving me such a warm welcome. I feel at home and I just want to tell everybody I want to give them a great fight. We're not enemies, we're like co-workers. We are fighting in the same place. There's no animosity, we have nothing but respect and friendship." Viloria, whose parents are natives of Ilocos del Sur and grew up speaking Ilocano as a first language, has grown much since their last encounter, having defeated Ulises Solis in 2009 to win a second 108-lb world title, then lost it shortly after to Colombian Carlos Tamara in a big upset in 2010. Viloria rebounded strongly in 2011, defeating Miranda to win the title and then turned in his signature performance with a ninth-round technical knockout win over Ring Magazine pound-for-pound entrant Giovani Segura in December.   "I learned a lot of things during training camp and the last two fights and I'm going to bring it to this fight," said Viloria. "The way I train and prepare myself. The way I look to each fight with the fervor I need to."   "Me and Omar, we've already had our history so there's not going to be any secrets between us. The only difference is that I don't think I trained as hard for our last two fights as I've trained for this third fight and I think that's going to show on Sunday," he added.   Niño also believes that he will be facing a different Viloria than the 20-something upstart he first made his name off of over half a decade ago. "Brian has turned into a great champion, he's really perfected his craft and you have seen it in his previous fights, especially against Segura," said Romero. "So he has evolved and he has changed in a positive way." Niño, after losing the title following the positive drug test in 2006, regained the WBC light flyweight crown in 2010 when he defeated Mayol. He made one successful defense against Ronald Barrera before losing a decision to 20-loss veteran Gilberto Keb Baas. He was inactive for 14 months prior to defeating unheralded journeyman Javier Romano in March. Niño, despite having never fought a significant match in the 112-lb division, maintains that he is ready for the challenge. "Inactivity is probably your worst enemy but I can tell you that I made the adjustments and I'm ready for this fight," said Niño. "I've prepared myself very well and I'm expecting a very good fight." "I'm sure Brian prepared himself good and is expecting a war as well. All I can tell you is that the best man is going to win."