On Saturday night Hawaiian native Brian Viloria will defend his IBF Light Flyweight title for the first time against Jesus Iribe at the Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu, Hawaii. Viloria’s title defense headlines the event, dubbed “Island Assault,” which marks the return of world class boxing to the state.
High hopes and heavy expectations were held for Brian Viloria when he emerged from the 2000 U.S. Olympic team. Many in the business had hoped that “The Hawaiian Punch” would be the one to regenerate American interest in the lower weight classes of boxing. Surely boxing fans in Hawaii had hoped that their native son could be the one to bring back the sport’s popularity in the state. The marketable and well-spoken Viloria looked to be en route to achieving some of those lofty goals when he demolished Eric Ortiz in a single round to win the WBC Light Flyweight title in 2005.
Two fights removed from his title-winning effort, Viloria was stunned by unheralded Omar Nino in a bout televised nationally by Versus. Nino outworked the champion over twelve rounds on his way to the unlikely decision win. Viloria fought Nino to a majority draw in the rematch, which was later changed to a no decision when the Mexican failed a post-fight drug test. Five months later, Viloria, entering the bout as the favorite again, was upset by previously little known Edgar Sosa in a bout for the vacant title he had lost two fights before.
The road back to prominence for Viloria was long and without any fanfare. Fighting without the benefit of much television exposure, Viloria strung together five consecutive victories and found himself back in a title fight. Entering the bout as an underdog, Viloria stopped well respected Ulises Solis in the eleventh round of an exciting fight, in the Philippines no less, to win the IBF Light Flyweight title.
Now Viloria (25-2, 15 KOs) finds himself in a familiar position, as he defends his title against an unheralded Mexican challenger. This time however, Viloria seems to be better prepared to meet the high expectations placed on his shoulders. “This fight is very important,” Viloria told 15rounds.com on Tuesday. “Every fight I need to look good to establish myself as a dominate fighter in my weight class.” Viloria vows to not make the same mistakes he did in his first go around as a world champion. “Now that have the title again, I don’t want to be complacent like I was when I first won a world title,” said Viloria. “I want to keep the intensity that I had when I fought Solis.”
Viloria, who joined forces with renowned trainer Robert Garcia about a year ago, held camp at the La Colonia Boxing Club in Oxnard, California, before arriving in Hawaii on Monday. “I’ve had an excellent camp,” says Viloria. “Two and a half months of training. It is the final week until fight night on Saturday and I just have to maintain. I’ve been in shape since my last fight. I just took a couple weeks off and got right back to training and preparing for this fight.”
Opposing Viloria in his homecoming bout is Mexican veteran Jesus Iribe (15-5-5, 9 KOs) of Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico. Iribe has gone 3-0-1 since dropping a decision to reigning WBC Light Flyweight Champion Edgar Sosa in February of last year in a failed title try. “He is durable and resilient,” said Viloria of his challenger. “He went twelve rounds with Edgar Sosa and gave him a tough fight. I expect to go twelve hard rounds.” Viloria studied the Sosa fight and hopes to put what he saw to good use. “He doesn’t like pressure or combinations. If I stick to my game plan in this fight I should come out with the win.”
Adding additional intrigue to his title defense, Saturday’s bout marks the first time Viloria has fought in his native state since April 2003. The last time Hawaii saw a world title bout, Honolulu’s Ben Villaflor fought to a fifteen-round draw against Samuel Serrano in defense of his WBA Super Featherweight title in April 1976. “There is no pressure,” claims Viloria. “The excitement to be in front of my friends and family helps with my preparation. There is no difference in pressure whether I am fighting in the Philippines or at the Alameda Swap Meet.”
While Viloria is focused on Iribe, the talk is that his handlers are angling towards a fight against WBO Light Flyweight Champion Ivan Calderon, should both men take care of their immediate business. Calderon is set to defend his title against Rodel Mayol in a rematch on September 12th. While their potential pairing could not be labeled a “superfight” by most standards, a Viloria-Calderon clash would be the closest thing to one at the 108-pound weight class. “I am taking things one fight at a time,” said Viloria. “I don’t want to look past any fighter. Should I get past Iribe, there’s been talk about the possibility of a unification match with Calderon or a rematch with Edgar Sosa. But right now my world championship fight is this Saturday versus Jesus Iribe.”
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