Viloria plans on long reign

MANILA, Philippines - Newly crowned WBO flyweight champion Brian (The Hawaiian Punch) Viloria said yesterday he intends to reign for a long time after pushing himself to the limit in preparing for his recent fight against Mexico’s Julio Cesar Miranda at the Blaisdell Center in Honolulu.

It was the most punishing camp he ever experienced because Viloria knew a loss would mean retirement from the ring.

“I didn’t want to put pressure on myself by thinking it’s over if I lose,” said Viloria. “But of course, it was in the back of my mind. I knew I would’ve had to reevaluate my career, decide if it was worth continuing to fight, if I still enjoyed it.”

Miranda didn’t make it easy. “He complained a lot,” continued Viloria.”He threatened not to fly out of Mexico if the judges weren’t changed. When he got in, he complained of no access to the scales but the commission made available the scales starting 7:45 the morning of the weigh-in which was at about 1 p.m. He tested his weight before the weigh-in and was 2.7 pounds over. Then, at the official weigh-in, he came in .9 of a pound over. It took him two hours to finally make the weight. The guy was a warrior. He just didn’t stop punching. He’s heavy-handed and I felt his power.”

Viloria said he knew the title was his in the 10th round. “I didn’t fight his fight,” he went on. “I was quicker. I played it smart. When I put him down in the first, I didn’t rush things. In the seventh, he was hurt. I was tempted to go in and finish him off. But I knew he still had his power. I didn’t want to take any chances. That guy just didn’t want to stay down. He fought like a true champion. He was taunting me during the fight, like give it to me in the gut, work my body which I did. I prepared too long and too hard to win this title. It was make or break for me.”

Miranda, 31, survived a first round knockdown and staged a late rally but fell short in the end. Viloria wrested the crown via a unanimous decision as judge Robert Hoyle saw it 117-110, judge Tamotsu Tomihara 115-113 and judge Dr. Ruben Garcia 114-113. Hoyle replaced original judge Robert Byrd while Tomihara took the place of Filipino lawyer Danrex Tapdasan in switches authorized by the WBO and the Hawaii State Boxing Commission to calm down the Miranda group.

Viloria’s wife Erica said training camp was rigorous. “Brian would wake up at 4 in the morning to run,” she said. “When I left the house for work, he was gone and when I got back from work, he was asleep. He sacrificed a lot for this fight. We got married last December and we still haven’t gone on our honeymoon. Right now, we’re not thinking of children. We’re enjoying life together. When the time comes, we’ll start a family.”

Viloria recalled doing three-mile runs on Mount Baldy outside Los Angeles, jogging from 5,000 feet above sea level to 9,000 in thinning air. He did runs with fighters Antonio Margarito, Miguel Angel Vazquez and Giovani Segura. “Some of the guys never made it all the way but I won’t name names,” he chuckled. “I did that every other day for two to three months and it was a killer but I did it anyway.”

Viloria said sparring with Japanese switch-hitter Takashi Okada in camp was a big boost. “We knew Miranda is a switch-hitter so we got a sparring partner who could switch-hit, too,” said Viloria. “Sure enough, when Miranda switch-hit during our fight, I knew exactly what to do. I wasn’t caught by surprise.”

Viloria said he’s comfortable fighting as a flyweight and doesn’t anticipate moving up to superflyweight anytime soon. “I actually began my pro career as a flyweight then I went down to lightflyweight to get a crack at the world title,” he said. “Now, I’m back at 112. I’m eating fine. I expect to stay in this division for a while. When I can’t hold down my weight anymore, then I’ll move up to 115. But I don’t see that happening soon.”

Viloria said he’s not picking his next opponent. “Whomever my manager (Gary Gittelsohn) puts in front of me, I’ll fight,” he said. “It doesn’t matter to me if it’s Segura or Pongsaklek (Wonjongkam). I’d like to fight once more before the year ends, perhaps in December. What really motivates me is the support from my wife, my manager, my family, my friends, my fans, my chief second (Ruben Gomez) and my trainer (Mario Morales). Without all their support, I wouldn’t be pumped up to train as hard as I did for the Miranda fight.”

After the fight, Viloria said he noticed the fans were exhausted. “We were all so happy,” he said. “But the fans were tired from cheering, the anxiety and the excitement of the fight. I guess they knew how badly I wanted to win.”

Viloria and his wife are scheduled to fly to Los Angeles on Wednesday. In the meantime, the Hawaiian Punch has TV appearances lined up – in a game show, a cooking program and a talk series where he’ll be asked for love advice. Viloria said he hopes to make a quick visit to relatives in Narvacan, Ilocos Sur, before leaving.

Joaquin Henson, Philippine Star