VILORIA READY TO FACE ANY CONTENDER
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Fri, 22 Jul 2011
Newly crowned WBO flyweight champion Brian Viloria says he is ready to face any title contender they put in front of him including former light flyweight champion Giovanni Segura who is the mandatory challenger for the 112 pound title.
While his manager Gary Gittelsohn feels, like we do, that after a tough battle against the champion Julio Cesar ?Pingo? Miranda at the Blaisdell Arena in Honolulu last Sunday, Manila Time, Viloria deserves to have an optional title defense before taking on the power-punching Segura who was the first fighter to win by knockout over the previously undefeated Ivan Calderon.
Viloria however told insidesports.ph/Viva Sports that he would fight anybody his manager comes to terms with. He said ?that?s what fighters have to do. They can?t pick and choose who they?re going to fight. If a guy is out there and they put him up against you, you are gonna have to fight him.?
Viloria added, ?that?s my mentality. I?m not going to be scared and I?m just going to do my job and to be a fighter is my job.?
Reminded that there were four Filipinos rated in the top ten of the WBO (Rey Saludar No.4, Milan Melindo 5, OPBF champion Rocky Fuentes 7 and Rey Perez No. 9) Viloria said ?its tough to fight your own countrymen. We want to help each other but like I saw we are first fighters in the ring and we have to do our job whoever we are against.?
The former two-time world lightweight champion who became the sixth Filipino to win titles in two weight divisions said he would need to take some time off to keep a promise to his wife, Erika, that they would go on a honeymoon which ?we had to push back because of all the craziness and the world championship. I owe her one and after that we are going to step back and get the ball rolling once again.?
Viloria praised his wife who is a nurse and said he owed her a lot because ?she helped carry all the burdens on her shoulders. She?s been really supportive from day one, from the day I met her and she still is. I can?t really ask for anyone better than Erika.?
Erika Viloria told a well-attended news conference hosted by ABC 5, the television network that telecast the fight on a slightly delayed basis that Brian ?has been through a lot of highs and lows in his career . When he went through a lot of the lows when he lost the world title (the WBC light flyweight crown to Omar Nino Romero and the IBF belt to Carlos Tamara) I told him that I would be there to support him.?
Erika said she had suggested that he ?move up in weight and try to win a world title . I told him I would support him one hundred percent where he chooses to stay in boxing or to retire.?
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.
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