Viloria? Loses WBC Crown; Gabi KO’s Opponent in 1 Round
By Ed de la Vega, DDS PhilBoxing.com Sat, 12 Aug 2006
Las Vegas, Nevada - Brian Viloria, the 25-yearold Filipino-American? WBC junior flyweight champion from Hawaii who now makes his home in North Hollywood, California proved to his detractors that the victory he earned when he? successfully defended his title against Jose Antonio Aguirre at the Aladdin Casino last February 18, 2006 was indeed a? fluke. Tonight, at the Orleans Casino Viloria , (19-0-0 12 KOs)? lost his title to Omar Nino Romero of Mexico (23-2-1 10KO’s).? Nino Romero won via a lazy 12 round unanimous decision. Viloria’s loss was something that was difficult to understand. Against Aguirre it was not to hard to conceive why he threw few punches. His hand fractured on round 3. But against Romero he had two good hands yet he was hesitant to mount a concerted attack.
Nino Romero throwing his famed looping right hand and connecting on Viloria
Even early on during the fight, from our ringside vantage point right next to Viloria’s corner we heard Freddie Roach giving him instructions to attack and increase his punch output. But Viloria appeared contented to counter punch hoping perhaps that he can bring down Nino Romero with a lucky punch. On several occasions, Viloria’s style led people to boo because more was expected of him. Nino Romero proved to be a tough hombre. He took the occasional power shots that Viloria delivered and dealt his share too. But he delivered more power shots than Viloria. In fact, he doubled Viloria’s output.
One of the few times Viloria lands a solid punch????
A word of comfort from manager Gittlesohn
The fight was not supposed to end the way it did. Many pundits did not give Nino Romero a chance against Viloria because even though he had a “good record”, most of the people he beat were no-names save for Jorge Arce. But Arce was 17 years old when he lost to Nino Romero.
With the loss, goes the big money fights with the likes of Ivan Calderon, Jorge Arce, Vic Darchinyan and even Koki Kameda. Gone too will be the big reception and parade in Manila and Ilocos Sur. But Viloria is young. His first loss should not really deter him from pursuing other goals in boxing. However, he needs to go back to the drawing board and pay? more attention to Freddie Roach. Viloria’s record now stands at 19-1-0- (12 KO), really not bad for a young man who has many more years in boxing. One loss should not be a deterrent. In should be a learning experience.
In the main undercard, flyweight contender Diosdado Gabi of Davao City went up on weight and was very impressive in his “come-back fight”. He KO’d? Mauricio “El Pintoso” Pastrana in the first round. Pastrana is a very rugged veteran fighter from Monteria, Columbia who is now based in Miami, Florida. He was a late substitute for Jose German Cruz of Mexico who could not make the fight. Pastrana’s major claim to fame are his two fights against Rafael Marquez, albeit losing both times by UD. In his last outing, Pastrana defeated Pedro Rincon Miranda by UD over 6 rounds. Rincon Miranda was the same fellow knocked out by Z Gorres at the Home Depot Center last May 27, 2006.
Diosdado Gabi delivers the left for his first knocked down of? Mauricio Pastrana
Gabi’s spirited performance did not indicate any lost of heart much less resolved, from his most recent fight, a KO loss to Vic Darchinyan of Australia. On the contrary, he seemed to be more determined to reach his lofty goals of winning a world title.
From the onset Gabi attacked his foe non-stop. Asked after the fight as to when he felt he had the fight won, his reply was: “When I first hit him with a solid punch in the body, his face told me that he was clearly hurt. I did not want him to recover so I kept it up until he dropped the first time. When the referee allowed the fight to resume, I? saw he was still in pain, so I just continued to hit him until he fell for the second time. After that, I knew I? will win the fight”.
Gabi stalking? Pastrana leading to the second knockdown? in the first round.
Gabi’s quick KO win saved the night for the handful of Filipinos who were in attendance. In fact, they had a field day taking souvenir pictures with him and Freddie Roach. With the win, Gabi improved to 27-3-1 (18 KO’s). Pastrana dropped to 32-7-2 (20KO).
