A thrilled Brian Viloria promises a show on his China and HBO debut
By Rich Mazon
PhilBoxing.com
Sat, 02 Mar 2013
The unified Flyweight champion of the world is working hard in training at the Wild Card Gym in Hollywood, preparing for his April 6th defense against challenger Juan Francisco Estrada. And he has good reasons to do so.
Brian Viloria will not only be defending his twin belts against Estrada that night, the 32 year old Filipino-American will also be headlining a historic boxing event at the world?s biggest continent.
Viloria and Estrada are scheduled to square off against each other at the luxurious Venetian Casino and Resort in Macao, China. They are part of an impressive card that Top Rank Boxing has placed with the motive of promoting the sport to the world?s most populous country.
?It feels great. It feels great. This is something I have been working on my whole career, to get to this point. Hopefully I can deliver what everybody has been wanting to see, which is another great fight.?
Viloria told the Philboxing.com team that visited him at the famous gym Friday afternoon.
The event will be carried from Asia by network giant, HBO to its millions of subscribers in the United States. HBO will be flying veteran boxing analyst Larry Merchant, two-time heavyweight champion, George Foreman alongside boxing commentator Tim Ryan, to Macao to call the action at ringside for its US viewers.
This will be the first HBO appearance for Viloria, who has held two titles in two divisions already. It was an opportunity that the Waipahu, Hawaii native has been eyeing in his boxing career.
?It feels great. It feels great. My first reaction was Wow, Finally. Because there were a couple fights (of mine) that I thought was HBO worthy. But now that I have the chance to showcase my talents on HBO, I am going to take every bit of look and of every bit of what I can get. I am going to go out there and perform to the best that I can,? expressed Viloria.
Viloria has been impressive lately, winning all of his last six fights in the last three years. His last three via imposing knockout victories against high caliber opponents. He has successfully defended his WBO (112 pounds) belt three times in a row and adding the WBA belt in the process by beating Hernan ?Tyson? Marquez last fall, a fete that has not been accomplished in nearly half a century.
?This last couple of years has been very good to me and the fights have been exciting. I?m glad that I am at this stage right now where I can showcase my talents on HBO and especially back in Asia. Right now, I am glad and I am happy to be at this point,? said Viloria.
Viloria was also enthusiastic about his recent signing with Top Rank Promotions and is optimistic that his partnership with the company will bring added success to his boxing career.
?I just re-signed with them, just last month and I am just going to show Bob Arum and the whole promotional company that I will be a force to be reckon with. I will be continuing what I have done, keep doing that and keep on working hard and keep pumping out great fights," stated the champ whose lineage can be traced to Ilocos Sur.
Brian Viloria is not only looking forward to making his initial foray into the vast Chinese sports scene, he is also ready for the sport?s biggest stage and the big lights of commercial success.
?The sky is the limit for me.?
We would like to thank the Wild Card Gym staff led by Coach Freddie Roach, his assistant, Mary Spivey and Head of Security Rob Peters for accommodating the Philboxing team yesterday.
You can reach the author at rrmaze24@aol.com
Photo: Brian Viloria (L) does the mitts with trainer Marvin Somodio at the Wildcard Gym in Hollywood, CA Thursday. Photo by Jhay Otamias.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Rich Mazon .
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