MANILA, Philippines - Newly crowned IBF lightflyweight champion Brian Viloria predicted the other day a difficult fight for Manny Pacquiao against Ricky Hatton in Las Vegas on May 2 but picked the Filipino ring icon to win in the end because of his speed, power and overall skills.
“They’re both very aggressive fighters,” said Viloria who left Manila for Los Angeles last Saturday night. “This will go a long way and I’m thinking someone’s going to get knocked out in at least 10 rounds. Hatton is strong but I can’t see anything different from what he’ll show Manny who’s seen everything. Manny’s my guy. He wants to make a statement in this fight. He’s out to prove he’s the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.”
Viloria said he has closely followed Pacquiao’s career since he halted Marco Antonio Barrera for the Ring Magazine world featherweight crown in 2003. “Manny has shown a lot of progress since beating Barrera,” continued Viloria. “I think he’s too fast for Hatton. He has too many skills. It’ll be a hard fight but Manny should win.”
Viloria will be in Las Vegas with manager Gary Gittelsohn and girlfriend Erika Navarro to cheer for Pacquiao at ringside. He’ll also watch stablemate Alfonso Gomez, who fought Miguel Cotto for the WBA welterweight title last year, in action at the Hard Rock Hotel the night before.
Viloria wrested the IBF 108-pound crown from Mexico’s Ulises (Archie) Solis via an 11th round knockout at the Araneta Coliseum last April 19. The three judges –Yongsak Nasongkha of Thailand, Muhammad Rois of Indonesia and John Wright of Australia – saw it 96-92, all for Viloria, when referee Bruce McTavish counted Solis out at 2:56 of the 11th. Even if McTavish hadn’t deducted two points from Solis for low blows, Viloria would’ve still been ahead.
Bloodied around both eyes, Solis took a solid right cross on the chin and dropped on all fours as Viloria ended the reign of a future Hall of Famer in his ninth title defense.
“There was no better champion to take the title from,” said Viloria. “Solis proved his greatness by agreeing to come over to the Philippines and defend his title against a Filipino. That says a lot about him. I went through 11 tough rounds and I was pretty banged up. After the fight, I rested my body and healed up. Then, Erika and I went to Ilocos Sur to visit her hometown Cabugao and mine, Narvacan, with relatives for four days. We did a lot of sightseeing and shopping.”
Viloria said Erika’s positive influence was a crucial factor in getting him over the hump. She is a full-blooded Filipina, born and raised in Hawaii, and had never been to the Philippines before.
“Erika’s a big part of my comeback,” he said. “She never takes any credit but let’s give credit where it’s due. My manager Gary and trainer Robert (Garcia) also gave me confidence. When my career hit rock bottom after I lost my title, Gary stuck it out with me. Then, we found Robert who brought me back on track as a fighter.”
Since Viloria hooked up with Garcia, he has won six in a row.
Viloria said he was never in trouble against Solis.
“Right from the first round, I knew I was stronger and faster,” said Viloria. “What bothered me was Solis’ jab. We knew he had a good jab and we worked on neutralizing it in the gym. I was ready to walk through his jab just to land my right. In the eighth round, he hit me with a left and it looked like I would go down. Actually, there was a slick portion on the canvas and I lost my balance. I told Robert in between rounds I wasn’t hurt and he told me he saw me skid.”
Viloria said now that he’s a world champion again, he’s become a bigger target.
“As soon as we land in Los Angeles, I want to start working out,” he said. “I miss camp. I don’t want to get stagnant and comfortable. I made 108 easily and that’s because I was strict in my diet and everyone helped me out, mentally and physically, to get ready. I want to stay active. Maybe, I’ll defend my title a couple of times then go for a unification.”
Viloria said Puerto Rico’s unbeaten Ivan Calderon has been mentioned as a future opponent. “Right now, whom I’m fighting next is a question mark,” he went on. “It’s all speculation. Gary and Bob (Arum) are talking about a lot of matchups. We’ll do what’s right for me. I don’t think there’s a rematch clause with Solis and besides, I want to move on and go after champions, not look back to someone you’ve beaten.”
Viloria said he’s watched the replay of his win over Solis repeatedly.
“It was such an intriguing fight because I was a former champion trying to come back and Solis was supposedly unbeatable,” he said. “I looked at myself on tape and I saw a lot of room for improvement, like my jab, head and lateral movement. That’s the scary part. I think I can still be a lot better. This win was very different from when I won my first title (over Eric Ortiz) in terms of physicality and maturity. I was up against a great champion in Solis and I knew it was make or break for me.”
Source: http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=461715&publicationSubCategoryId=69
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