Philippines, 12 Jan 2026
  Home >> News

 


BOXERS

CURRENT CHAMPIONS 

FORMER CHAMPIONS   

RATINGS                       

NEWS           

FORUM        

FIGHT GALLERIES        

RING CARD GIRLS        


 
 
News  


VILORIA IN TOUGH WIN AGAINST SOTO


PhilBoxing.com




Brian Viloria received a rough welcome in the flyweight division surviving a spirited challenge from the relentless Omar Soto of Mexico before escaping with a split decision victory in the main event of Boxing at the Bay IV held last night at the Ynares Arena, Pasig City.

The first few rounds (1 to 4) appeared to have gone to Viloria?s way using his superior speed to outbox his Mexican opponent. In the third round, he rocked Soto with a big right but failed to make a follow-up, apparently conserving his energy to avoid being spent out as what had happened in his title loss to Carlos Tamara last January. Soto began to be more aggressive in the middle rounds (5 to 7) putting pressure on Viloria and initiating some flurries that forced the latter to cover up. The two fighters engaged in furious exchanges that made the rounds too close to call and could go either way. Soto further intensified the pressure in the closing rounds producing a solid 8th round with sneaking punches to the body and easily won the 9th round when he was almost landing at will on the already tiring Viloria who managed to survive the onslaught. The two combatants slugged it out in the 10th and final round with Soto still coming forward and looking for a knockout even though Viloria was too elusive this time often connecting with well time counters to the head. In the end, the Hawaiian Punch won a split but well deserved decision by the scores of 97-93 and 97-94 in his favour and 93-97 in Soto?s favour.

When interviewed after the bout, Viloria mentioned that he really expected the tough challenge from Soto and that there would still be some work to do on his boxing.

In the supporting bout, Al Sabaupan hardly broke a sweat in disposing of the tall Wonpichit Twins Gym of Thailand knocking the latter out in the very first round andretaining his IBF Pan Pacific lightweight title.

Rounding off the results of the other bouts:

Vincent Palicte won a close unanimous victory (96-94 twice and 97-95) over Renan Branzuela in a very lacklustre 10-round bantamweight bout;

Prospect Roberto Gonzales passed his toughest test so far winning, albeit, impressively, his 8-round featherweight bout against the wily veteran Eric Rapada via a UD (76-75, 78-73, 77-74);

Jhonmark Apolinario used his superior boxing skills to frustrate Rex Olisa all night long with crisp punching scoring an easy UD victory over the latter (77-75, 79-73, and 78-74) in their 8-round super-flyweight bout;

Erano Semilllano used his volume punching to finally wear down Benezer Alolod in the 5th round in their junior flyweight bout scheduled for six rounds; and

Ivan Soriano dominated Michael Borja in their minimum-weight bout scoring a knockdown in the 3rd and two more in the 5th en route to scoring a wide UD victory (identical 59-51 in all three judges? scorecards).


Click here to view a list of other articles written by Salvador Lopez.


Recent PhilBoxing.com In-House articles:

  • Chess Players Association of Negros Occidental, Incorporated (CPANOI) – 2026 Opening Event
    By Marlon Bernardino, , Mon, 12 Jan 2026
  • STUNNING SMITH DESTROYS MATIAS TO BECOME WORLD CHAMPION
    , Sun, 11 Jan 2026
  • Former WBC champ Bazooka Limón hospitalized in Mexico
    By Gabriel F. Cordero, , Sun, 11 Jan 2026
  • Zuffa Boxing set to unveil its maiden card on January 23 in Las Vegas
    By Gabriel F. Cordero, , Sat, 10 Jan 2026
  • ‘I’ve got an army and army’s move in numbers’ Owen Corrigan returns for Light Heavyweight title Clash March 13 in Perth – Thunderdome 53
    , Sat, 10 Jan 2026
  • Pasalamat Festival Chess Tour 2026 to Push Through
    By Marlon Bernardino, , Sat, 10 Jan 2026
  • MANNY PACQUIAO PROMOTIONS & TURNING STONE RESORT CASINO PRESENT CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 28 - VERONA, NY
    , Sat, 10 Jan 2026
  • ELIF TURHAN SIGNS NEW MULTI-FIGHT DEAL WITH MATCHROOM BOXING – FIRST IBF WORLD TITLE DEFENCE DATE SET FOR SATURDAY, JANUARY 31
    , Sat, 10 Jan 2026
  • Driving Philippine Tennis Forward: Jean Henri Lhuillier Champions the 2026 Cebuana Lhuillier Tennis Tour
    By Marlon Bernardino, , Sat, 10 Jan 2026
  • 2026 USA Boxing Elite High Performance Selection Camp Attendees Announced
    , Sat, 10 Jan 2026
  • ‘I’m ready to make some noise’ Billy Quinncroft returns for Cruiserweight title Clash March 13 in Perth – Thunderdome 53
    , Fri, 09 Jan 2026
  • Dableo and Laylo's Team to Compete in Bulacan
    By Marlon Bernardino, , Fri, 09 Jan 2026
  • Sanman Boxing present Yeerken vs. Carcedo WBA Asia South Title Clash in General Santos City on Feb 9
    , Fri, 09 Jan 2026
  • Hardstone adds 2 more title fights on January 26
    By Lito delos Reyes, , Fri, 09 Jan 2026
  • Panamerican Boxing Confederation Partners with Xempower for Digital and AI-Driven Transformation
    , Fri, 09 Jan 2026
  • IGMOB TALENT GROUP Launches www.IGMOBTalent.com to Represent Fighters, Entertainers, and Rising Talent Across Sports & Media
    , Fri, 09 Jan 2026
  • SEAG Davao-based athletes eye International stints
    By Lito delos Reyes, , Fri, 09 Jan 2026
  • Canoy banking on his ring experience against Kuse
    By Lito delos Reyes, , Thu, 08 Jan 2026
  • Undefeated Kansas Middleweight Prospect Marco “El Tiburon” Romero finished 2025 with 7th triumphs, all by knockout, & 11-0 record
    , Thu, 08 Jan 2026
  • Kinetix Sports aims for bigger events in 2026
    By Lito delos Reyes, , Thu, 08 Jan 2026
  • 2026 Santa Maria Town Fiesta Chess Challenge on January 26
    By Marlon Bernardino, , Thu, 08 Jan 2026
  • World Ranked Heavyweight Dainier Pero Headlines on Saturday, January 17th at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia
    , Wed, 07 Jan 2026
  • Jahyae Brown to Battle Arnold Gonzalez in Exciting Co-Feature on Thursday, January 15th at The War Memorial in Trenton, New Jersey
    , Wed, 07 Jan 2026
  • Hendri Cedeno Seeks Monumental Victory Against Alfredo Santiago for NABO Title January 10 at Barclays Center
    , Tue, 06 Jan 2026
  • Kingsley Ibeh learned from his Loss 5 years ago to Jared Anderson
    , Tue, 06 Jan 2026




  •  



     
    PhilBoxing.com has been created to support every aspiring
    Filipino boxer and the Philippine boxing scene in general.
    Please send comments to feedback@philboxing.com


    PRIVATE POLICY | LEGAL DISCLAIMER
    developed and maintained by dong secuya
    © 2026 philboxing.com.