Solar Sports and Top Rank are combining forces to stage a blockbuster double world championship boxing card at the Araneta Coliseum on March 15 featuring two Filipino challengers against Mexican opponents.
Nonito Donaire Jr. will relinquish his IBF flyweight crown to face WBO superflyweight titlist Fernando Montiel while Brian Viloria will take on IBF lightflyweight champion Ulises (Archie) Solis in a pair of main events to be held Sunday morning for live airing on US prime time.
Top Rank chairman Bob Arum met with Solar chairman William Tieng, Solar president Wilson Tieng and Solar chief operating officer Peter Chanliong to complete the deal during his recent visit. Arum and the Solar executives were in General Santos City to celebrate Manny Pacquiao?s 30th birthday last Wednesday.
?It can?t get any better than this,? said Arum. ?Two Filipinos up against two Mexicans with two world titles on the line.?
Donaire arrived in Manila last Monday from San Francisco with wife Rachel and in-laws Gerry and Becky Marcial for the holidays. He will begin training in January and stay here until the fight.
If Donaire dethrones Montiel, he will likely move on to battle the winner of the Vic Darchinyan-Jorge Arce bout on Feb. 7 for the WBC, WBA and IBF 115-pound unified title.
?This will be the toughest fight of my career,? said Donaire referring to his bid for a second world crown. ?Montiel is a tactician. I?ll do what it takes to win.?
Montiel, 29, has a 38-2-1 record, with 28 KOs, compared to Donaire?s 20-1, with 13 KOs. The Mexican was in Cebu last year to score a split decision over Z Gorres to retain his crown. Aside from Gorres, Montiel has victimized another Filipino Roy Doliguez whom he halted in two rounds but not after getting floored himself.
Viloria, 28, has won five in a row, two by KO, since failing in his second attempt to regain the WBC title in April last year. He knocked out Eric Ortiz in the first round to wrest the WBC 108-pound crown three years ago then lost the belt in his second defense to Omar Ni?o Romero. A rematch with Romero resulted in a no-contest after the Mexican tested positive for drugs and was stripped of the title. Viloria went on to lose a majority decision to Edgar Sosa for the vacant throne.
Last week, Viloria was back in form as he demolished Mexico?s Benji Garcia in two rounds in Los Angeles to raise his record to 24-2, with 14 KOs.
?Brian looked sensational,? said Viloria?s manager Gary Gittelsohn. ?Finally, he let his hands go like the Brian of old. He has great confidence going into a championship fight.?
But Solis, 27, won?t be an easy nut to crack. His record is 28-1-2, with 20 KOs. Unbeaten in his last 11 outings, he hasn?t lost since dropping a majority verdict to Nelson Dieppa four years ago. Solis won the IBF title on an eighth round stoppage of Will Grigsby last year and has since repulsed five challengers, including Filipinos Rodel Mayol (KO8), Bert Batawang (KO9) and Glenn Donaire (W12).
Solis, who holds two wins on points over Sosa, is widely considered as the best lightflyweight in the world today. Viloria, ranked No. 1 by the WBO and No. 12 by the IBF, has his work cut out.
There is a possibility that former WBC lightweight champion David Diaz may be added to the card, depending on whether sponsors can finance his appearance. Rex (Wakee) Salud of Cebu said Randy Suico could be Diaz? opponent if the Mandaue slugger takes care of Ichitaro Ishii in an OPBF title defense in Tokyo tonight.
?I?ll be happy to fight in Manila,? said Diaz who is in town on vacation as Pacquiao?s guest. ?I?ve seen Suico. He?s taller than me but I prefer fighting taller guys. If I can fly in two to three weeks before the bout to acclimatize, I?ll fight him or anyone else. I love the Filipino fans. I just hope they won?t hate me for fighting a Filipino. I hope they understand boxing is a business. It?s nothing personal.?
Diaz said he saw Suico lose to Juan Diaz by knockout two years ago. ?Suico?s a tough guy,? he added. ?It?ll be hard beating him. But it?s a job I?ve got to do.?
A proposal to pit Diaz against unbeaten Edwin Valero, now the WBC No. 1 lightweight after giving up his WBA superfeatherweight crown, was scuttled after Arum confirmed the Venezuelan knockout artist will battle Colombia?s Antonio Pitalua in Mexico in March.
Arum told Valero to get ready for Pitalua in an interim WBC lightweight title bout when they met during Pacquiao?s birthday party in General Santos City. Like Diaz, Valero was invited by Pacquiao to visit here.
