BRIAN VILORIA is no Manny Pacquiao, but he’s getting there—and he won’t let a Mexican “jaguar” stand in his way.
Hoping to reach the heights of success “PacMan” has scaled so far, “The Hawaiian Punch” defends his World Boxing Council light flyweight title for the first time against Jose Antonio Aguirre Saturday night (Sunday morning in Manila) at the Aladdin Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.
With his devastating first-round knockout of Eric Ortiz on September 10, Viloria wrested the WBC 108-pound division crown and endeared himself to fans of his parents’ homeland, especially when he draped himself with the Philippine flag after the victory.
Now, the Filipino American fighter faces “El Jaguar,” a prot?g? of the Mexican legend Erik Morales, in the undercard of the “Real Warriors” pay-per-view event featuring the World Boxing Organization welterweight champion An?tonio Margarito against Manuel Gomez.
“Winning a title is hard, but holding on to that title is harder,” said the 25-year-old Viloria, who has yet to lose in 18 professional fights and has scored 12 knockout wins.
“I know my opponent is really ready for this fight, I know he’s trained hard, but I want him to know that I’m not going to let my belt go that easy, I love it too much to let it go right now,” the former US Olympian said of his 30-year-old foe.
Viloria, who like Pacquiao trains under the noted American Freddie Roach at the famed Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles, said he’s even better prepared for Aguirre than when he fought Ortiz.
“I sparred with a lot more and a lot better sparring partners this time,” he said.
‘My game plan is to be me’
An accomplished amateur boxer who fought for the United States, Viloria also isn’t hiding any secret weapon against Aguirre (33-4-1 with 20 KOs), who had reigned four years as the WBC minimum-weight champion.
“My game plan is to be me,” he said. “I know I have to use my speed and power since I know I’m faster and stronger than him.”
Finishing with a flourish, as he did against Ortiz whom he knocked out with one second left in the first round, is also important for the former World Championship gold medalist.
“It’s just not good enough to win the fight anymore,” Viloria said. “I have to look devastating. I know I have to go into every fight looking close to perfect.”
He must be just that against Aguirre, even if the Mexican is coming off three losses in his last six fights. That includes a seventh-round knockout at the hands of his compatriot Ortiz when they contested the then-vacant WBC light-fly title last March.
But in the press conference for the fight card promoted by the American Bob Arum, the Mexican said he was ready to redeem himself from the loss to Ortiz.
