Fil-Am boxing sensation Brian Viloria, who arrived here yesterday afternoon to a low-key welcome at the NAIA Terminal I, is eyeing a possible stint in the undercard of WBO junior welterweight champion Miguel Cotto mainer at the Madison Square Garden in New York in June.
“I don’t know. Maybe…they’re talking about a fight in June, in New York, at the Madison Square Garden. We’re trying to juggle with the itinerary,” said Viloria, who decisioned Jose Antonio Aguirre to retain his WBC light flyweight crown in Las Vegas two weeks ago.
But Viloria’s manager Gary Gittelsohn said that if the New York date fails to materialize, the Hawaiian Punch may fight in the same card as WBO minimumweight champion Ivan Calderon in Puerto Rico this summer to set the stage for a later duel.
However, compared to the fanfare that marked the homecoming of Filipino ring icon Manny Pacquiao early last February, Viloria’s arrival was subdued with only few media men covering his return via Thai Airways flight TG-621 which landed at around 1:15 p.m.
In a press conference at the NAIA Terminal I’s VIP lounge, Viloria said that he planned to stay in the Philippines for several days to rest and pay a visit to his father’s hometown in Vigan, Ilocos Sur and then fly to Hawaii for a visit to his family there.
Asked about his future plans, Viloria, who wore a flamboyant hat and green collared shirt and dark blue jeans and a pair of rubber shoes, said that it still remained to be seen even as he pointed out that his immediate plan was for him to nurse his injured arm back to fighting form.
“I just need to heal this first. Two more weeks in a cast and I should be fine,” Viloria said.
Commenting on his successful title defense against Aguirre, Viloria said that he was very glad to have done it.
“It was a tough fight, but I still got the belt. I’m just happy that I got to get, win a fight like that. For me to win a title defense is a big thing,” Viloria said. — Rainier Allan Ronda
