THEY say even in boxing, there?s someone for everyone. Style-wise there?s an opponent who may not be as skilled as you, but he just has your number. On speed dial.
Manny Pacquiao is bedeviled by Juan Manuel Marquez. When Roy Jones was Superman, Antonio Tarver provided the kryptonite.
In Brian Viloria?s case, the hump that he could not get over was always Omar Nino Romero.
In their first fight, Viloria was riding high on the crest of his brilliant title-clinching knockout of Eric Ortiz and his successful first defense over Jose Antonio Aguirre when he ran smack into Romero.
Offbeat but effective in his own esoteric way, Romero overcame every Viloria flurry and landed the more effective, sharper punches, which saw him snatch Viloria?s title via unanimous decision.
Viloria would try again in a rematch and though he would fare better in a majority draw, the bout was declared a no-contest after Nino failed a post-fight drug test.
Last Sunday, Viloria decided to exorcise his demons and find out once and for all if he had what it takes to slay the beast.
THE FIGHT. Viloria started out strong and fast. He punished Romero early with jabs and whistling right crosses.
Romero never seemed to get untracked as he appeared helpless in the light of Viloria?s unexpected aggression.
By the fourth round, a cut opened up on Romero?s left eyebrow, which only seemed to diminish his will. But incredibly, Romero seemed to find the rhythm in the middle rounds and landed some effective body punches.
However, Viloria doused the rally in the eighth as he landed combinations and in the ninth, a right straight-uppercut combo prompted the stoppage.
THOUGHTS. Viloria has been notorious for running out of gas in the final minutes of the fight. This time around, he showed up in great condition and despite the body work registered by Romero, he appeared to have enough gas to last the entire duration.
In their first two fights, I thought Brian lacked aggression as he oftentimes opted to wait for Nino to wade in so he could counter.
Unfortunately, Romero seemed to have that egregious stutter step, which somehow discombobulated Viloria?s offensive pattern. Awkward as he was, he seemed to disrupt Viloria?s sense of space and timing.
Consequently, this allowed Nino to edge the exchanges slightly.
The better option for Brian was to change strategies and initiate the exchanges and in the third fight this worked brilliantly.
Rather than allowing Nino to attack, Viloria dictated the pace and forced Nino to counter, which apparently he is not good at. Viloria also utilized good lateral movement, which at times had Nino pawing at nothing but thin air.
I always believed that Manny Pacquiao can very well employ a similar tactic against archrival Marquez. Being the inherently stronger and faster fighter, Manny can walk him down like he did in the first three minutes they met on top of the ring.
In the first round of that first fight, he knocked him down thrice. He also knocked him down in the second fight when he clipped him with a right.
This simply means that Manny has the power to take him out. But when Manny opts to counter and box, this is where Marquez appears to find the rhythm and get his licks in.
As Nacho Beristain, Marquez?s trainer admitted, it seemed to them that Manny?s increasingly polished and eclectic style was better suited for Marquez to adjust to.
LAST ROUND. It?s on Teresita V. Mercado who recently celebrated her birthday. Cheers!
