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Friday, August 18, 2000

By Dennis Oda, Star-Bulletin
Viloria shows off his 1999 National Golden Gloves
106-pound championship belt.

Waipahu’s Viloria
sleeping better after
grudge match

The isle Olympian says his
dual-meet victory against the
boxer who beat him in a
qualifying bout eased
his mind

---

By Pat Bigold
Star-Bulletin

Waipahu's boxing Olympian Brian Viloria, a medal favorite at 106 pounds, said he actually lost sleep thinking about the only man to beat him this year: Puerto Rico's Ivan Calderon.

"Maybe I can go to bed a little bit better now," said Viloria, who got revenge with a fourth-round TKO over Calderon in a dual meet bout in Connecticut last week.

The loss to Calderon in the semifinals of the America's Olympic Qualifier at the Florida State Fairgrounds in late March ended a streak of 19 victories for Viloria.

It forced Viloria to compete in a second qualifier in Tijuana, Mexico, in April to earn his Olympic berth.

Asked if the Calderon loss was like a pebble in his shoe, Viloria said, "It was more like a boulder in my shoe."

By Dennis Oda, Star-Bulletin
Brian Viloria of Waipahu was the center of attention when he
visited the art gallery in the newspaper building yesterday to
sign autographs. Viloria, from Waipahu, is a favorite to win
a gold medal in boxing at the Sydney Olympics next month.

He said it bedeviled him so much that he suffered a degree of insomnia. It was a problem he said he didn't talk about.

"I just couldn't sleep too well at night," said Viloria. "It kind of got me worried about whether I could take home the gold medal. Going there to defeat him last week like I did was a real relief for me. I can go to bed now real well. I can go into the Olympics with a big confidence level."

Viloria said there was a lot of hype accompanying his rematch with Calderon, including pre-fight taunts between Viloria and Calderon published in Men's Journal.

"It was nothing personal but it made the whole scenario more interesting," Viloria said.

He said monthly international dual meets organized by USA Boxing have helped him keep his edge.

"They served as a barometer for us to measure our skill levels," Viloria said.

Besides Calderon, Viloria has fought a Mexican and a Ukrainian in dual meets since qualifying for the team.

Viloria, who toured the newspaper building yesterday, shaking hands and autographing pictures, made his last home visit this week. He leaves Sunday for San Diego where the U.S. boxing team will make final preparations for Sydney.

Viloria, who is the first boxing Olympian from Hawaii since 1956, said he still hasn't decided whether or not he'll turn pro after the Olympics.