Advertisement - Click to support our sponsors.
Friday, February 25, 2000
Waipahu’s Viloria
earns spot on
Olympic team
But the local boxer must still
By Dave Reardon
qualify for a trip to Australia
for the 2000 Summer Games
Star-BulletinBen Viloria's drive from home in Waipahu to work in Waikiki became anything but routine yesterday afternoon when his cellular phone rang.
"It was Brian," Viloria said, referring to his eldest son. "His first words were, 'Dad, I'm an Olympian.' "
Ben Viloria didn't swerve off the road in his surprise and elation. But he did consider playing hooky from his job as a banquet steward at the Hyatt Regency to celebrate.
"I did go to work," Viloria said. "But it wasn't like working. Everybody was talking about Brian."
At the Olympic box-offs in Mashantucket, Conn., Brian Viloria, 19, had just outpointed Karoz Norman of St. Louis, 19-5, in the 106-pound class to secure his spot on the U.S. Olympic team.
Viloria took charge in the first round with effective body punching to beat Norman for his fourth victory without a loss.
Although Viloria is on the U.S. team, he still has to beat other boxers from the Western Hemisphere to qualify for the Olympics this September in Sydney, Australia.
Last night's and tonight's 12 box-off winners must qualify at three tournaments for boxers from North, South and Central America and the Caribbean.
Most boxing experts like Viloria's chances, especially considering he is already an amateur world champion in his weight class.
When good fortune strikes, people often find they have relatives they didn't know about. When Ben Viloria's second-cousin, Marylyn Cezar, heard about Brian's victory, she called to tell him about relatives in Sydney.
That means it will be much easier for the Vilorias to get to Australia to see Brian compete if he makes it to the Games.
"I don't know them yet, but of course I will go," Ben said. "This is a once in a lifetime opportunity."
Brian's success is no big surprise to those who have known him since he first started boxing at age 6. Eiichi Jumawan, a former Golden Gloves champion, helped train Viloria as a youngster and has watched him develop.
While his boxing talent has been unquestioned from the beginning, Jumawan said it is Viloria's character that sets him apart.
"After he won his first Junior Nationals, he went back the next year and lost," Jumawan said. "When he came home, he didn't have that disappointed look. He never made excuses. All he did was say, 'That's OK, we'll get them next time.'
"Lots of times when kids lose for the first time, they make excuses, and they're not the same anymore. Not Brian."
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
