[ BOXING ]
Viloria to battle
Keb Baas on ESPNThe boxer from Waipahu
will put his flyweight title on
the line in the main event Feb. 13
Waipahu's Brian Viloria has spent the past six months fighting for more TV time.
In February, it will all pay off.
Viloria will put his North American Boxing Federation flyweight title on the line against 26-year old Gilberto Keb Baas of Mexico in the main event of an ESPN card on Feb. 13, according to Gary Gittelsohn, Viloria's manager.
Viloria hasn't fought since July -- when he knocked out Luis Doria in the first round on ESPN -- due to a legal fight to get out of his contract with promoter Lou DiBella. He has severed ties with DiBella and is without a promoter. But Gittelsohn says he has a handshake deal and is very close to signing with one, possibly soon after the Feb. 13 show.
How Viloria does against Keb Baas could determine what kind of a deal he gets.
"This is a real serious guy," Gittelsohn said. "If Brian can look good against Keb Baas, as I expect, it will mean big things for his career. I am very excited about 2004 for Brian."
Keb Baas has not signed a contract yet, but Gittelsohn calls it "a done deal" and is anxious to get Viloria back in the ring -- even against a man who has survived against such names as Luis Maldonado, Oscar Andrade and Eric Morel.
Keb Baas (21-10-1, 12 KOs) has only been knocked out once in his career, but that came in Nov. 2002 against Manuel Vargas. He lost a split decision to Maldonado and a unanimous decision to Morel and split a pair of fights with Andrade. Maldonado is the top-ranked flyweight in the WBC and Morel held the World Boxing Association belt for more than three years until Lorenzo Parra took it away from him Dec. 6. Viloria (13-0, 8 KOs) is ranked in the top 10 in every major organization except the International Boxing Federation, which has him 15th, and has knocked out his last two opponents. He is No. 3 in the World Boxing Organization.
Gittelsohn says he originally planned on Viloria returning home to fight during Pro Bowl week, but that fell through. He says he expects to have him fighting in Hawaii in "April or May," adding that Viloria's deal to fight in the islands once a year is a standard part of his contract and will be included in any deal he makes with a new promoter.
Fellow Gittelsohn client Clarence Vinson is expected to be on the card tentatively scheduled to be held in Uncasville, Conn., and Yuri Foreman may be on the card but not on the televised portion of the event.