Viloria 1 step away
from title fight
The flyweight moves up to No. 2 in
the WBC and must face the top contender
Sometimes, the best thing a professional boxer can do for his career is not fight.
Despite being inactive between the ratings period, Waipahu flyweight Brian Viloria was awarded the World Boxing Council's No. 2 ranking this month. Viloria is ranked No. 3 by the World Boxing Association and No. 2 by the World Boxing Organization, but it is the WBC that's been the first to step up and tell him what he needs to do to earn a title fight.
The WBC addressed the subject of mandatory title defenses in its general assembly meeting last week in Phuket, Thailand, ruling that Viloria (15-0, 9 KOs) would have to fight an "elimination bout" with top-ranked Luis Maldonado for the right to meet the champion.
Viloria says he is excited about the chance for a meaningful fight after a four-year career.
"All of this training has not been for nothing," Viloria said. "It has made me really hungry. I think I'm ready for anything."
Viloria passed Noriyuki Komatsu of Japan in the WBC's latest rankings, taking the second spot after Komatsu lost a major decision to Trash Nakanuma Sept. 20. Viloria moved from No. 3 to No. 2, putting him in line for a title shot against Pongsaklek Wonjongkam of Thailand. Wonjongkam's next title defense will come against Komatsu.
But before Viloria can meet Wonjongkam, who is regarded as the best flyweight in the world, he must beat Mexico's Maldonado. Viloria's camp is currently negotiating with Maldonado's people to set up the bout without forcing Viloria to fight the Mexican in Mexico, where Viloria would likely have to score a knockout to win.
Maldonado is 28-0 with 21 KOs and has fought three times since February. Viloria has only fought once since then, beating the only opponent the two fighters share. Viloria stopped Gilberto Keb Baas in June while Maldonado beat Keb Baas by split decision in November, 2001.
"I know very little about him now, I haven't seen him fight," Viloria said. "I looked at his record and saw his first 13 or 14 fights were against 0-1 and 1-2 fighters. That tells you something about his record. I have been in with a guy who has fought 40 times already."
Because of a promotional dispute and difficulty in finding suitable opponents, Viloria has fought only once since February. He lost a friendly race between his 2000 U.S. Olympic teammates to become the first to win a world title when Jeff Lacy took the IBF super middleweight belt from Syd Vanderpool earlier this month.
Before this year, Viloria (15-0, 12 KOs) was on track to win the friendly race. Viloria had two minor belts -- the WBC Youth title and the NABF Flyweight crown -- around his waist before his Olympic teammates even fought for one.
