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ASSOCIATED PRESS Brian Viloria landed a punch during his flyweight bout with Ruben Contreras yesterday at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

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Viloria wins
by TKO

The Waipahu resident’s opponent
leaves the ring on a stretcher
in the sixth round

LOS ANGELES » This was to be a warm up for Brian Viloria -- a fight that would give him the ring experience he desired before taking on current WBC junior flyweight champion Eric Ortiz on July 30 in Las Vegas.

However, for the unfortunate opponents of the Hawaiian powerhouse, even an eight-round tuneup bout can send you to the hospital.

Viloria, appearing on the undercard of the legendary Julio Cesar Chavez "Adios" tour, went up against the rugged Ruben Contreras last night at the Staples Center in a scrap that ended with Contreras being carried out on a stretcher and on his way to the hospital after Viloria batted him around the ring.

The referee stopped the fight, giving Viloria a technical knockout 55 seconds into the sixth round and improving his record to 17-0 (11 KO's).

Prior to the fight, Viloria was in his locker room shadowboxing in front of the mirror, and loosening up with his renowned trainer Freddie Roach by working the mitts.

SMACK! POP! POP! SMACK!

"I'm glad I'm not those gloves," commented Viloria's manager, Gary Gittlesohn.

Viloria was hitting the mitts with such intensity and power, it truly was a wonder how anyone could stand up to such brutal punishment.

Moments later, the distinguished trainer of some of boxing's best, Emmanuel Steward, walked into Viloria's locker room and made it known that "The Hawaiian Punch" was one of his favorite fighters.

"He's a puncher, and I love punchers," said Steward.

"So many fighters today go for the points, but Brian uses his power, and I like that."

With just minutes before Viloria would make his way to the ring, he was asked by an official how he felt, to which Viloria replied, "I wouldn't be here if I didn't feel great."

Once it was time for action, the theme song to "Hawaii 5-0" began blaring over the house speakers, and out came Viloria.

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ASSOCIATED PRESS Brian Viloria didn't miss too many times during his bout with Ruben Contreras.

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His game plan would be simple: "I'm going to feel him out during the first round, and then I'll use my power to get him out," said Viloria before entering the ring, and that is exactly what he did.

Once his fight with Contreras got under way, Viloria backed his opponent up with crisp hooks upstairs and punishing hooks to the body, while Contreras attempted to slip Viloria's punches, unable to counter with any hard shots of his own.

Contreras came out more aggressive in the beginning of the second round, but Viloria was simply quicker, and landed several right hooks to his opponent's body to keep Contreras at bay.

Halfway through the round, it became apparent that Contreras had felt "The Hawaiian Punch," and did not like it.

He knew his best chances of getting to Viloria would be if he got him to throw his leather first, and then counter with hard shots, but Viloria would have none of it.

With seconds remaining in the round, Viloria unleashed his arsenal of hooks upstairs that was capped off by a monstrous right uppercut to Contreras' chin before the bell sounded.

Viloria spent the third round waging war on Contreras' body by landing crushing left and right hooks to Contreras' ribs, forcing Contreras to grab and hold Viloria in order to keep further punishment from coming his way.

In the opening moments of the fourth and fifth rounds, Viloria scored his best shots by landing rapid-fire combinations of hooks to Contreras' head and body, and once again Contreras found that he had the best success by holding on to Viloria for dear life.

As Viloria came out of his corner for the sixth round, he connected with a huge uppercut on Contreras' chin and used his speed to repeat the punch a minute later.

Contreras attempted to counter with an uppercut attack of his own, but Viloria was able to use his speed and agility to keep that from happening. Viloria trapped his opponent in the corner of the ring and landed a straight right upstairs.

With Contreras stunned and Viloria ready to pounce on his opponent with another punishing assault, Contreras turned his back to Viloria, and waved his arms in surrender before resting them on the top ropes of the ring.

Unsure if this was a ploy by the hurt Contreras to lure Viloria in, the referee quickly jumped in between the two fighters and counseled with Contreras to discover why he had stopped fighting.

After a brief discussion, Contreras met with the ringside physician, telling him that he felt faint and that he felt like he was bleeding internally.

While Viloria celebrated with his corner and made his way back to his locker room, Contreras was on the floor convulsing and being administered treatment by the ringside physician and paramedics.

With a towel in his mouth to prevent him from causing any more injury to himself, Contreras was put on a stretcher and sent to a local hospital. Afterward, Viloria, who showed concern for Contreras, said that it was his great uppercuts and body shots that caused the damage to send his opponent to the hospital.

When asked how he felt his performance went overall, Viloria said, "It went great.

"I wanted to get some rounds in; I didn't want to take him out in the first round because that would not help me get ready for my July 30 title shot, and I came out to do what I had planned to do."

With his first chance at a major title two months away, Viloria felt that this fight with Contreras definitely helped him toward reaching that goal.

"I will take a few days off and then I'll get right back into the gym. I will not back off until I'm ready and prepared for the championship title."

When asked if he would like defend his title back home in Hawaii if successful on July 30, Viloria replied, "The first thing right now is to get the title. After that, we'll see what happens, but I know without the support of my people in Hawaii, I wouldn't be here."