Viloria’s title bout
set for Sept. 10

The undefeated boxer from Waipahu
will face Eric Ortiz in Los Angeles

Brian Viloria's long-awaited shot at a world title has been rescheduled for Sept. 10 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Viloria (17-0, 11 KOs) will fight Eric Ortiz (24-4, 16 KOs) for the World Boxing Council's Junior Flyweight title in a co-feature bout of a card including training partner Manny Pacquiao taking on Hector Velazquez and Erik Morales fighting Zahir Raheem.

Viloria's title bout was originally scheduled for this Saturday at Las Vegas, but was canceled when headliner Lucia Rijker suffered an injury in training. That robbed the Waipahu Olympian of a chance to fight in Las Vegas for the first time, but gives him an opportunity to fight in his adopted hometown of Los Angeles again.

Viloria's last bout was held in the Staples Center in May, when he beat Ruben Contreras by TKO when Contreras failed to answer the bell for the seventh round. Contreras suffered a seizure and was put into a medically induced coma shortly after the fight. Contreras is alert and recovering, but it took some time for Viloria to get over the damage he had done.

"(Returning to Staples Center) is not going to bother me," Viloria said. "I've been training and just have to keep doing what I've been doing. Thankfully, he is OK now and I've come to terms with what can happen in this sport."

Viloria says his training was not interrupted by the sudden cancellation of his title bout, partly because he is used to it. Viloria has fought only twice in the past year, but has lived in the gym training for the title shot that is now scheduled to come in September.

Ortiz has only fought twice in the past year as well.

"As long as I keep the intensity in training, I'll be fine," Viloria said. "It will come down to who trains the hardest."