31 year old former USA Olympian (2000) is the epitome of a real champion in this sport of boxing. Brian Viloria has had his highs and lows but always had the courage to get back up from his losses and came back even stronger than ever. Honestly, before all the Pacquiao and Donaire Jr. hype I remember my Dad mentioning “Hawaiian Punch” every time he fought.
2011 has been an amazing year for the champ, winning his third world title in his second weight division against Julio Cesar Miranda dubbed as one of the strongest punchers in the flyweight division and defending his title against one of the best Pound for Pound #9 ranked King; Giovani Segura. What’s next for Brian? I had the opportunity to talk with him about his upcoming trilogy fight with Omar Nino Romero (the current WBC Flyweight Champion) set for May 12, hosted in Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig, Philippines. If Brian gets passed Romero this is basically a fight to prepare for the young hard hitting southpaw 23 year old Hernan “Tyson” Marquez of Mexico.
Q: How are you preparing for this fight with Romero?
A: After my fight with Segura I only had a few days to rest. I wanted to keep myself active and continued to keep myself in shape. This is going to be a unification match and it will be my 3rd time fighting Romero. I’m ready to close this chapter in my life and I’m focused.
Q: What’s Nino’s advantage going into this fight?
A: His speed. My 1st match I gave him too much time to get comfortable and gain momentum. I’m not going to give Romero any ideas or advantage.
Q: How does it feel to being an underdog?
A: I love being an underdog. A lot of people thought I didn’t live up to their expectations, especially being a former Olympian; I guess I blame myself for that. I was young, and when I was winning I thought “Well, if it came this easy to win, why train hard for the next fight?” I matured and changed a lot about myself. I learned enough and nothing comes easy.
Q: Not looking too far ahead, but say you do get pass Romero, there’s talks of you fighting “Tyson” Marquez in the summer, is that a fight you want? Why Tyson?
A: Yes, it looks like the best for me and the fans. HBO called me after the Segura fight and I sat down with my management to discuss options. This is an opportunity to show people we too (fighters in the lower weight classes) can put on great fights and we deserve that spot light as well. Tyson’s young, strong, he has the drive, and he packs a punch. They don’t call him “Tyson” for nothing.
Q: You’ve been in the game for quite some time and still have a great fan base nationwide, so Brian, what makes a champion?
A: There are no secrets, no shortcuts. You have to put in your dues, work hard, and really want it. Everyone wants to win but who wants it more? There’s no easy way.
Viloria is a true champion and like Muhammad Ali once said:
“Champions aren’t made in the gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them — a desire, a dream, a vision.”