Filipino – American flyweight “The Hawaiian Punch” Brian Viloria [36-4, 22KO] made quick work of Mexican Omar Soto [23-12-2, 15KO] in their main event bout early Sunday morning (Philippine time) at the Florentine Gardens in Hollywood, California.
Scheduled for eight rounds, the “Hawaiian Punch” wasted no time in finishing Soto, dropping him thrice in the opening round that forced Referee Zac Young to stop the fight at the 2:02 mark. It was Viloria’s 22nd knockout victory and improves his record to 36-4, while “Lobito” drops to 23-12-2.
One of Viloria’s coaches, Marvin Somodio, was pleased in their ward’s performance and thinks that he is ready to fight either the undefeated WBC Titleholder, Nicaragua’s Roman “El Chocolatito” Gonzalez, or avenge his loss to Juan Fransisco Estrada, whom he lost via split decision in 2013.
“Maganda ang performance ni Brian. Napaka aktibo niya sa simula pa lang ng unang round,” Somodio said, who is also the Chief Lieutenant of Legendary Boxing Coach, Freddie Roach. “Base sa performance niya tonight, pinakita niya na handa siya sa kung sino man ang champion sa 112lbs – Gonzales o Estrada. Abangan natin sa championship fight.”
Gonzalez is currently unbeaten at 43-0, with 37 of those wins coming by knockout. The WBC flyweight kingpin is currently ranked second in the pound-for-pound rankings behind Floyd Mayweather.
On the other hand, Mexican Juan Francisco “El Gallo” Estrada is the current WBA Super Flyweight and WBO Flyweight Champion. Estrada lost to Gonzalez in the latter part of 2012, but was able to take a split decision victory over Brian Viloria last 2013 to bounce back. Estrada currently has a record of 32-2 with 23 of those wins coming by way of knockout.
Also, Somodio, on behalf of Viloria, wanted to thank the Filipino fans for their unwavering support for the Hawaiian Punch.
“Nagpapasalamat kami sa lahat ng mga Pinoy dahil sa patuloy na pagsuporta sa kanya (Brian).”
