Viloria KOs foe, earns crack at WBO crown

Filipino-American Brian "The Hawaiian Punch" Viloria primed himself for another world title shot after scoring a seventh-round technical knockout (TKO) win over Thailand's Liempetch Sor Veerapol in the "Boxing at the Bay: Friday Fight Fest" at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City. The 2000 Sydney Olympian and former two-time world champion Viloria floored the Thai three times, two of which came in the seventh round, forcing Filipino referee Ferdie Estrella to halt the bout at 2:09. The win hiked Viloria's record to 28 wins, 15 by knockout, and could earn him a mandatory shot at the World Boxing Organization (WBO) flyweight crown of Mexican champion Julio Cesar Miranda. Viloria, who only has three losses, is listed as the organization's No. 1 contender. His camp led by manager Gary Gittleson hopes to arrange for the fight as early as February or March. "I felt pretty good," said Viloria, who turns 30 on November 23 and is scheduled to marry fiancee Erika Navarro on December 3. "I worked a lot in the gym, especially with my body shots. I thought I need to improve on my combinations a little bit more but overall I think we did well." The loss dropped Veerapol's record to 19-8-1. It was his third consecutive loss in the Philippines after dropping his first two matches to former world champion Marvin Sonsona and Johnriel Casimiro. Viloria, wearing shiny green trunks with gold trimming, set the pace early in the match, connecting with solid rights and combinations in the first four rounds. After receiving two UFC-type takedowns in the opening minutes of the fifth, Viloria countered with a series of body shots that sent Veerapol down in the 1:20 mark for the first knockdown of the 10-round bout. Two rounds later, Viloria sealed Veerapol's fate when he connected with a left hook to the jaw that dropped the Thai to the canvass. Veerapol managed to get up and beat Estrella's eight-count but Viloria let loose a number of blows to the Thai's head and body that sent him down anew, thus ending the match. "He was really strong and it showed with his good conditioning," said Veerapol through an interpreter. Triumphant Pinoys in undercards Rodel Mayol, seeking to get back on the winning track after losing his world title, beat Thai Pompetch Twins Gym with a seventh-round stoppage in a one-sided match. Mayol, who lost his World Boxing Council (WBC) light flyweight crown to Mexico's Omar Nino Romero after just one title defense early this year, improved his ring record to 26-5-2 with his 21st KO. Denver "The Excitement" Cuello scored a first round TKO victory over Kongkrai Kiatpracha of Thailand in a match that succeeded Viloria's bout. Cuello knocked down Kongkrai thrice in the first round, thus ending the action in just two minutes and eight seconds. Many thought Manny Pacquiao was in action in one of the undercards but it turned out to be a deadringer for him in Al Sabaupan, who scored a 10-round unanimous decision over Arnel Dunal. Marlon Tapales also beat Rey Migrino with a 10-round decision, while Edward Penerio did the same in eight rounds over Allan Ranada. - JVP/KY, GMANews.TV