Brian Viloria's Return Pushed Back to July 19 in Macau

By Ronnie Nathanielsz

FRESH from a comfortable 10-round unanimous decision over Puerto Rico’s Juan Herrera at the Texas Station in Las Vegas, former two-division world champion Brian Viloria is ready for another shot at the world flyweight title.

Top Rank promoter Bob Arum told BoxingScene.com/Manila Standard that Viloria looked good especially after an almost one-year layoff following the loss of his World Boxing Organization/World Boxing Association titles to Juan Carlos Estrada of Mexico on April 6 last year in Macau.

It was obvious that Viloria had gathered ring rust during the layoff, but did more than enough to win on the scorecards of all three judges, two of whom had him ahead, 98-92, while the third judge had it slightly closer at 97-93.

Viloria used his jab effectively and controlled the tempo of the bout and tried to connect with some big shots especially in the fifth round when he caught the durable Herrera with several hooks and uppercuts, but didn’t appear to hurt him.

With the win, the 33-year-old Viloria improved to 33-4 with 19 knockouts, while the 24-year-old Herrera dropped to 9-8 with 4 knockouts.

Arum said that Viloria will not be on the May 19 card in Macau as initially planned where Nonito Donaire goes for his fifth world title against WBA featherweight champion Simpiwe Vetyeka of South Africa, but instead, would be featured on a July 19 fight card at the same venue—the Cotai Arena of the Venetian Resort Hotel and Casino also in Macau.

Arum said he hasn’t decided on whether it would be a title fight  or not.

“I think I am ready for a title fight”. I want to keep myself busy,” said Viloria. “I want to get back to an elite caliber form.”

He added that the 10-round bout helped, rather than if it ended in a couple of rounds.