By Jake Donovan
With the news of Gennady Golovkin and David Lemieux agreeing to terms for an October 17 showdown, the rumor mill suggested a win by Brian Viloria on Saturday evening would land him a shot at Roman Gonzalez on the Pay-Per-View undercard.
The former two-division champ did his part, barely breaking a sweat as he iced Omar Soto inside of one round in Florentine Gardens, Calif.
Viloria scored three knockdowns on the night, all coming in the span of less than a minute once he was able to get his offense going. There figured to be some ring rust, as the veteran boxer from Hawaii—who trains out of Wild Card Gym in Hollywood, Calif.—hadn't fought in seven months.
Once he found his way around the ring, the fight transitioned to the mismatch as suggested on paper. Soto hit the deck barely more than a minute into the fight, taking a knee and the full mandatory eight count but already showing minimal punch resistance.
The next two knockdowns were just as effortless, with the final knockdown prompting referee Zac Young to stop the contest.
The official time was 2:02 of round one.
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In the televised chief support, Guy Robb picked up his 9th straight win after outpointing Edwin Solis (6-4-3) over eight rounds.
Scores were 79-73 across the board in favor of Robb (16-1, 7KOs), who was making his debut under the Top Rank banner.
Both bouts aired live on UniMas as part of the network's 'Solo Boxeo' series.
Jake Donovan is the managing editor of BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox