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By Robert Morales - Brian Viloria won his first light flyweight world title with a first-round knockout of Eric Ortiz on Sept. 10., 2005 at Staples Center in Los Angeles. The fight was on the undercard of the Manny Pacquiao-Hector Velasquez super featherweight fight, won by Pacquiao via sixth-round technical knockout.
Viloria is a Filipino American born and raised in Hawaii, but he was embraced by the Philippines and was invited there to participate in a celebration honoring his championship.
But even though Viloria won that title in quick and impressive fashion, all was not right with him. Less than four months earlier, Viloria stopped Mexico's Ruben Contreras in the sixth round at Staples Center. Contreras fell unconscious in the aftermath and was rushed to California Medical Center in Los Angeles for emergency brain surgery.
"I had a lot of sleepless nights," said Viloria, who Jan. 23 - Jan. 22 in the U.S. - will defend his current light flyweight title when he takes on Carlos Tamara (20-0, 14 KOs) of Colombia in Manila, Philippines. "I was thinking about it a lot. It weighed heavily on my mind. I told my dad, 'If Ruben dies, I should hang up my gloves.' " [Click Here To Read More]
Viloria is a Filipino American born and raised in Hawaii, but he was embraced by the Philippines and was invited there to participate in a celebration honoring his championship.
But even though Viloria won that title in quick and impressive fashion, all was not right with him. Less than four months earlier, Viloria stopped Mexico's Ruben Contreras in the sixth round at Staples Center. Contreras fell unconscious in the aftermath and was rushed to California Medical Center in Los Angeles for emergency brain surgery.
"I had a lot of sleepless nights," said Viloria, who Jan. 23 - Jan. 22 in the U.S. - will defend his current light flyweight title when he takes on Carlos Tamara (20-0, 14 KOs) of Colombia in Manila, Philippines. "I was thinking about it a lot. It weighed heavily on my mind. I told my dad, 'If Ruben dies, I should hang up my gloves.' " [Click Here To Read More]
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