Viloria outboxes Iribe, retains IBF crown

It took 33 years before Hawaii once again saw a world title fight on its shores. Good thing the Honolulu-born Brian Viloria, who had Filipino parents, did not disappoint his hometown fans beating Mexican challenger Jesus Iribe in the main event of “Island Assault" Saturday (Sunday in Manila) at the Blaisdell Center in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Viloria, nicknamed “The Hawaiian Punch," won via unanimous decision over Iribe to successfully defend his International Boxing Federation (IBF) light flyweight title for the first time. “I just gave the fans old-fashioned boxing. I hope they all enjoyed it," said Viloria after the match. I just gave the fans a good show, wanted them to enjoy a good boxing match against (Iribe) who is one tough guy." He was not yet even born when Honolulu hosted its first world title bout when Ben Villaflor of the Philippines fought Puerto Rican Samuel Serrano for the World Boxing Association to a draw on April 13, 1976. Viloria’s win completed a sweep for the Philippines as AJ Banal and Dennis Laurente also outpointed their respective foes. He now holds to 26-2-0 (15 KOs). Viloria, wanting a KO win, tried to bring down his opponent in the 12th round as he went toe-to-toe with Iribe, who managed to withstand the attacks of the Filipino champion, as the bell sounded to officially signal the end of the match. His fight against Iribe was almost the same when he challenged Ulises Solis early this year where he scored an 11th round KO win to seize the IBF light flyweight crown. Though failing to floor Iribe, Viloria chalked up enough points to complete the win against his tough Mexican foe. The fight went into scorecards with all three judges siding with Viloria: 118-110, 117-112 and 117-11. Like royalty Viloria made a grand entrance, coming out of the dugout like a Hawaiian king. Two men, garbed in traditional Hawaiian outfits, blew conch shells to signal Viloria’s entrance. Hula girls, dancing to the tune of Hawaii Five-0, then came out as part of Viloria's entourage. Iribe entered the ring with sounds of a Mariachi band at the background. Next challenge Viloria said he wants to unify the light flyweight crown as he plans to challenge World Boxing Organization champion Ivan Calderon, who will face Filipino Rodel Mayol on September 12 at the Coliseo Jose Miguel Agrelot, in Hato Rey, Puerto Rico. He and Calderon have a long history inside the ring. Viloria has beaten Calderon three times when both were still fighting as amateurs. Filipino pride Earlier, AJ "Bazooka" Banal and Dennis Laurente defeated their respective Mexican opponents to serve as an appetizer for the Viloria-Iribe title bout. Banal was even deducted by one point for a low blow in the 9th round but had piled up the points in the first eight rounds that gave him his 20th win (16 KOs) against one loss and one draw. Laurente opened up the fight with a unanimous decision win over Zaid Zavaleta in their own 10-round light welterweight non-title fight. All three judges ruled in favor of Laurente (100-90, 100-90 and 99-91). The Filipino southpaw now has a 32-3-5 record (16 by KO). GMA 7 star Jolina Magdangal, wearing a Maria Clara dress; Juan Muñoz, playing a guitar; and Fil-Am singer and American Idol Season 3 third placer Jasmine Trias sang the national anthems of the Philippines, Mexico and the United States, respectively. – GMANews.TV