Viloria’s made-for-TV performance

Based on the scorecards, world light flyweight champion Brian Viloria strutted his stuff in a seemingly dominating fashion that made Mexican challenger Jesus “El Azul" Iribe look like he was beaten black and blue, at least for those who failed to watch the GMA-7 telecast. The official scores of the 12-round bout read 118-110, 117-112 and 117-111, all for Viloria, which means Iribe won three rounds, at most, in the Honolulu, Hawaii card dubbed “Island Assault."

For boxing purists who saw the fight, the point of discussion may well be the 12th and final round when Viloria, already way ahead on points, decided to fight toe-to-toe, thus giving Iribe one final chance to steal a win and ruin Viloria’s goal of giving boxing a rumbling resurgence in the volcanic island. Strategically, the Waipahu-raised Viloria may have done a foolish decision in the 12th canto as all he needed to do was, metaphorically speaking, go island-hopping and eventually enjoy the fruits of his labor. But Viloria had other things in mind, something that may have boosted his stock and realize his personal aspiration for Hawaii boxing. Thanks to Manny Pacquiao, boxing nowadays is about giving fans toe-to-toe action that has to be punctuated by a knockout. Sure, Viloria may have failed to score an emphatic stoppage but his decision to slug it out in the final round, given the fact he was way ahead, proves that he has the unyielding will of admired champions in the class of Pacquiao. Boxing is about business and when you talk of business in boxing, you talk of selling tickets, pay-per-view buys and free TV advertisements. That can only be realized by giving fight fans what they want - explosive endings. Methinks Viloria adhered to the adage of boxing “protect yourself at all times" in the most modern, suited-for-TV way. That Viloria indeed protected his stature as a modern-day world champion who won't just sit on big leads but will instead always go for a knockout at any given time. That fittingly, the thrilling 12th round was the Hawaiian Punch’s cherry on a sundae. MILAN “EL MAESTRO" MELINDO, the undefeated world-ranked 105-lb fighter who was supposed to battle compatriot Denver Cuello beneath the Viloria-Iribe title fight may see action in a planned October 3 international card at the Cuneta Astrodome. Late arrival of their visas scuttled this miniflyweight bout that has all the tools to steal the thunder from the Hawaii main eventers. In a recent conversation, fight manager Tony Aldeguer said Melindo is being offered a slot beneath the 12-round WBA international super flyweight championship between Filipino Drian Francisco and Panamanian Roberto Vazquez, a former world flyweight champion. Aldeguer said he is being given a choice between former world champion Omar Nino Romero and the once-beaten Adrian Hernandez as Melindo’s opponent. The Mexican Romero (28-3-1, 11 KO’s) is the same fighter who snatched the WBC light flyweight belt from Brian Viloria while Hernandez (15-1-1, 11 KO’s) is the conqueror of world title challenger Rodel Mayol. Both Romero and Hernandez are Mexicans. Aldeguer gave promoters Solar Sports and Elmer Anuran the go-signal to choose Melindo’s opponent as long as the fight will happen at 108lbs. MARVIN SONSONA arrived in Canada last week and is primed to give the country another world title. Sonsona will battle defending champion Jose “Carita" Lopez in a 12-round battle for the Puerto Rican’s WBO super flyweight crown on September 6 (Manila time) at the Casino Rama in Ontario, Canada. Skill-wise, the 19-year-old Sonsona (13-0, 12 KO’s) has all the tools to score a scintillating win against an ageing but still tough as nails Lopez who, at 37, has compiled a record of 39-7-2 with 32 knockouts. Lopez’s go-forward style and non-stop punching will indeed be Sonsona’s most ideal litmus test, a chance for fight fans to measure the Filipino’s fighting heart. - GMANews.TV