Third Viloria, Romero fight moved to May
BRIAN Viloria will have to wait several more weeks to exact his revenge on old rival Omar Niño Romero, who beat him twice in the past, after their scheduled March 31 fight for the WBO flyweight title here in Manila was moved to May 13 owing to unpaid disciplinary fine by the challenger from Guadalajara, Mexico.
The 35-year-old Romero has yet to settle the fine of $11,250 slapped on him by the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) for positively testing for methamphetamine after his 2006 bout with Viloria.
Romero was also stripped of his WBC light flyweight crown three months after beating Viloria because of the positive test.
Not until Romero settles the amount with the NSAC will the WBO sanction the 12-round match set at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig.
* * *
“We decided to give Niño time to clean up his mess. Once Nevada acknowledges receipt of the long overdue payment, the WBO will sanction the fight,” Viloria’s manager Gary Gittelsohn told The Ring.
In one of boxing’s major upsets in 2006, Romero pounded out a unanimous decision over Viloria to wrest the world light flyweight title. In their rematch three months later, the Mexican scored a majority decision to retain his crown although the bout was later declared no-contest after the champion failed his postmatch drug test.
Four years later, Romero regained the same WBC title belt with a unanimous decision over Filipino Rodel Mayol. After a successful title defense, he yielded the crown to Gilberto Keb Baas with a majority 12-round decision just before the end of 2010.
Romero is currently ranked No. 8 by the WBO.
In contrast, Viloria was crowned WBO flyweight champion last year with a unanimous decision over Julio Cesar Miranda. He later defended the title with a sensational eight-round technical knockout of the feared Giovanni Segura of Puerto Rico.
* * *
“So how does it look?” I asked boxing writer Nick Andrew Giongco for his prediction on Viloria and Romero’s own version of the Trilogy.
“Will it be a grand slam for the Mexican boxer?”
Nick didn’t give me a direct answer.
“Romero is a tricky opponent,” he said. “He can make good fighters look bad.”
One thing Nick is hoping for is that the Viloria-Romero fight does not conflict with Johnriel Casimero’s scheduled bout with Mexican Sammy Gutierrez also this May at the Waterfront Hotel in Cebu.
Nick didn’t want to miss any one of the two supercharged matches.
* * *
WBO super bantamweight champion Nonito Donaire Jr. was recently named World’s Number One One-Punch Knockout Artist by Ring Magazine. Contenders to the title also included Juan Manuel Marquez, Vladimir Klitchko, Sergio Martinez and Marcos Maidana.
Nonito was cited for his powerful left hook that knocked out nine of his 12 opponents.
The Filipino Flash is also No. 4 in Ring Magazine’s list of the best boxers in the world.
