INQUIRER Sports

MANILA, Philippines ? Mexican challenger Jesus Iribe may find himself like a fish out of water when he collides with Filipino-American Brian Viloria for the latter?s light flyweight title on August 29 at the Blaisdell Center in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Not only will Iribe expectedly face a rude welcome from the crowd ? Viloria was born and raised in Hawaii ? but the Mexican slugger is actually fighting outside of Mexico for the first time in his career.

Iribe has logged 25 fights so far in his professional career, all of them in Mexico. More than half of those fights, in fact, have been slated at his hometown of Culiaca in the Mexican state of Sinaloa.

Viloria, on the other hand, is expected to ride a wave of support from hometown fans as he defends his 108-pound title in the boxing card dubbed ?Island Assault? and promoted by Solar Sports.

But the ?Hawaiian Punch isn?t about to lower his guard.

?[Iribe is] very dangerous,? Viloria said in a medial release sent to press offices. ?And knowing he?s a Mexican warrior, I expect a tough fight from him.?

Viloria, who is being honed by renowned boxing guru Robert Garcia, is now in the final phases of his preparation for the match.