INQUIRER Sports

MANILA, Philippines ? Colombian Carlos Tamara dethroned Brian Viloria with a 12th round technical knockout Saturday afternoon to capture the International Boxing Federation mini flyweight crown at the Cuneta Astrodome.

The end came with 1:45 left in the final round when referee Bruce McTavish stopped the fight after Tamara bombarded Viloria with solid combinations.

Viloria controlled the fight in the first eight rounds, before losing steam near the end. He had Tamara on the ropes several times in the fifth round, but was unable to finish him off.

After surviving Viloria?s early assault, Tamara began taking the fight to the Filipino-American starting the ninth round.

?From Day 1, we never had a doubt that he would be world champion,? said Tamara trainer, Butch Garcia.

?He was hungry and he wanted to be a world champion and that was the difference in this fight.?

Viloria was unable to attend the post-fight press conference, after he was rushed to the Makati Medical Center for a routine check-up.

While Tamara looked stronger as the rounds wore on, Viloria appeared more and more exhausted after each round.

?Viloria looked very tired,? Tamara said.

In the main undercard, WBO minimumweight champion Donnie Nietes scored a 10th round TKO over Mexico?s Jesus Silvestre in a non-title bout.

Jimrex Jaca stopped Indonesian foe Ramadhan Weriu in the fifth round of their lightweight showdown, while Jason Pagara came away with a majority decision victory over Eddy Comaro also of Indonesia.