INQUIRER Sports

Brian Viloria checked out of the Makati Medical Center Monday evening after the five specialists who attended to him declared he?s out of danger.

Veteran scribe Ronnie Nathanielsz, who accompanied Brian to the hospital and received constant updates on his condition, said the boxer was in good spirits despite losing his world title last Saturday. At least, he appears to be.

Brian, his soon-to-be-bride Erika Navarro, who is a nurse, and his manager, Gary Gittelson, thanked those who sent Brian their best wishes and prayed for him.

Because of his defeat to Carlos Tamara last Saturday, Brian lost a golden chance for a unification fight against undefeated WBO champion Ivan Calderon.

And while there are those who are suggesting that Brian should retire, others like Ronnie strongly feel that the fighter can rebound from the loss, just like AJ ?Bazooka? Banal, who collapsed in similar fashion in his fight against Rafael Concepcion two years ago.

Banal, who was comfortably ahead on points, inexplicably looked exhausted in the latter rounds and eventually lost by a 10th-round knockout.

Banal came back strong, however. Last Jan. 14, he scored a fourth-round knockout win over four-time world title challenger Cecilio Santos of Mexico in a fight card that marked Smart Sports? entry into big-time pro boxing via ABC 5.

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Viloria, an intelligent and smart young man, is a broadcast major. The way he answered questions during the pre-fight press conference, he could easily land a job as a TV commentator. The guy is certainly better than some popular boxers who serve as TV analysts in the United States.

He might not be thinking about it, but Brian lost a big payday in a fight against Calderon. The first of the supposed two-fight deal between the two boxers should have been held in Manila, with the return bout slated in Puerto Rico.

But that?s the unpredictability of boxing?one of the reasons why it?s such an exciting sport.

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George Chua, top honcho of Energy Food and Drinks Inc. and team owner of the PBA?s Barako Bull, feels vindicated after five top officials of Maryland Distributors Inc. were arrested and detained on Jan. 19.

Maryland Distributors Inc. is the company that took over the distribution of Red Bull products in the country last year. Energy Food and Drinks Inc. or EFDI, the previous distributor, filed a complaint against MDI, accusing it of tampering with the product labels of Red Bull Supreme. EPDI said this violated food and drug laws. Penalties for this violation range from two to five years? imprisonment plus fines of from P50,000 to 200,000.

Warrants of arrest were issued against the five MDI officials by Judge Iluminada Cabato of Branch 59 of the Baguio Regional Trial Court.

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Rumors about a romantic relationship between Manny Pacquiao and Krista Ranillo are simmering again after the boxing icon left for Los Angeles last Jan. 17 to train for his fight against Joshua Clottey and Krista flew to the US a few days later.

It was too obvious, according to a friend in the show biz industry.

If indeed speculations are accurate, the couple have two months to enjoy each other?s company.

Unless Jinkee pays Pacquiao a surprise visit in Los Angeles.