Viloria stops old foe Soto this time

Brian Viloria. AFP FILE PHOTO

Brian Viloria boosted his bid for another crack at a world title with a savage first-round knockout of former nemesis Omar Soto Saturday night at Florentine Gardens in Hollywood, California.

Aggressive from the opening bell, Viloria knocked down Soto, who held him to a split draw in their first encounter at Ynares Sports Arena in 2010, twice with right hooks before finishing off the Mexican with left hooks to the body and head.

With Soto down for the third time, referee Zachary Young did not bother to count and halted the bout at the 2:02 mark, according to Rich Mazon of Philboxing.com.

The 34-year-old Viloria, a Fil-Am from Hawaii, posted his fourth straight win, the last three by stoppage, and stayed on track toward regaining the WBA and WBO flyweight crowns he yielded to Mexican Juan Francisco Estrada by split decision in 2013 in Macau.

Viloria, now 36-4 with 22 KOs, may also get a crack at the WBC flyweight title being held by Nicaraguan Roman Gonzales in the undercard of the Gennady Golovkin – David Lemieux fight on October. Roy Luarca/Randolph B. Leongson

Originally posted: 02:54 PM July 26th, 2015