Viloria stops Segura in 8th, keeps WBO flyweight crown

MANILA, Philippines – Brian Viloria delivered his punches in torrents to defuse Giovani Segura’s power shots and the Filipino-American went on to retain his World Boxing Organization flyweight crown with an eighth-round stoppage at Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City Sunday.

Wary of the Mexican’s lethal body shots, Viloria brought the fight to the middle of the ring where he exploited his superior technical skills and faster hands to expose chinks on Segura’s defensive armor.

Segura’s right temple started to swell from a series of hooks and straights as early as the second round even as Viloria, also known as the Hawaiian Punch, sustained a cut in the left eyebrow from a right straight by the fighter nicknamed Aztec Warrior.

It was all Viloria from there as he repeatedly jarred the former world light flyweight titlist with combinations, particularly early in the fourth round when he sneaked in a right straight and a left hook to the delight of the crowd of about 5,000.

By the seventh round, the swelling had grown in size and reduced Segura’s right eye into a slit, although the Mexican bravely stayed on his feet and fought Viloria mainly with upper cuts.

Another stinging left hook by Viloria that landed on the lump finally forced referee Samuel Viruet to stop the lopsided bout with 29 seconds gone in the eighth, sending Viloria leaping in jubilation.

The 30th win in his 33 outings was a source of pride for Viloria since the power-punching Segura ranked No. 9 in the Ring Magazine’s pound-for-pound list.

“It (victory) means a lot,” said Viloria, who wore sunglasses during the postfight conference to cover his own wound. “It proves what I am capable of doing. For me it’s a big accomplishment.”

And it means big bucks, too.

Gary Gittelsohn, Viloria’s manager, said more lucrative fights are on the horizon following his ward’s impressive conquest of Segura, who was whisked off to Medical City wearing a hood and shades, for routine checkup and, most likely, to help reduce the swelling on his head.

Rattled off as Viloria’s probable foes by mid-February next year are World Boxing Association champion Tyson Marquez, World Boxing Council titlist Pongsaklek Wonjonkam, Ivan Calderon and even Segura, whose record fell to 28 wins (24 knockouts), 2 losses and 1 draw.

Viloria, who gave credit to his new head trainer, Ruben Gomez, and his wife Erika for drawing the best out of him, said the win looked relatively easy because he was in great shape, trained hard, and followed the game plan to get off the ropes.

“I saw the punches coming and they were slower than what I expected,” said Viloria, adding that he felt Segura was ripe for the taking when he landed a body shot in the third round and the Mexican stopped coming forward.

As expected, Segura was a raging beast right at the start, but Viloria, remembering their wild sparring sessions when they were still amateurs, wisely avoided going into an exchange.

Instead, Viloria chose his spots and picked his punches to the delight of his countrymen, who chanted his name thrice—in the second, the sixth and when the fight ended.

Gomez was all praises for Viloria, saying his ward was “very busy” and followed their strategy to the letter. He added they were ready for everything that Segura, whom he described as a monster puncher, would throw.

Viloria is expected to crash into the top 10 of the pound-for-pound list, joining eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao and fellow Fil-Am Nonito Donaire Jr.

Just as important was the way his countrymen embraced Viloria again. The victory wiped out the memory of his foldup against Carlos Tamara in their IBF light flyweight tussle last year at the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay.

In another hard-fought contest for the IBF interim super featherweight title, Mexican Martin Honorio won by split decision over Thai Fahsai Sakkreerin.

Al Sabaupan, who bore a resemblance to Pacquiao, punished Jonel Gadapan, who was unable to continue in the fourth round, to keep the Pan Pacific lightweight championship.

A guest panelist during the Viloria fight, Pacquiao, who was accompanied by wife Jinkee, and two-time world champion Gerry Peñalosa, said Viloria did very well.

He added that Viloria shouldn’t stop training to sustain his rise in the ring hierarchy.

Viloria, who gave up four centimeters in reach, was ahead on all three judges’ scorecards when the fight was waived off.

Another spectator in the Viloria-Segura showdown was Milan Melindo, one of Ala Promotions star fighters in Cebu. Melindo is ranked in the top 10 among flyweights in the major sanctioning bodies, No. 3 by the WBO.