Filipino Interim WBO Bantamweight world champion John Riel Casimero (24-4, 18 KO’s) and taller Mexican challenger Cesar “Perico” Ramirez (18-3, 11 KO’s) successfully made weight ahead of their title battle this Saturday, August 24, at the San Andres Sports Complex in Malate, Manila.

The battle will air live on ABS CBN S+A channel 23 starting at 7:00 PM.

The challenger from Colonia Los Fresnos in Tepic, Nayarit, easily made 117.6 pounds in his first try.

Casimero, 30, had to go to extra two hours of sweating to make the limit of the bantamweight division, 118 pounds.

According to WBO fight supervisor Leon Panoncillo, the winner of the clash is mandated to battle WBO regular bantamweight world champion Zolani Tete (28-3, 21 KO’s).

“I am going to win. I have dreamed about being a world champion this for too long. This is my golden door and I am walking in,” said the 31 year-old Ramirez, in his second war in a foreign land.

Three years ago Ramirez battled then Ryan Burnett (20-1, 10 KO’s) in Leeds, England, losing by points. This time he is gunning for the gold.

Via news.abs-cbn.com

Negrense boxing champion Donnie Nietes will have his first title defense for his World Boxing Organization jr. flyweight belt on June 2 at either the Resorts World or Araneta Coliseum in Manila.

Michael Aldeguer, president and CEO of the ALA Promotions, told members of the press in Cebu that they are still finalizing the fight card and Nietes’ opponent, who will come from the top 15 fighters of the WBO in the 108-lb division, reports from the wires said.

Nietes earned the respect of the world boxing stage after dethroning former lightflyweight champion Ramon Garcia of Mexico by unanimous decision before a homecrowd at the University of St. La Salle Coliseum, October last year.

The pride of Murcia town and Bacolod City, Nietes said he will continue to give his best in every fight to give pride and honor to his province and be an inspiration to aspiring Negrense boxers.

Aldeguer earlier said ALA Promotions has always believed in Nietes’ potential to be a world champion and they will backed him up in his every fight.

Meanwhile, Aldguer said the continued success of the “Pinoy Pride” boxing series, a joint project of the ALA Promotions and ABS-CBN, prompted them to aim for bigger and better boxing events, starting with the Nietes fight.

”More world title fights and we will try to bring named opponents that fight fans are familiar with. It may not be easy and would cost much, but we owe it to the public for making Pinoy Pride what it is now, and we know the public will be expecting more from ALA Promotions and ABS-CBN,” Aldeguer said.

“We are looking into that direction of promoting more world titles fights in the Philippines,” he added.

Nietes, the only current world champion from ALA Promotions, last fought for over five months ago.

Either Rey “Boom-Boom” Bautista or world-rated Milan Melindo is fighting in the co-main event of one of ALA Promotion biggest events this year.

The choice depends on the result of ALA Promotions’ negotiation with the camp of Genaro “Poblanito” Garcia.*with a report from PNA

 

http://www.visayandailystar.com/2012/April/09/sportnews1.htm

World Boxing Organization flyweight champion Brian Viloria defends his title against Mexico’s Omar Nino Romero in Manila on April 1 in a fight card presented by Solar Sports.

It will be the third meeting between Viloria and Omar Nino Romero with the first two fights ending in controversy.

In their first clash on August 10, 2006, Nino won a questionable lopsided twelve round decision at the Orleans Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas in a WBC light flyweight title fight, while in the rematch on November 18, 2006 Nino retained his title in a draw. However, because the Mexican tested positive for a banned substance the fight was declared a no-contest.

Viloria faced Edgar Sosa for the vacant title and dropped another controversial majority decision on April 14, 2007, but came back with a string of five wins before taking on highly fancied Ulises Solis, another Mexican, for the IBF light flyweight title at the famed Araneta Coliseum on April 19, 2009.

Viloria scored a spectacular 11th round knockout and was once again embraced by Filipino fans who had been disappointed with his showing against Omar Nino Romero.

Viloria successfully defended his title against Jesus Iribe at the Blaisdell Arena in Honolulu on August 29, 2009 but  lost by a 12th round TKO to Panama’s Carlos Tamara on Jnauary 23, 2010 when he was overcome by fatigue with 75 seconds remaining in a fight where Viloria was well ahead on the scorecards of all three judges.

Realizing that his struggle to make the 108 pound limit was taking its toll, Viloria decided to move up to the flyweight limit and won the title with an impressive twelve round decision over Julio Cesar “Pingo” Miranda on July 16, 2011 in Honolulu.

His first defense is regarded as Viloria’s finest ring performance. He battered and bewildered pound for pound No. 9 and heavily favored Mexican KO artist Giovanni Segura with a clinical but power-packed performance to score a sensational 8th round TKO at the Ynares Sports Center on December 11, 2011.

Viloria’s manager Gary Gittelsohn who has treated the fighter like a son told BoxingScene.com/Manila Standard that he was “putting the finishing touches” to the title defense against Nino.

He said Viloria “is very excited to return to Manila   and we look forward to a great fight.”

Gittelsohn said that since winning his second world title and his third belt Viloria “is finally the fighter we all knew he would become” adding that this year they are “looking forward to the big match-ups – Roman Gonzalez, Hernan “Tyson” Marquez etc.”

The likeable manager stressed he would “do everything possible to draw attention to these ‘little giants’. The new programming teams at Showtime and HBO Sports are very savvy guys and I suspect they will open their  airwaves to showcase them.”

Having fought Segura in a mandatory, Viloria chose Omar Nino Romero for a voluntary defense and possibly for a chance to settle the score with the Mexican once and for all.

The 31 year old Viloria has a record of 30-3 with 17 knockouts while Omar Nino Romero is 35 and has a record of 30-4-2 with 12 knockouts that includes a victory over former WBC world flyweight champion Rode Mayol on June 19, 2010. However, in his last fight for the WBC light flyweight title Romero lost by a twelve round majority decision to Gilbert Keb Baas on November 6, 2010.

 

by Ronnie Nathanielsz

http://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&opt=printable&id=49804

 

 

 

Filipino-American World Boxing Organization flyweight champion Brian Viloria punched his way to an eighth round technical knockout victory over Mexican challenger Giovani Segura to keep his 112-pound crown and earn his place in the roster of the finest pound-for-pound fighters in the world Sunday at the half-filled Ynares Sports Center in Pasig City.

Sticking to his game plan of attack-counter-attack all throughout that confused Segura, the 31 year-old Viloria, known in the international boxing world as the “Hawaiian Punch,” proved true to his moniker by implanting a big mouse above Segura’s right eyebrow right in the second round mostly on left hooks that developed into a huge hematoma as the fight wore on.

That same left shot staggered the challenger going into the last 20 seconds of the eighth and as the Mexican’s body looked to turn around led referee Samuel Viruet embraced Segura signaling the fight is over gifting the Ilocos Norte-born and Waipahu, Hawaii-based fighter his 30th victory, his 17th via stoppage in his six-year pro-career.

More importantly, with the win, Viloria accomplished what he really had wanted – barging into the list of pound-for-pound best; an honor he has long been targeting but continued slipping from his hands due to a roller-coaster career.

Viloria, a former amateur standout and a member of the United States Olympic team in 2000, actually, was punishing with volley of left and right combinations earlier in the period before landing the finishing kick to end what he himself described as the best fight of his career, sending Segura, ranked ninth in the world’s best pound-for-pound, to the nearby Medical City Hospital for further checkup.

“Yeah, that was my best fight in my career, Viloria told media men during the post-fight press conference. “It was even better than Miranda ((Mexico’s Julio Cesar Miranda from whom he stole the title last July).”

“It was easy, yes but only because I trained hard for this fight and I stuck to my game plan by not going into the ropes. I just met him in the center of the ring and avoided turning the fight into a brawl in which he (Segura) is at his best,” he said.

“He has heavy hands, but he didn’t hurt me. I often saw his punches, prepared to avoid them, then counter-attack,” he said drawing concurrence from his American manager Gary Gittelsohn.

“That was a fight between the two very best flyweights in the world and it’s a pity the U.,S. missed hosting it,” Gittelsohn said, who added, his ward might stick it out in the 112-pound category although plans are also afoot to invade higher divisions.

“We’ll stick it out in the flyweight division, but we might also try to test the waters, say in the 115-pound class,” the manager said.

Except for two rounds – the first and second, which Malaya Business Insight scored as draw, all rounds were Viloria’s convincingly.

Viloria wound up with a slight cut in his left eyebrow inflicted in the second round and a swollen left cheek but was never really threatened as he repeatedly pummelled the former WBO and World Boxing Association light-flyweight kingpin with crispy lefts and rights to the elation of the crowd that included Filipino icon Manny Pacquiao and former two-division champ Gerry Penalosa. Judge Danrex Tapdasan saw the fight, 69-64 at the time of the stoppage , judge Ulysses Glen,70-63, and judge Harry Davis, 68-65, all in favor of Viloria.

 

By Eddie Alinea

http://philboxing.com/news/story-64039.html

El hawaiano Brian Viloria hizo una pelea ofensiva apoyado en una gran condición física, para derrotar por nocaut técnico en el octavo asalto al mexicano Giovanni Segura, y así retener el campeonato mosca de la Organización Mundial de Boxeo, en su primera defensa, este domingo en Manila, Filipinas.

La pelea concluyó cuando en un cambio de golpes, Viloria conectó durísimo gancho de izquierda a la mandíbula del mexicano, quien acusó el castigo y se fue hacia un lado, muy lastimado. En ese momento el árbitro Samuel Viruet decidió para las acciones y darle la victoria al campeón estadounidense, que dominaba el encuentro.

Segura, que subió al ring como campeón minimosca de la AMB y de la OMB, tenía el ojo derecho cerrado y monstruosamente inflamado por los golpes del hawaiano.

Giovanni presentó oposición en los primeros asaltos, pero del quinto en adelante era visible que se resentía por el castigo recibido, principalmente potentes combinaciones de izquierda y derecha al rostro. En los rounds sexto y séptimo era completo el dominio de Viloria, mientras que el guerrerense avecindado en Bell Gardens, California iba en reversa.

 

http://www.notifight.com/artman2/publish/Resultado_2/Viloria_vence_a_Segura_en_Filipinas.php

Pasig City – In an incredible display of skill, heart and sheer will power, Brian “The Hawaiian Punch” Viloria successfully defended his WBO world flyweight title against Mexican “Aztec Warrior” Giovani Segura at the Ynares Sports Center.

Segura, who attacked from a southpaw stance, had Viloria on the back foot in the opening minutes of the fight but Viloria’s left hook began to find its range going into the second round. Viloria stunned Segura with a right hand lead followed by a left hook and had Segura on the ropes twice. Viloria bled from a cut on the left eyebrow but Segura looked dazed and confused at the end of the round.

A hematoma started to form on the Mexican’s right temple as Viloria’s left landed with impunity in the subsequent rounds. Segura continued to press the action but missed wildly. His power was evident as Viloria covered up and winced as Segura’s hooks connected.

The partisan crowd cheered for every punch Viloria threw. Past the halfway mark, the swelling on the right side of Segura’s head got bigger and his right eye would eventually get affected and started to close as well. Segura was still dangerous but Viloria, with blood continuing to leak from his cut, pressed his advantage by landing hard shots.

The crowd was in a frenzy sensing a Viloria victory. Segura faded and after the 7th, referee Samuel Viruet checked and talked with the Mexican cornermen.

Segura answered the bell for the 8th round but Viloria pounced on him with a brutal volley prompting Referee Viruet to save the challenger from further punishment. Official time – 0:29.

Viloria (30-3, 17 KO’s) finished with a swollen left cheek aside from his cut. But he made sure he would retain his title in front of boxing icon Manny Pacquiao and former two-division world champ Gerry Penalosa and lustfully cheering fans who trooped to Pasig on a Sunday morning.

The scores prior to the stoppage had Viloria ahead – Judge Danrex Tapdasan – 69-64, judge Ulysses Glen – 70-63 and judge Harry Davis – 68-65.

Segura (28-2-1, 24 KO’s) was ranked ninth by Ring magazine in their pound for pound list prior to this bout. Viloria’s win makes three Filipino boxers on that prestigious list by year’s end.

 

Photos by Dong Secuya.

By Rene Bonsubre, Jr.

http://philboxing.com/news/story-64016.html

Three-time and reigning WBO world flyweight champion Brian “Hawaiian Punch” Viloria (29-3, 16 KOs), a dual citizen of the U.S. and Philippines and a 2000 U.S. Olympian, is ready to take on Mexican challenger Giovani “El Guerrero Azteca” Segura, on Saturday at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City, Metro Manila, Philippines. “I’ve sparred with Segura in the past and we beat the hell out of each other,” Viloria said. “It was the kind of sparring where we could have charged the audience for an entrance fee and they wouldn’t have complained. Knockout specialist Segura (28-1-1, 24 KOs), a two-time world light flyweight champion (World Boxing Association Super champion), knocked out previously undefeated WBO champion Ivan Calderon (34-0-1) in a unification fight in 2010 and again this past April in a rematch before moving up in weight.

Integrated Sports Media, the pound-for-pound king of sports distribution in North America, will distribute the Saturday night “Island Assault 3″ for live viewing at 9:00 PM/ET, 6PM PT. The event is available on satellite pay-per-view via DISH Network, and on-line pay-per-view at http://www.ustream.tv/integratedsportsppv

“We’re looking forward to bringing this action-packed card, headlined by two of the best lighter weight fighters in the world, Viloria and Segura, to US boxing fans,” Integrated Sports Media president Doug Jacobs said. “This exciting show continues the heated Filipino vs. Mexican boxing rivalry that is one of the most intense in the sport today.”

 

http://www.fightnews.com/Boxing/viloria-ive-sparred-with-segura-in-the-past-and-we-beat-the-hell-out-of-each-other-103913

La Organización Mundial de Boxeo (OMB) anunció los oficiales que estarán trabajando este domingo, 11 de diciembre, en el combate titular entre el monarca mosca Brian Viloria y el ex campeón mundial junior mosca  Giovanni Segura, que se efectuará en el Yñares Sports Arena en Manila, Filipinas en una presentación de Promociones Zanfer y Saved by the Bell Promotions.

El presidente de la OMB, Francisco “Paco” Valcárcel, informó que para  la pelea por el título mosca de la OMB entre el estadounidense Viloria (29-3 y 16 nocauts), en su primera defensa, y el mexicano Segura (28-1-1 y 24 nocauts), el árbitro será Samuel Viruet de Estados Unidos.

Mientras, los jueces que trabajarán en este choque entre Viloria y Segura son Danrex Tapdasan de Filipinas, Harry Davis de Canadá y Ulysses Glenn de Estados Unidos. El supervisor de la OMB para este encuentro es Leon Panoncillo Jr.

Viloria, que anteriormente había reinado en las 108 libras, ganó el título de las 112 libras el pasado 16 de julio de 2011 cuando venció por decisión a Julio César Miranda.

Por su parte, Segura fue campeón junior mosca (108 libras) de la OMB venciendo al puertorriqueño Iván “Iron Boy” Calderón en 2010 y defendiéndolo en una ocasión ante el mismo Calderón en 2011. El azteca renunció al título luego para hacer campaña en pesos superiores.

Esta pelea entre Viloria y Segura será transmitida por “Pay Per View” y por TV Azteca.


MANILA, Philippines — It isn’t often that you’ll find a world champion entering his first title defense as the underdog, but that’s the situation WBO flyweight titleholder Brian Viloria finds himself in as he approaches his showdown with THE RING’s junior flyweight champ Giovani Segura this Sunday, Dec. 11, (Saturday evening in the U.S.) at the Yñares Sports Arena in Pasig City.

Viloria, of Waipahu, Hawaii, twice held major 108-pound titles before stepping up to flyweight to defeat Mexico’s Julio Cesar Miranda in his most recent outing to earn a belt in his second division. The 31-year-old veteran lost his junior flyweight titles in his second defense of each reign. Most observers are anticipating that this title run will end earlier than the previous ones because of the relentless pressure and KO power of his 29-year-old challenger.

The fight will be aired by the GMA Network in the Philippines, and on pay-per-view in the United States (Integrated Sports, $29.95, 8:00 p.m. EST).

Viloria (29-3, 16 knockouts), a memember of 2000 U.S. Olympic squad, fully embraces the dark horse role given to him by odds makers and most of the media.

“I love being the underdog,” Viloria, told RingTV.com following a light workout at the Punch Out Boxing Club in Makati City. “It motivates me to get ready for a fight. I love fighting when everybody is doubting me. I love trying to prove them wrong.”

Viloria’s longtime assistant traienr Ruben Gomez agrees believes the gifted boxer-puncher is at his best when his back is against the wall.

“I think it’s a good situation to be in, being expected to lose,” said Gomez, who has been with Viloria since the Filipinio-American first turned professional. “But to us, it’s not going to be a surprise when they raise Brian’s hand in victory because we came here to win and that’s exactly what’s going to happen.”

Viloria is no stranger to being the underdog. Prior to his second world title winning effort against Ulises Solis, Viloria was all but written off as a signature win for Solis’ ninth title defense. Instead Viloria won, punctuating the performance with an 11th-round knockout that would be at home on any highlight reel.

The opposite side of the coin is that Viloria sometimes loses fights he’s supposed to win.

All of Viloria’s defeats — to Carlos Tamara, Omar Nino Romero and Edgar Sosa — came unexpectedly, the result of focus issues, Viloria’s team claims.

“Brian should be working on his fifteenth title defense now,” said Gomez. “I think those fights that he lost, he should have never lost them.”

Viloria finds himself in this difficult spot not by choice, but as a result of his challenger’s mandatory position with Viloria’s predecessor Miranda. Viloria was allowed to cut in front of Segura (28-1-1, 24 KOs) and fight Miranda with the understanding that he’d have to immediately face the slugger from Bell, Calif., by way of Guerrero, Mexico.

The Viloria-Segura clash was expected to take place earlier in the fall but was delayed due to a cut over Viloria’s right eye suffered in the Miranda fight.

Viloria has already upset the odds just by being in this position. Viloria’s career was in serious doubt following his loss last January to Carlos Tamara when, ahead on the scorecards, Viloria’s conditioning fell apart, causing him to lose by a12th-round stoppage. Afterwards he collapsed in the dressing room from exhaustion, a product of the difficulty he experienced making the 108 pound weight limit.

Then, just two weeks before his return bout against Omar Soto six months later, Viloria’s trainer Roberto Garcia abandoned Viloria to join Nonito Donaire Jr., leaving Viloria to find a new trainer. Mario Morales, who is now Viloria’s head trainer, isn’t exactly new, having worked with Viloria early in his career.

“I’ve gone up and down so many times in my career, it is like a roller coaster,” said Viloria. “The resiliency of my career, that’s what it is. Right now I’m back on top as a world champion and I want to stay there. It’s really hard to become a world champion, but it’s ten times as hard to stay as a world champion. The path of my career, it’s what made me today. I think I’m a complete fighter now.”

Viloria vs. Segura Promo

Viloria is expected to be the crowd favorite against Segura, not because the Philippines is a second home to him, but a first home. Viloria was raised by his grandparents from six months to the age of six in the Philippine province of Ilocos Norte on the island archipelago’s most northwestern corner. A dual citizen of the Philippines and America, Viloria’s first language is Ilocano, a dialect of Filipino spoken exclusively in that region. He didn’t learn to speak English until rejoining his parents in Hawaii to begin school.

This will be Viloria’s fifth appearance in the Philippines.

Segura, who is rated number nine on THE RING’s pound-for-pound list, conceded at Wednesday morning’s press conference that Viloria was “a more complete fighter.” He didn’t have Viloria’s pedigree, having picked up the sport at the advanced age of 18. He turned pro after just 11 amateur bouts, while Viloria represented the United States in the 2000 Summer Olympics.

What he does have over Viloria are two signature knockout victories over the previously-unbeaten ring legend Ivan Calderon in 2010 and 2011 that have catapulted him to a pedestal that Viloria has never reached.

The two have crossed paths a number of times over the years, working alongside each other at the Azteca Boxing Club in Bell, Calif., and as sparring partners for five different fights. Segura’s team have said that they got the better of the action and as a result have a mental edge over Viloria. Viloria and company dismiss it as “just sparring.”

“Sparring is like scrimmage; You don’t give your best foot forward,” said Viloria. “You just try to work on things you need to work on. Sometimes it gives you a false sense of saying, ‘Alright, he fights this way’ or ‘He fights that way, that’s the way I’m gonna fight him.’ It really kind of throws you off when you switch it off. The real fight is a whole different level than a sparring session.”

“Giovani is full speed ahead, whether it’s sparring or it’s fighting,” said Gomez. “He spars pretty much the same way he fights. I don’t particularly like that type of sparring because if somebody hits you hard, you’re going to hit him hard and that just escalates.”

What Viloria believes the sparring sessions have done is given each man a sense of the way the other likes to fight, something that he feels will work to his advantage.

“He has that one-dimensional style, he’ll try and corner you and slug you out into submission,” said Viloria. “I’m so versatile in this sport, I think that’s going to be the difference in this fight. I don’t think Segura is going to figure out what style I’m going to bring into the ring. I’m going to have to switch it up and make him think and keep him on his toes.”

Many people who are picking Segura over Viloria do so out of a lack of faith in Viloria’s conditioning late in fights. Viloria himself acknowledges that conditioning has been an issue in past fights and says that has been their primary focus in training camp. Running the mountains of Southern California — as well as the additional four pounds of the flyweight division — have given Viloria confidence that his issues of the past are just that. The past.

“I’m really confident that I’m going to look at the twelfth round like I’ll look in the first round,” said Viloria. “I made the weight easy, I’m eating right, sleeping right. There’s not going to be any excuses in this fight.

“I want to go in there and show the world that Brian Viloria is a new Brian Viloria in this weight division and I want to stay world champion for as long as I can.”

 

http://ringtv.craveonline.com/blog/170601-brian-viloria-qi-love-being-the-underdogq