Viloria outlasts Marquez for biggest win of his career

SINGAPORE – Brian “Hawaiian Punch” Viloria showed poise and discipline amidst a furious and devastating body attack to stop Hernan “Tyson” Marquez in the 10th round at the LA Sports Arena in California, Saturday, November 17.

The fight was for the WBO and WBA Flyweight titles, to unify the alphabet belts for the first time since 1965. After a vicious right hand from Viloria in round 10, he followed it up with a fight-ending flurry which forced Marquez’s chief trainer Robert Garcia to throw in the towel.

It was a good effort from Marquez who hurt Viloria at times, but the Hawaiian Punch was just too slick and too powerful for the Mexican.

Intense fight

Viloria stayed out of range for most of the fight and fought intelligently at a distance, peppering his come-forward opponent with stiff jabs and straight right hands.

Viloria dropped Marquez for the first time in round 1 with a flash right hook on the button. The punch shocked Marquez and kept him tentative for the remainder of the fight.

The action continued on until round 4, with Viloria outboxing and out-working Marquez handily.

In a quick turn of events, Marquez landed a huge left hook to Viloria’s temple in Round 5 that rocked the Filipino-American and turned the tide of the fight.

Viloria looked shot and wobbly until he landed a haymaker of his own to drop Marquez for the second time.

Many experts consider Round 5 to be “Round of the Year”. The action was undoubtedly intense.

By the beginning of round 7, Viloria started to tire a little bit and it was evident that he wasn’t throwing as many punches. Marquez often caught Viloria resting on the ropes but couldn’t capitalize as Viloria slipped and dodged well with his back cornered.

The action continued similarly until round 10, when Viloria once again saw himself trapped against the ropes. With Marquez on the attack, neglecting his defense, Viloria threw a huge right hand down the pipe that sent Marquez back down to the canvas.

This time, ‘Tyson’ was hurt badly. His legs were gone from underneath him and he struggled to find his footing.

Viloria’s time

Viloria finished the fight by following up with a quick flurry giving Viloria the biggest win of his career.

With the win, Viloria enters serious talks in cracking the top 10 mythical pound-for-pound list.

It’s been a long time coming but Viloria was remarkably able to turn his career around following some early setbacks and looks to keep steamrolling through the lower weight classes.

Pinoy Francisco also wins

Earlier, Dirian “Gintong Kamao (Golden Fist)” Francisco (23-1-1, 18KO) defeated Javier Gallo (18-5-1, 10KO) at 2:54 of Round 5 by Technical Knockout overcoming a spirited effort by his Mexican opponent.

The fight was an undercard matchup for the Brian Viloria –Hernan Marquez main event and did not fail to provide some early fireworks.

Francisco was the favorite coming into the fight, taking on Gallo on a short two-week notice after negotiations to face Guillermo Rigondeaux fell through, but the unknown Gallo had more than a little to say to the awkward punching Filipino. As such, he let his fists do the talking.

From the first round to however long the fight lasted, Gallo threw caution to the wind and repeatedly swung for the fences.

But Francisco kept calm under duress and showed the world why he’s a championship caliber fighter by picking his spots and boxing well. Francisco landed huge bombs featuring his odd-angled uppercuts and hooks that have made him so famous in the Philippine fight scene.

By the 5th round, the accumulated damage Gallo took from all the power shots Francisco landed flush started to take their toll as Gallo looked visibly slowed and depleted.

Towards the end of the round, Francisco caught Gallo with a good combination that wobbled the Mexican and a follow up flurry ended the fight as the referee called a halt to the bout at the 2:54 mark.

It was an impressive win by Drian Francisco, who continues his win streak with a good, solid victory against a tough opponent. – Rappler.com