BRIAN VILORIA

Hawaii-born Filipino puncher Brian Viloria made a rousing Aloha homecoming last Saturday night (Sunday afternoon in the Philippines) by repulsing the spirited challenge of Mexican challenger Jesus Iribe before a roaring crowd at the Blaisdell Arena in Honolulu.

Making the first defense of his International Boxing Federation (IBF) light-flyweight title he won in stunning fashion at the Araneta Coliseum last April, Viloria was awarded a 12-round unanimous decision before a highly appreciative crowd.

All three judges scored it in favor of Viloria, whose parents are originally from Ilocos Sur. One judge saw it 118-110, while another had it at 117-112, and the third scored it 117-111.

“I had fun tonight,” said Viloria, who boosted his win-loss-draw card to 26-2-0 with 15 knockouts. Iribe, who said he hurt his right hand early in the fight, dropped to 15-6-5 with nine stoppages.

Despite his not-so-glowing credentials, Iribe proved to be a tough nut to crack for the heavy-handed Viloria, who had won the IBF 108-lb crown with a one-punch KO of another Mexican, the heavily favored Ulises Solis, in the 11th round at the Big Dome.

Viloria controlled the fast-paced fight from beginning to end although Iribe, who comes from the boxing hotbed of Culiacan in Sinaloa state, home of Mexico’s greatest boxer Julio Cesar Chavez, managed to land some of his best blows.

But Viloria’s edge in skills and speed proved to be too much for the challenger, who had vowed to break the hearts of those in attendance.

Promoted by Bob Arum’s Top Rank Inc., it could not be determined what’s in store for Viloria although the diminutive hitter is training his sights at the other marquee names of the division, such as Puerto Rico’s Ivan Calderon or Mexico’s Edgar Sosa.

At the moment, Viloria wants to savor his latest triumph, and a quick return to the Philippines is being planned within the week.

Viloria trained for two months under the tutelage of Robert Garcia, a former world super-featherweight champion from the US, who operates the La Colonia Boxing Club in Oxnard, California.

Two other Filipino fighters – super-lightweight Dennis Laurente of Manila and super-flyweight AJ Banal of Cebu – defeated their respective foes in the undercard of the first world title fight on the island in over 30 years.

Laurente outpointed Zaid Zavaleta of Mexico in 10 rounds, while Banal also carved out a win by decision at the expense of Angel Beranza, also of Mexico.