Carlos Tamara's trip from Colombia to the Philippines did not go to waste as he worked his way through a grueling match to dethrone Filipino champion Brian Viloria and claim the International Boxing Federation (IBF) light-flyweight crown via a 12-round technical knockout (TKO) win on Saturday.

Fighting in unfamiliar territory, Tamaro appeared hungrier and showed more aggressiveness in the later round against the Hawaiian-based Viloria, who made his second defense of the championship title after winning it via an 11th round knockout win against Ulisses Solis of Mexico last year.

Tamara unleashed a flurry of unanswered punches against Viloria, who appeared sluggish and winded in the last round, thus prompting referee Bruce McTavish to halt the action with 1:45 remaining in the last round.

The 26-year old Colombian challenger, who is now based in North Bergen, New Jersey, actually had difficulty making weight during Friday's weigh-in at the Centennial Hall of the Manila Hotel, as he scaled half-pound heavier against Viloria, who easily made the 108 lb. limit.

With the win, Tamara improved to 21-4, with 14 victories coming via stoppages, while Viloria dropped to 26-3 and 15 KOs.

In the main supporting bout, Donnie "Ahas" Nietes triumphed against Mexican counterpart Jesus Silvestre via a 10th round TKO win.  He thus improved to a 25-1-3 (15 KOs) slate, while dropping Silvestre to 15-2, 12 KOs.