3 KOs in one night
September 16, 2005 | 12:00am
LOS ANGELES – It was a victorious night for Pinoys in downtown Los Angeles on Saturday night as three of the Filipino fighters who showed up for Top Rank’s "Double Trouble" came out and KO’d their way to a win in their respective matches.
A shy 19-year-old Boholano set the tone for the victorious night for the Philippines as he opened the event by knocking down opponent Felix Flores. Rey "Boom-Boom" Bautista was scheduled to square off with the 31-year-old Colombian in an eight-round bantamweight championship.
In the first round, Bautista started slow, unable to throw the jabs and combinations he tried to master during months of training. But "Boom-Boom" started to explode in the second round. By the third, his combinations were already coming together. And at 1:12 in that same round, the Bautista knocked out Flores, making his LA-debut a very successful one.
"Alam ko na matatalo ko siya. Pero may pacing pa din ako, palagi kasing may lakas yung kalaban ko. Nakumpara ko siya sa mga nakaraan kong kalaban. Pag tatama siya sa akin, parang mayayanig din ako e. Hindi katulad nu’ng ibang laban ko." Bautista candidly answered questions from the Filipino-American press at the Chick Hearn Press Room where he and his manager Michael Koncz went to face members of the media; or more accurately, to celebrate with the Fil-Am media.
The celebration continued as Brian "Hawaiian Punch" Viloria impressed even the Mexican boxing fans as he knocked out his opponent Eric Ortiz from Mexico in the first round, thereby bagging the WBC Light Flyweight title, the 24-year-old fighter’s first world title.
"I am very happy. All my hard work has paid off. Now I am looking forward to going back to Hawaii and eat again," Viloria said after winning, looking unscathed as he faced the press people. "I want to eat Hawaiian barbecue."
Viloria admitted, however, that he expected the fight to go the distance, saying that he trained hard for 12 rounds. But he was humble enough to admit that it was also a bit of luck that he landed his punch "right on the money." He was talking about the punch to the jaw that finished off Ortiz with just a second left in the first round. That deadly hit, according to boxing experts, could render even a cow unconscious.
"Sa katunayan, marami nang pinapabagsak si Brian sa first round lang. Hindi ko inasahan ito kasi naman world championship ito," commented Ben Viloria, Brian’s father.
With his success last Saturday night, supporters of Team Viloria are hopeful that doors to bigger things have already been opened for the US Olympian (2000) who traces his roots to Narvacan, Ilocos Sur.
"Brian was a standout almost his entire amateur career. A lot of professional scouts in the United States very rarely pay attention to the lower weigh because economically it’s just not a big money-making area in boxing. But Brian was something special; and every once in a while, in every generation, a kid surfaces who has something special in the lower weight class. The last one before Brian was Michael Carbajal," said Gary Gittelsonn, Viloria’s manager. "And I honestly believe that Brian has every bit the charisma that Carbajal had and every bit the exciting style that he had and even more. I hope I’m right, and I think I am."
Even after the victories of the two Filipino fighters who went before Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao, Fil-Ams at the Staples Center, even those from the press, still felt jitters as the bell rang to signal the start of the WBC International Super Featherweight Championship that pitted the People’s Champ against Mexican Hector Velasquez.
Pacman approached the ring and marched to the tune of Champion, a song composed for him by Black Eyed Peas’ Apl de ap. It was a remix that will not be released for public consumption, according to Joe Ramos, Pacquiao’s LA-based adviser. Apl who popularized the The Apl Song, has been said to have recorded the first verse of his song for Pacquiao. In October, they are hoping to have the boxing hero record the second verse.
He’s not just a boxer now, he’s also about to become a recording artist and with the US-release of his movie Lisensiyadong Kamao, Pacquaio is also now an actor. Indeed, the southpaw has punched his way into the hearts of people, making himself a part of their lives.
BrandSpace Articles
<
>