NEW YORK -- When former unified flyweight world champion Brian "The Hawaiian Punch" Viloria (36-4, 22 KO's) steps in the ring against newly crowned pound-for-pound king Roman "Chocolatito" Gonzalez (43-0, 37 KO's) this Saturday, October 17 at the iconic Madison Square Garden in New York, he vows to showcase his absolute best, which includes having enough in the tank to last the distance if needed.
Conditioning has always been a noteworthy aspect in each of the Filipino-American's bouts. If Viloria came into a fight ill-prepared, he usually has trouble maintaining energy and level of activity in the later rounds. If he came in good condition, he usually doesn't need the full 12 to take care of his opponent.
Against Gonzalez, who took up Floyd Mayweather's best pound-for-pound mantle after the latter abruptly left the sport, Viloria will need to be in tip top shape if he plans to score an upset as the odds-on underdog.
"[Stamina] is something that we've worked on this training camp -- to eliminate that doubt of being able to go 12 rounds. I know I can do that," said Viloria, during an interview at the Los Angeles Media Day.
"In sparring sessions I can go 12 rounds so I know physically I'm there," he added.
If we take Viloria for his word, then that means fans will be getting the absolute best version of the Hawaiian Punch on fight night.
At his best, Viloria is a menacing body puncher and an Olympic-level boxing tactician. He not only punches extremely hard, but also possesses the skills necessary to outbox opponents if need be.
Gonzalez is more a volume and power puncher that will try to overwhelm his opponents. With 37 knockouts on his record, Gonzalez is more than a perceivable threat, but Viloria has also shown he can take a punch too.
Viloria has only been knocked out once in his career, against Carlos Tamara in the Philippines, and it was more due to his lack of conditioning in that fight than anything else. Viloria's chin is outstanding and he seems to always find ways to recover after being hit with a potentially fight-ending punch.
Though the odds are stacked against him, Viloria assures his fans that he'll come into the fight against Gonzalez fully loaded and in the best shape of his life.
He's also studied Gonzalez extensively.
"That was all I was doing this past weekend [studying Gonzalez], going through what he does in the ring and seeing video tape after video tape and just get myself prepared for him physically and mentally," said Viloria.
If his current physical appearance is anything to go by, fans should be ready to see an absolute war for the flyweight title. The fight could outshine the main event as well, a middleweight title bout between Gennady Golovkin and David Lemieux.
"I think I've done more than enough. I couldn't have prepared myself any better for this," said Viloria.
The weigh-ins are scheduled a day before, on Friday. The fight itself is just a few days away.