Brian Viloria sends Omar Soto to the canvas (Photo : Jhay Oh Otamias)
Former unified world flyweight champion Brian "The Hawaiian Punch" Viloria may have lost the biggest fight of his career against Nicaraguan Roman Gonzalez, but it doesn't mean he didn't give the pound-for-pound king a run for his money.
Despite being waved off within the distance, Viloria felt the stoppage came a little early and that he had enough left in the tank to last the full twelve.
"I thought I was well prepared for the fight. I think the stoppage was a little early. I didn't feel like I was that hurt for me to not continue, I felt I was still being active. I thought they stopped it a little too soon. But I was in the best shape of my life for that fight," Viloria told this reporter.
"Not taking anything away from Roman, because he came in with a great game plan and he went with his plan very well. I put a lot of great combinations together. I remember catching him with a body shot and him not being able to throw any punches in that round," he added.
True enough, Viloria's work to the body resonated throughout the fight, at times even visibly stunning Gonzalez as the amount of punishment to the midsection wore on. Gonzalez went on to defeat Viloria, but that's more of a credit to him and his greatness rather than to Viloria's lack thereof.
One thing Viloria did accomplish was giving Gonzalez one of the most difficult fights of his career, aside of course from another feather in his cap.
"I felt I got him hurt and I pushed him to where he hasn't really been pushed before in his career," said Viloria.
Today, Viloria is enjoying time away from the boxing ring while he re-evaluates his options with his camp and those close to him.
Viloria last year expressed interest in a rematch with Juan Francisco Estrada, which would be a viable option for him.
"I still feel like I have a few more fights left in the tank. We'll see when we sit down with the team to figure out what moves we can make at this point. I still want to rematch [Juan Francisco] Estrada."
