Brian Viloria In The Best Shape Of His Career (Photo : Jhay Oh Otamias)
LOS ANGELES -- Now that the biggest fight of his career is just days away, Brian "The Hawaiian Punch" Viloria (36-4, 22 KO's) has wrapped up training camp and has arrived in New York City just a few days ahead of his WBC world flyweight title fight against the champion, Roman "Chocolatito" Gonzalez (43-0, 37 KO's).
For those not in the know, Gonzalez was put on top of boxing's pound-for-pound list for his achievements as a 112-pounder, after former consensus best fighter in the world Floyd Mayweather went into retirement.
During the LA Media Day for the fight, which precedes the middleweight showdown between Gennady Golovkin and David Lemieux, Viloria looked the best he has ever been as he reiterated to reporters how ready he is for the opportunity of a lifetime.
"Training camp has gone great," said Viloria, who last fought as recently as July, and jumped straight into training camp for this fight as soon as it was announced.
Though weight had sometimes been a problem for the bulky Filipino-American, he always finds another gear and deals with it. This time however, there are no issues.
"Weight management has not been an issue. After my last fight two months ago, I went straight to training camp again so I was just like 3 or 4 pounds over. So I was basically on weight for the entire training camp for this fight and I just maintained things," said Viloria.
"I'm physically ready. I have no weight issues. I can step on the scale right now and probably make weight."
Being physically ready is just one part of the equation however. Viloria will need to show up in the best condition and form possible if he hopes to upset Gonzalez and deal a shock to the boxing community.
Looking closely at Gonzalez' resume, there are only a handful of guys on Viloria's level. The business side of boxing is such that fighters choose opposition based on a risk-to-reward ratio -- generally fighters aim for a low risk, high reward scenario.
When Gonzalez chose Viloria, it broke that mold. Viloria is a dangerous fighter because of his world-class boxing skills and devastating knockout power. The problems he's experienced in his career have been attributed to a lack of conditioning more than anything else but when he's on point, he's on point.
As such, Viloria is an extremely high risk for Gonzalez, but also one that poses a great reward.
If Gonzalez can beat Viloria, it would do well to cement his place atop boxing's food chain.
On the bettor's table, Gonzalez is the odds-on favorite to defeat Viloria.
In fact, Viloria is +700 on Vegas sports books which means a $100 bet on the Hawaiian Punch would rake in $700 while it would take a $1400 bet on Gonzalez to bag $100. Those are tremendous odds.
But the gap should close as we approach fight day, and for good reason. Viloria will be Gonzalez' toughest test, and that you can take to the bank.
"I'm physically ready. I have no weight issues," said the former unified flyweight world champion.
"I can step on the scale right now and probably make weight."
If weight issues are the only thing Viloria needs to worry about, then it's all well taken care of. It's just a few days away to the biggest fight of his career.
