Brian Viloria (born November 24, 1980) is a retired American

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

descent. He is a former unified WBA and WBO

flyweight Flyweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Flyweight is a class in boxing which includes fighters weighing above 49 kg (108 lb) and up to 51 kg (112 lb). Professional boxing The flyweight division was the last of bo ...

champion, as well as a former WBC and

IBF The International Boxing Federation (IBF) is one of four major organizations recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) which sanctions professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing Counci ...

light flyweight Light flyweight, also known as junior flyweight or super strawweight, is a weight class in boxing. Professional boxing The weight limit at light flyweight in professional boxing is 108 pounds (49 kilograms). When New York legalized boxing in 1920 ...

champion. His nickname of "The Hawaiian Punch" was first given to him by

Jesus Salud Jesus Salud (born 3 May 1963) is a Filipino-born American former professional boxer. Originally from Sinait in the Philippines, he resides in Honolulu, Hawaii. He won the WBA super bantamweight title by disqualification on December 11, 1989, i ...

, a fellow Hawaiian of

descent and himself a former world champion in boxing.

Amateur career

In 1999, he won the US championships, the national

Golden Gloves The Golden Gloves is the name given to annual competitions for amateur boxing in the United States, where they are awarded a belt and a ring. And the title of nations champion is awarded. The Golden Gloves is a term used to refer to the Nation ...

and the world title as an amateur at the

1999 World Amateur Boxing Championships The Men's 1999 World Amateur Boxing Championships were held in Houston, United States from August 15 to August 29. The tenth edition of this competition, a year before the Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, was organised by the world governing ...

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

but lost early at the Sydney Olympics 2000 against Brahim Asloum, who he had beaten in the 1999 World Championships in Houston, Texas. His overall record was 230-8. He went to Northern Michigan University as part of the United States Olympic Education Center. Viloria bested both

Glenn Donaire Glenn Gonzales Donaire (born December 7, 1979) is a Filipino American former professional boxer who competed from 2000 to 2012, and challenged twice for world titles at flyweight and light flyweight. He is the older brother of former four-weight ...

in the quarter-finals, and future world champion

Nonito Donaire Nonito Gonzales Donaire Jr. (; ; born November 16, 1982) is a Filipino American professional boxer. He has held multiple world championships in four weight classes from flyweight to featherweight, and is the oldest boxer in history to win a ...

in the semi-finals of the 2000 US Olympic Trials. He won a spot on the 2000 Olympic team by defeating his one-time teammate, Karoz Norman. Viloria went to the Sydney Olympics as a medal favorite, but lost to eventual gold medalist Brahim Asloum of France, 6-4. Viloria landed dozens of body punches but the judges did not award points for his blows.

Amateur Highlights

*1995 National Junior Olympics Gold Medalist at 100 lbs. *1996 National Junior Olympics Gold Medalist at 106 lbs. *1996 World Junior Olympics Gold Medalist at 106 lbs. *1997 National Junior Olympics Bronze Medalist at 112 lbs. *1998 National Amateur Championships Bronze Medalist at 106 lbs. *1999 National Amateur Championships Gold Medalist at 106 lbs. *1999 National Golden Gloves Light Flyweight Gold Medalist *1999 World Amateur Championships Gold Medalist *1999 USA Boxer of The Year *Member of the 2000 US Olympic Team. His results were: **Defeated Sergey Kazakov (Russia) 8-6 **Lost to

Brahim Asloum Brahim Asloum ( ar, إبراهيم اسلوم, born 31 January 1979 in Bourgoin-Jallieu, Isère) is a French boxer. He won the Light Flyweight Gold medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics. His Olympic win was France's first Olympic gold medal in boxi ...

(France) 4-6

Professional career

Flyweight

Viloria started his professional career as a flyweight and picked up 17 wins with no defeats. He also captured and defended the NABF

Flyweight Flyweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Flyweight is a class in boxing which includes fighters weighing above 49 kg (108 lb) and up to 51 kg (112 lb). Professional boxing The flyweight division was the last of bo ...

title in the process before moving down to the

Light Flyweight Light flyweight, also known as junior flyweight or super strawweight, is a weight class in boxing. Professional boxing The weight limit at light flyweight in professional boxing is 108 pounds (49 kilograms). When New York legalized boxing in 1920 ...

division.

Light Flyweight

On September 10, 2005, Viloria dropped down to light flyweight and won the WBC crown by knocking out Eric Ortiz in the first round with a powerful right. He successfully defended it once on February 18, 2006, against

José Antonio Aguirre (boxer) José Antonio Aguirre Balderas (born 5 July 1975) is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1995 to 2015. He held the World Boxing Council, WBC minimumweight title from 2000 to 2004. Professional career Aguirre was born in Cárden ...

and was undefeated in 20 bouts. Viloria's unbeaten streak ended when he was dethroned by Mexican Omar Niño Romero on August 10, 2006. In a rematch held on November 18, 2006, at

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

, Romero held on to his title with a controversial

majority draw A majority draw is an outcome in several full-contact combat sports, including boxing, mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referre ...

decision, with Viloria knocking down Romero twice during the fight. Romero was then stripped of his title after failing a post fight drug test for methamphetamine and the decision was overturned into a no-contest. On April 14, 2007, he fought Edgar Sosa for the vacant WBC

title but lost via majority decision.

Super Flyweight

Viloria then decided to move up to the super flyweight division and began training under former champion, Robert Garcia, at La Colonia Gym in

Oxnard, California Oxnard () is a city in Ventura County, California, United States. On California's South Coast, it is the most populous city in Ventura County and the 22nd-most-populous city in California. Incorporated in 1903, Oxnard lies approximately west ...

. Brian Viloria won via unanimous decision against Jose Garcia Bernal (26-11-1) in his debut at the

super flyweight Super flyweight, also referred to as junior bantamweight, is a boxing weight classes, weight class in professional boxing, contested from and up to . History The first title match in this division was in 1980, when the World Boxing Council respond ...

division at the Alameda Swap Meet in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

on January 5, 2008. Viloria secured four more victories before deciding to move back down to

Return to Light Flyweight

On April 19, 2009, Viloria moved back down to junior flyweight to challenge Mexican Ulises "Archie" Solís for the

Junior Flyweight Light flyweight, also known as junior flyweight or super strawweight, is a weight class in boxing. Professional boxing The weight limit at light flyweight in professional boxing is 108 pounds (49 kilograms). When New York legalized boxing in 1920, ...

title. Pressured by a fading career due to his past losses in big fights, Viloria defeated Solis, whom at the time of the fight was rated the #1 Jr. Flyweight by The Ring in the 11th round with a vicious right to the jaw. The official bout stoppage was a KO 2:56 into the 11th round. The fight was held at

Araneta Coliseum The Araneta Coliseum, also currently known by naming rights sponsorship as Smart Araneta Coliseum, is an indoor multi-purpose sports arena that is part of the Araneta City in the Cubao area of Quezon City, Philippines. Nicknamed as "the Big Dom ...

in the Philippines, site of the

Thrilla in Manila Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier lll, billed as the "Thrilla in Manila", was the third and final boxing match between WBA, WBC, and '' The Ring'' heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali, and Joe Frazier, for the heavyweight championship of the world. T ...

, as the co-main event of the Donaire-Martinez fight. Viloria snapped Solis' 11-fight unbeaten streak, 8 of which were title defenses while extending his win streak to 6. Viloria successfully defended his

title on August 29, 2009, against Jesus Iribe. For his second defense, Viloria fought

Carlos Tamara Carlos José Tamara Paternina (born 15 March 1983) is a Colombian former professional boxer who competed from 2005 to 2013. He held the IBF light flyweight title in 2010 and previously challenged for the WBO flyweight title in 2008. As an amat ...

of Colombia on January 23, 2010. Though leading in points, the referee called a halt to the bout in Tamara's favor as Viloria was close to passing out in the twelfth round awarding Tamara a TKO victory and the belt. Moments following the bout, Viloria passed out due to extreme exhaustion.

Return to Flyweight

Viloria returned to the flyweight division against Mexico's Omar Soto on July 10, 2010, at the Yñares Sports Arena, Pasig, Metro Manila. On July 16, 2011, Viloria captured the WBO

title by besting Mexican

Julio César Miranda Julio César Miranda (born May 19, 1980), is a Mexican professional boxer and the former WBO Flyweight champion. Professional career Miranda began his professional career on August 19, 2000, with a unanimous decision win over Antonio Garibay. ...

. On December 10, 2011, Viloria stopped

Giovani Segura Giovani Segura Aguilar (born 1 April 1982) is a Mexican professional boxer. He is a former WBA, WBO, Lineal and ''The Ring'' magazine light flyweight champion. Amateur career Giovani began boxing at the age of 15 and had an amateur record o ...

by way of an 8th Round TKO. On May 13, 2012, Viloria stopped his rival Omar Niño Romero in the 9th round for another successful defense of his WBO

title. On November 17, 2012, Viloria challenged Hernan Marquez in a flyweight unification between his WBO title and the Marquez's WBA crown. He went on to stop Marquez in 10 rounds becoming the first flyweight unified world champion since 1965. Viloria then lost both titles to

Juan Francisco Estrada Juan Francisco Estrada Romero (born April 14, 1990) is a Mexican professional boxer. He is a two-weight world champion, having held ''The Ring'' super flyweight title since 2019. He previously held the WBA (Unified) and WBO flyweight titles be ...

on April 6, 2013. Viloria picked up four more wins before facing pound for pound king Román González on October 17, 2015, for the WBC and The Ring

titles. Viloria was stopped in the 9th round and lost via TKO. At the time of the stoppage, the scorecards were 78-73, 78-73 and 79-72 in favor of Gonzalez. Viloria, ranked #2 by the WBA, later fought Artem Dalakian, who was ranked #1 by the WBA, on February 24, 2018, for the WBA flyweight title but lost by unanimous decision. He subsequently retired after the fight.

Professional boxing record

{, class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" , - !No. !Result !Record !Opponent !Type !Round, time !Date !Location !Notes , - , 46 , Loss , 38–6 , align=left,

Artem Dalakian Artem Dalakian ( uk, Артем Далакян; born 10 August 1987) is a Ukrainian professional boxer of Armenian descent who has held the WBA flyweight title since 2018. As of June 2022, he is ranked as the world's fourth best active flyweight ...

, UD , 12 , Feb 24, 2018 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , 45 , Win , 38–5 , align=left, Miguel Cartagena , KO , 5 (10) , Sep 9, 2017 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , 44 , Win , 37–5 , align=left, Ruben Montoya , UD , 10 , Mar 2, 2017 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , 43 , Loss , 36–5 , align=left, Román González , TKO , 9 (12), , Oct 17, 2015 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , 42 , Win , 36–4 , align=left, Omar Soto , KO , 1 (8), , Jul 25, 2015 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , 41 , Win , 35–4 , align=left, Armando Vazquez , KO , 4 (10), , Dec 6, 2014 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , 40 , Win , 34–4 , align=left, José Alfredo Zúñiga , KO , 5 (10), , Jul 19, 2014 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , 39 , Win , 33–4 , align=left, Juan Herrera , UD , 10 , Mar 29, 2014 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , 38 , Loss , 32–4 , align=left,

, SD , 12 , Apr 6, 2013 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , 37 , Win , 32–3 , align=left,

Hernán Márquez Hernán Márquez Beltrán (born September 4, 1988), commonly known by his nickname "Tyson" Márquez, is a Mexican professional boxer. He held the WBA flyweight title from 2011 to 2012, and has challenged once for the WBA interim super flyweight ...

, TKO , 10 (12), , Nov 17, 2012 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , 36 , Win , 31–3 , align=left, Omar Niño Romero , TKO , 9 (12), , May 13, 2012 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , 35 , Win , 30–3 , align=left,

, TKO , 8 (12), , Dec 10, 2011 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , 34 , Win , 29–3 , align=left,

, UD , 12 , Jul 16, 2011 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , 33 , Win , 28–3 , align=left, Liempetch Sor Veerapol , TKO , 7 (10), , Nov 5, 2010 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , 32 , Win , 27–3 , align=left, Omar Soto , SD , 10 , Jul 10, 2010 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , 31 , Loss , 26–3 , align=left,

, TKO , 12 (12), , Jan 23, 2010 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , 30 , Win , 26–2 , align=left, Jesus Iribe , UD , 12 , Aug 29, 2009 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , 29 , Win , 25–2 , align=left,

Ulises Solís José Ulises Solís Pérez (born 28 August 1981) is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 2000 to 2013. He held the IBF junior flyweight title twice in his career from 2006 to 2009 and from 2011 to 2012. He is the brother of former ...

, KO , 11 (12), , Apr 19, 2009 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , 28 , Win , 24–2 , align=left, Benjamin Garcia , KO , 2 (10), , Dec 12, 2008 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , 27 , Win , 23–2 , align=left, Juan Javier Lagos , UD , 8 , Sep 25, 2008 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , 26 , Win , 22–2 , align=left, Fred Heberto Valdez , KO , 3 (10), , May 17, 2008 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , 25 , Win , 21–2 , align=left, Cesar Lopez , UD , 8 , Feb 16, 2008 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , 24 , Win , 20–2 , align=left, Jose Garcia Bernal , UD , 8 , Jan 4, 2008 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , 23 , Loss , 19–2 , align=left, Édgar Sosa , MD , 12 , Apr 14, 2007 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , 22 , style="background:#ddd;", NC , 19–1 , align=left, Omar Niño Romero , ND , 12 , Nov 18, 2006 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , 21 , Loss , 19–1 , align=left, Omar Niño Romero , UD , 12 , Aug 10, 2006 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , 20 , Win , 19–0 , align=left, José Antonio Aguirre , UD , 12 , Feb 18, 2006 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , 19 , Win , 18–0 , align=left,

Eric Ortiz Eric Ortiz Aparicio (born 19 May 1977 in Mexico City) is a Mexican professional boxer that competes in the light flyweight (108 lb) division. Pro career Ortiz turned pro in 1996 and in 2005 captured the vacant WBC light flyweight title with a ...

, KO , 1 (12), , Sep 10, 2005 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , 18 , Win , 17–0 , align=left, Ruben Contreras , TKO , 6 (8), , May 28, 2005 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , 17 , Win , 16–0 , align=left, Angel Antonio Priolo , KO , 7 (12), , Dec 16, 2004 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , 16 , Win , 15–0 , align=left, Gilberto Keb Baas , KO , 11 (12), , Jun 4, 2004 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , 15 , Win , 14–0 , align=left, Juan Alfonso Keb Baas , UD , 12 , Feb 13, 2004 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , 14 , Win , 13–0 , align=left, Luis Doria , TKO , 1 (10), , Jul 22, 2003 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , 13 , Win , 12–0 , align=left, Valentin Leon , TKO , 8 (10) , Apr 15, 2003 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , 12 , Win , 11–0 , align=left, Alejandro Moreno , UD , 12 , Jan 10, 2003 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , 11 , Win , 10–0 , align=left, Alberto Rossel , MD , 12 , Nov 24, 2002 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , 10 , Win , 9–0 , align=left, Juan Javier Lagos , UD , 12 , Aug 30, 2002 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , 9 , style="background:#DDD", , 8–0 , align=left, Alberto Rossel , UD , 12 , Jul 26, 2002 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , 8 , Win , 8–0 , align=left, Francisco Soto , TKO , 5 (10), , Jun 18, 2002 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , 7 , Win , 7–0 , align=left, Sandro Orlando Oviedo , KO , 1 (8), , May 17, 2002 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , 6 , Win , 6–0 , align=left, Leonardo Gutierrez , TKO , 4 (6) , Mar 15, 2002 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , 5 , Win , 5–0 , align=left, Antonio Perez , TKO , 3 (6), , Jan 5, 2002 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , 4 , Win , 4–0 , align=left, Mike Thomas , UD , 4 , Nov 23, 2001 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , 3 , Win , 3–0 , align=left, Sheldon Wile , TKO , 1 (4) , Nov 9, 2001 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , 2 , Win , 2–0 , align=left, Kenny Berrios , TKO , 4 (4), , Sep 28, 2001 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , 1 , Win , 1–0 , align=left, Benjamin Escobia , UD , 4 , May 15, 2001 , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center

Titles in boxing

''Major World Titles:'' * WBO Flyweight Champion ''(112 lbs)'' * WBA (Super) Flyweight title. ''(112 lbs)'' *

title. ''(108 lbs)'' * WBC Light Flyweight title. ''(108 lbs)'' ''Minor World Titles:'' * NABF Flyweight title. ''(112 lbs)'' * WBC Youth Flyweight title. ''(112 lbs)''

Outside the ring

On September 6, 2009, Viloria, who was in attendance at the

World Cup of Pool The World Cup of Pool is an annual international single-elimination tournament for doubles teams in nine-ball pool competition. The event has been dominated by the Philippines and China, with both nations winning the event on three occasions. Hi ...

, was chosen to perform the ceremonial break shot before the start of the final match. Because he never played pocket billiards before, Viloria miscued on his first attempt but achieved the shot on his second.

References

External links

*
2000 Olympics team infoProfileBrian Viloria - Profile, News Archive & Current Rankings
a
Box.Live
, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Viloria, Brian 1980 births Living people Olympic boxers of the United States Boxers at the 2000 Summer Olympics Ilocano people American sportspeople of Filipino descent Boxers from Hawaii American male boxers Filipino male boxers Light-flyweight boxers Flyweight boxers World light-flyweight boxing champions World flyweight boxing champions World Boxing Council champions International Boxing Federation champions World Boxing Organization champions World Boxing Association champions Winners of the United States Championship for amateur boxers AIBA World Boxing Championships medalists American people of Ilocano descent