‘Anything is possible’: A candid and revealing discussion with Brian Viloria

To say that Viloria’s career has been unfulfilling would be wrong, as he did indeed find the strength within him to capture three world title belts, the most recent being the WBO flyweight title after a gutty victory over Julio Cesar Miranda two weekends ago in Honolulu. But in compiling his 29-3 (16) record that he now holds, Viloria suffered some rough losses along the way that may have broken a lesser fighter and certainly left him with some detractors trying to point out his flaws instead of appreciating his accomplishments.

 

Such defeats included an upset decision loss to Omar Nino Romero at the Orleans Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas in August of 2006, a majority decision loss to Edgar Sosa two fights later in San Antonio, and most recently a humbling final-round TKO defeat at the hands of Carlos Tamara in the Philippines in early 2010. The Tamara loss was especially hard to deal with as Viloria had the lead heading into the 12th round but simply was gassed out and stopped as he surrendered his IBF light flyweight crown to the determined Columbian.

 

 

 

 

So, as he headed into his bout with Miranda on July 16th, a lot was on the line and Viloria went into the contest with the mindset of a seasoned professional set on making the most out of his abilities. Seeing things far differently now as a 30-year old veteran with ten years of experience under his belt, you can tell by talking to Viloria just how much he has learned while in the sport of boxing and how much he realizes that every moment at this point in his career is extremely precious.

 

I caught up with Viloria recently to get his take on all of the trials he has been through as a professional and the lessons he has learned along the way. Viloria also spoke of the resiliency he had to muster in coming back from his previous defeats and how it feels to be a champion again. A fight with junior flyweight champion Giovanni Segura has been creating some interest and Viloria answered the Mexican’s wishes during our discussion.

 

In his own words, this is what ‘The Hawaiian Punch’ had to say…

 

“Just a sense of accomplishing something that I was up for since the beginning of this year. It’s very fulfilling to win a world title. Whenever you go into a fight and you come out with a victory, you just have a sense of achievement. And I felt great when they told me that I was the victor in the fight on Saturday.”

 

“I think it was just the game plan. Using my strengths, my speed. Everything came together in that fight. Just going out there and not getting overanxious or overconfident in certain areas, just sticking to my plan and what we set out to do in training. Everything came together on Saturday and it was perfect; it helped me get the win.”

 

“Confidence and a lot of experience. The confidence that I have when I step into the ring is a lot more than when I first turned pro. Just a sense of knowing what to do, how to pace yourself, not getting too anxious and not getting too excited over certain things. And not finding myself in trouble during certain times. The experience that I have has made me more of a confident fighter.”

 

“In the sport of boxing it’s really hard to stay on top. When you become a world champion there is a target on your back and everyone is going to try to gun for you. Also, when you think you are the best out there you are going to have one person that is going to be better than you. So, you have to work hard or that one person is going to knock you off of your horse. But if you train hard and keep yourself composed and dedicated to the sport, than the sky is the limit for you.”

 

“The ethic that I have with my work and the heart that I have, not letting title losses get the best of me. I’ve bounced back and I learned that I’m really resilient as a fighter. I look to come back and do better when I find myself on top. If I’m down and everybody is counting me out, I tend to rise back and do my best and rise to the occasion.”

“What I learned is that not everybody out there is your friend. Everyone has their own personal interest regardless of what your interests are. It’s about knowing the right people, the people that support you and help you get to where you want to get. If you don’t do your homework and pay attention to those type of things you can easily get taken advantage of.”

 

“It’s tough. It’s always tough when you lose. You expect the best from yourself and you always expect to win when you train your hardest and you give it your all. Sometimes it doesn’t happen that way but you just have to take it the way it is and learn from it. You have to better yourself so the next time around you understand how everything works and it can better you. Just knowing that, you are more, I guess, alert.”

 

“Yeah, I felt there were a lot people who felt that but when you believe in yourself then you can always prove your doubters wrong. You can always prove to yourself that it’s really up to you. It’s up to yourself when it’s time to hang it up or when it’s time to keep going. My last fight was a testament to what everybody can do if you believe in yourself and if you want it and work hard enough to get it. Anything is possible if you believe.”

 

“I guess my main goal is to try and hang on to this belt a lot longer than I did the first time. Just to work twice as hard as I did when I won this world title. Right now I just want to rest up, heal my body properly, and get back to work.”

 

“He’s a good fighter. We used to spar a lot. But I don’t think he has what it takes to beat me. I’m more a technical, skilled fighter than he is. I think he relies too much on his power and what you can’t hit, you can’t really knock out.”