Viloria stakes belts against Mexican foe
Brian Viloria knows he is not getting any younger and, at 32, he wants to grasp every opportunity but at the same time avoid damaging his body.
Viloria (32-3 with 19 knockouts), who will be defending his World Boxing Association and World Boxing Organization flyweight belts against Juan Francisco Estrada (22-2 with 18 knockouts) on Saturday in Cotai Arena in Macau, said he is still learning a lot of new things and has enough gas left inside his tank.
“There’s a lot of times where I only fought maybe once or twice in a year, so I feel like I don’t have that much wear and tear on my body yet. So when that time comes [retirement], when I do feel like it’s time to hang ‘em up, I’ll know,” said Viloria in an interview with MaxBoxing.com.
Viloria said the pressure has mounted as he defends his titles against the 22-year-old Mexican—even going to the extent of thinking this will be his last fight.
“I know how important, how big the target is on my back. I know how everybody is going to bring their A-game to come to fight night,” said Viloria.
“So that when people say, ‘Who are you going to be fighting after this fight?’ I’m like, ‘This is going to be my last fight but I’ll win.’ So that’s how I approach this now. It’s a do-or-die situation for me every fight,” he added.
Viloria also looks to leave a legacy in boxing, instead of becoming a mere footnote in the history of the sport.
“People ask me what’s motivating me right now. I tell them, ‘Just to leave my mark on the sport before I retire,’” Viloria said, who is hoping to further unify the 112-pound belts with a possible unification bout with World Boxing Council holder Toshiyuki Igarashi of Japan.
“I’m still trying to grasp every little corner. This sport is always changing from fight to fight. There’s always going to be a different way to fight and I feel Like I’m still learning this sport.”
But Viloria is focused on getting past Estrada as undefeated Puerto Rican Jonathan Gonzalez announced his desire to fight him.
“[I have] no distractions on this trip. [All I do is] sleep, read a book, watch movies and sleep. [But] time’s moving so slow. Wish it was fight night already,” said Viloria.
Viloria (32-3 with 19 knockouts), who will be defending his World Boxing Association and World Boxing Organization flyweight belts against Juan Francisco Estrada (22-2 with 18 knockouts) on Saturday in Cotai Arena in Macau, said he is still learning a lot of new things and has enough gas left inside his tank.
“There’s a lot of times where I only fought maybe once or twice in a year, so I feel like I don’t have that much wear and tear on my body yet. So when that time comes [retirement], when I do feel like it’s time to hang ‘em up, I’ll know,” said Viloria in an interview with MaxBoxing.com.
Viloria said the pressure has mounted as he defends his titles against the 22-year-old Mexican—even going to the extent of thinking this will be his last fight.
“I know how important, how big the target is on my back. I know how everybody is going to bring their A-game to come to fight night,” said Viloria.
“So that when people say, ‘Who are you going to be fighting after this fight?’ I’m like, ‘This is going to be my last fight but I’ll win.’ So that’s how I approach this now. It’s a do-or-die situation for me every fight,” he added.
Viloria also looks to leave a legacy in boxing, instead of becoming a mere footnote in the history of the sport.
“People ask me what’s motivating me right now. I tell them, ‘Just to leave my mark on the sport before I retire,’” Viloria said, who is hoping to further unify the 112-pound belts with a possible unification bout with World Boxing Council holder Toshiyuki Igarashi of Japan.
“I’m still trying to grasp every little corner. This sport is always changing from fight to fight. There’s always going to be a different way to fight and I feel Like I’m still learning this sport.”
But Viloria is focused on getting past Estrada as undefeated Puerto Rican Jonathan Gonzalez announced his desire to fight him.
“[I have] no distractions on this trip. [All I do is] sleep, read a book, watch movies and sleep. [But] time’s moving so slow. Wish it was fight night already,” said Viloria.
Comments
Post a Comment