What some people thought would be the fight of the night turned out to be
the shortest fight of the night as Brian Viloria knocked out Eric Ortiz at the
end of the first round to capture the WBC light flyweight title.
Unfortunately, the bout was not shown on HBO, but was still a highly
anticipated bout on the "Double Trouble" card among boxing fans and the crowd
at the Staples Center. Viloria becomes yet another 2000 U. S. Olympian to win
a world title in his first try.
The opening round was actually a very close round until Viloria turned it
around near the end of the round. Ortiz was able to do some good body work
while in close, and Viloria was able to do his better work at a distance.
However, late in the round Viloria rattled Ortiz with a hard right cross.
Ortiz wobbled onto the ropes with shaky legs, and the "Hawaiian Punch" jumped
on him. Right at the end of the round Viloria landed another crisp right on
the kisser, which dropped Ortiz hard. Ortiz beat the count, but looked very
dazed; as he reached his feet he immediately stumbled back down causing
referee Raul Caiz Jr. to halt the fight. Just like that, Brian Viloria became
the new WBC light flyweight champion. Viloria of Waipahu, Hawaii improves to
18-0, while Ortiz of Mexico City falls to 24-5-1.
As soon as the fight was halted Viloria fell to his knees in elation
pounding the mat with his hands. After the time was announced, Viloria took
the microphone and once again dedicated the fight to Ruben Contreras who was
ringside. Viloria said that it brought tears to his eyes that Contreras was
present.
In the other off-TV bouts on the "Double Trouble" card, former 2004 U.S.
Olympian Vanes Martirosyan dominated Gerardo Prieto scoring a shutout
unanimous decision in a junior middleweight bout. Martirosyan wobbled Prieto
once in the third round with an overhand right, but could never drop the tough
Prieto. Nonetheless, Martirosyan picked Prieto apart throughout the fight,
including the final round in which Prieto looked hurt. Martirosyan of
Glendale, California improves to 4-0, while Prieto of Mexico City falls to
4-3-1.
Philippine bantamweight sensation Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista knocked out
Felix Flores of Columbia at 1:11 of the third round. The highly touted
Bautista improves to 15-0 with 12 KOs in his United States debut, while Flores
falls to 13-5-1.
In a four round super lightweight slugfest, Hector Leyva of Los Angeles
TKO’d David Rodela of Oxnard, California at 2:28 of the final round. The bout
was a back and forth non-stop war until finally Rodela gave way. Leyva
improves to 2-0, while Rodela falls to 2-1-1.
This wrapped up an exciting and shocking night of boxing from the Staples
Center in Los Angeles. The card was presented
by Top Rank.
Questions?
Comments can be emailed to Tom Dickey