VILLORIA STEALS THE SHOW IN MANILA

BY TED LERNER

(Manila)–By all accounts Brian Villoria is a great kid who had a solid family upbringing and who wouldn’t pick up a dime off the street if he wasn’t sure who it belonged to. But he did something on Sunday morning in Manila that even he probably didn’t expect he’d do. He completely stole the show on the “Flash and Furious” fight card at the Araneta Colisseum, knocking out tough Mexican Ulises Solis in the 11^th round of a scintillating fight, and capturing Solis’ IBF Jr. Flyweight belt.

Although the show was billed as a double main event, the headliner was actually IBF Flyweight champion Nonito Donaire. Donaire(21-1, 14 KO’s) had gotten much more attention in the prefight buildup as many Filipino fans felt that the 28 year old Villoria had lost his edge over the last few years, and certainly would have a difficult time  finding it against one of the best Jr. Flyweights in the world. Donaire has consistently been on fans’ radar as the second best Filipino fighter after Manny Pacquiao. And indeed Donaire certainly did nothing to lessen this belief, as he completely destroyed an over matched Raul Martinez(24-1, 14 ko’s) in the main event, handing the Mexican-American a four round drubbing.

But it was the performance of Villoria(25-2, 15 kos) in the previous fight which had the 10,000 plus fans going bonkers. Solis(28-2-2, 20 Ko’s) came into the fight having defended his belt eight straight times. He was also ranked number two in the world by the Ring, which is proof he is more than an ordinary alphabet champion.

Villoria was riding a six fight winning streak, but talk among fans was that Villoria had  reached his peak three and a half years ago, when he knocked out Eric Ortiz in the first round to win the WBC light flyweight championship.   He then lost the title to Omar Nino with an awful performance in 2006, and then failed to get that belt back when he lost a close majority decision to Edgar Sosa in April of 2007.  Sure he’d won five straight fights since the Sosa defeat. But he had yet to deliver a truly memorable performance and fans were right to doubt him.

It seems all that persistent doubt and negativity were just the motivation that Villoria needed to turn his career around. He trained like an animal for three and half months in the Oxnard, California gym of Roberto and Eduardo Garcia. At the weigh-in before the fight, he looked relaxed and confident, and threw caution to the wind by predicting the champion’s win streak would soon be coming to an end.

Villoria was so jacked up that he never engaged in the usual feeling out in the first round, and instead came charging out at the opening bell like a bull who had simply had enough of being taunted by the red cape of a deranged matador. Villoria landed several flush combinations and appeared to have established complete control over the champion, all of which had the crowd going wild.

In the second round Villoria started in with a whirling flurry and the Coliseum erupted as Solis looked trapped against the ropes. Not all the punches landed and when Villoria stepped back, he looked winded. Solis kept his composure and engaged in some steady business of his own and appeared to take the round.

Solis had a point deducted in the third round for a series of low blows, but overall he kept up the steady pace. As he would all night, Villoria landed some good clean right hands. Solis soaked them up and continued to throw and land as well. The following round was more of the same, with both fighters clearly at the top of their games and ready and willing to engage in battle. It was clear that this was going to be a fascinating grind to the finish.

Blood started trickling out of Solis’ right eye in the fifth, and then the champion went downstairs two more times, prompting referee Bruce McTavish to deduct another point. While McTavish was taking the point away, Villoria banged his chest and urged the crowd to get loud. When the action resumed, Villoria went on the offensive and took the round, 10-8.

In the sixth Solis continued to grind it out and keep busy, and he landed some clean combinations. Villoria kept throwing the right with some success but it appeared he was going for the one punch knockout. Solis seemed to take the round, and the fight halfway through was even.

Solis continued with his steady attack in the first half of the seventh round, but suddenly seemed to tire in the second half. Villoria landed flush with several of his jab-straight combinations and was suddenly starting to look like the fresher of the two fighters. In the eighth the action was give and take until Solis rocked and slightly staggered Villoria near the end to take the round.

The fight entered the championship rounds pretty much dead even and it was clearly going to come down to what is often does in boxing; sheer guts and desire, who’s in better shape, who can simply outwork who. In this case, Villoria came through with the performance of his life. He landed some hard combinations to the face of Solis, which was starting to look as red as that matador’s cape. Villoria was clearly getting his second win and he looked to be enjoying himself.  He took the 9^th and the 10^th rounds and needed the 11^th to put the fight out of reach.

The 11^th was going pretty much the same as the previous two rounds when Villoria finished it off in highlight film style. He smashed Solis on the chin with as perfect a right hand as you’ll ever see in the squared circle. Solis crumbled forward to the canvass, banging his head as he went down. McTavish reached the count of ten, and the celebrations for Team Villoria and his suddenly believing fans began.

“My conditioning was no doubt,” Villoria said. “One of the best conditionings of my career. The way we trained, in the mountains, at the beaches, running every day. We really emphasized conditioning. My skills are there. I’ve got all the tools I needed. It was just me having the fuel and the gas to last through 12 rounds to help me fuel my skills.

Promoter Bob Arum then came into the press room and declared that he wanted Villoria to fight Puerto Rico’s Ivan Calderon in Manila in November. Calderon is the Ring’s Jr. Flyweight champion so that fight, if it materializes, would be for the undisputed Jr. Flyweight title. Few Filipinos will be doubting Villoria in the lead up to that fight.

* * *

In the main event at the Araneta, Donaire looked positively stellar. The problem was that his opponent, Raul Martinez, didn’t look anything like a top contender who hadn’t lost in all of his 24 fights.

As he walked out of his dressing room and into the arena, Martinez had the look of a very worried man. He admitted afterwards that this was the biggest fight he’d ever fought and clearly the big time atmosphere had gotten to him even before he stepped into the ring.

Once inside the ring, things went from bad to worse for the native of San Antonio, Texas. Donaire, fighting for the first time in the Philippines, came out guns blazing, knocking down a nervous and stiff Martinez twice. Donaire dished out more brutal punishment in the second, firing off cat-like quick punches from every conceivable angle and flooring Martinez with the same short, hard left that he fed to Vic Darchinyan.

The pace slowed in the third, but Donaire continued to showcase his impressive arsenal. Finally in the fourth, Donaire finished it off with a brutal upper cut that sent Martinez down to the canvas. Referee Pete Podgorski thankfully stepped in and called a halt to the bout.

Afterwards, Donaire said he would probably move up to either Jr. Bantamweight or Bantamweight. In the press room Arum poo-pooed any thought of a fight with Darchinyan. He said that Darchinyan couldn’t draw flies to a dump, so it wasn’t worth his time and investment. He said he’d like Donaire to fight the winner of the Fernando Montiel-Eric Morel 118 pound fight.

While most boxing fans would wholeheartedly beg to differ, Arum said he is looking at promoting the fight, along with Villoria-Calderon, in Manila sometime in November.

This article also appears on www.asianboxingnews.com