On the undercard of Saturday’s eagerly anticipated Golovkin/Lemieux middleweight unification fight, veteran flyweight and former 2 division titlist, Brian Viloria, faces the prospect of dethroning one of the sports best P4P fighters in the undefeated Roman ‘Chocalatito’ Gonzalez, and claims he is more than ready to turn the spotlight firmly on the ‘little guys’ with his performance.
Roman Gonzalez
Photos: Chocolatito & Viloria hit MSG
Consensus #1 Pound For Pound Fighter in Boxing and WBC Flyweight World Champion Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez, (43-0, 37KOs) and four-time former world champion in two-weight divisions Brian “The Hawaiian Punch” Viloria (36-4, 22KOs) visited Madison Square Garden, “The Mecca of Boxing” today for the first time in anticipation of their championship battle this Saturday night, Oct. 17.
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Even mentioning that Title ‘The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly’ makes that Sergio Leone theme music begin playing in my head. But here, I’m actually going to point out, in this order, some of The Ugly, The Bad and The Good of Boxing. Since the world seems to be so screwed up lately, I do want to end on a positive note as hard as that seems sometimes.
First, the Ugly:
Golovkin: Lemieux is acting like a star
Boxing Superstar and WBA, IBO and WBC “Interim” Middleweight Champion Gennady “GGG” Golovkin, (33-0, 30KOs), Four-Time World Champion in two weight divisions, Brian “The Hawaiian Punch” Viloria, (36-4 (22KOs) and top junior welterweight prospect Ruslan Madiyev, 5-1-0 (3KOs) held media workouts for a huge gathering of local press on Tuesday afternoon at the Wild Card West Boxing Gym in Santa Monica, California.
Brian Viloria: Promising Action Against Roman Gonzalez
One fight hardcore fans are getting excited about along with all the upcoming treats this October and November, is the big flyweight clash that will take place on the Golovkin/Lemieux HBO PPV bill from Madison Square Garden, between Nicaraguan P4P star Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez (43-0, 37ko) and America’s “Hawaiian Punch” Brian Viloria (36-4, 22ko).
Even though the American former champ at fly and super fly is approaching 35 years old, he is still considered one of the most credible tests for the unbeaten Gonzalez, and has warned that he is far from “past-best,” promising that he still carries one of the hardest digs in the lower weight classes and cannot wait for fight night.
Roman Gonzalez/Brian Viloria a Done Deal for Golovkin/Lemieux PPV
After a fair bit of rumour, speculation and conjecture surrounding who would be in the opposite corner for the second HBO appearance of Nicaraguan flyweight sensation Roman Gonzalez, it has been confirmed that Hawaii’s Brian Viloria will indeed be the man challenging the P4P star on October 17th in New York on the Golovkin/Lemieux undercard.
Excitement is building for the fight, that many are hoping will see the 34 year old “Hawaiian Punch” – a former champ at light-fly and unified champ at flyweight – provide Gonzalez with his toughest test to date.
Clearly in confident mood, Gonzalez said of the fight;
Roman Gonzalez Added to Golovkin/Lemieux PPV Card
Roman Gonzalez (43-0, 37ko) had been one of boxing’s best kept secrets for a good while until his winning HBO debut on May’s Golovkin/Monroe undercard saw him gain an army of new fans, and now the P4P WBC flyweight champion has been added to the October 17th HBO Golovkin/Lemiueux PPV card in a bid to further boost his Stateside profile.
Gonzalez vs. Yaegashi + Estrada vs. Segura = Flyweight Wars
The Flyweight division doesn’t normally get the same attention or recognition as the fighters do at Welterweight, Super Middleweight, or the heavily debated Super Bantamweight. This week on two smaller networks beIN sports espanol and A.W.E., 4 Flyweights will battle for future paydays, pride, legacy, and unification supremacy.
Both fights feature similar stylistic matchmaking, the traditional puncher versus boxer match-up. In this case the boxer-types being Estrada and Yaegashi, have plenty of power and will engage in a brawl when the rubber hits the road.
The last few years Roman Gonzalez has been knocking on the door of elite status. This weekend presents a chance to kick that door in. Hardcore followers in the Western Hemisphere rave about “Chocolatito” aggression and knockout power, having stopped 33 opponents to go along with his 39 wins.
Roman Gonzalez was on the outside looking in on the pound for pound list because of a lackluster resume. After a somewhat softer run at 108, Gonzalez earned a signature win against Juan Francisco Estrada in a highly entertaining and competitive bout.