Two of the most exciting fighters in the lighter weight divisions of boxing will battle on December 11 as Brian Viloria (29-3-0, 16 KOs) defends his World Boxing Organization (WBO) flyweight title for the very first time against a dangerous opponent in Giovanni Segura (28-1-1, 24 KOs) of Mexico.
Viloria won this title with a dominant unanimous decision victory over Julio Cesar Miranda back in July. This is win made Viloria a two-division world champion with three title reigns in total. In his two earlier title reigns, Viloria lost his belts on his second title defense but after wresting the WBO flyweight title from Miranda, Viloria promised to make this title reign last a lot longer than his first two.
Segura who has been hailed as the King of the Light Flyweights will go up in weight to challenge the Hawaiian Punch. The Mexican spitfire who is currently ranked ninth on Ring Magazine’s Pound-for-pound list has made a name for himself by blasting his opponents with reckless aggression. Segura’s power was proven to be legitimate when he knocked out the erstwhile undefeated Ivan Calderon of Puerto Rico.
Last June, Segura fought a keep-busy fight in the super flyweight division where he knocked out Eddy Zuniga in a single round. He has an amazing 80% knockout ratio but he has proven that fighting the whole 12 rounds will not e a problem for him.
“I’ve sparred with Segura in the past and we beat the hell out of each other,” said Viloria. “It was the kind of sparring where we could have charged the audience for an entrance fee and they wouldn’t have complained.”
On December 10, these two fighters will get to do the real thing. This fight is a potential fight of the year candidate as the two fighters will surely come out to brawl. The Viloria-Segura tiff has generated a lot of interest from the boxing world as the two are ranked highly in their own divisions. The two fighters have proven time and again that they belong to the top tier of fighters and a win over the other will definitely catapult them higher in the pound-for-pound rankings.
“Segura is a very dangerous opponent for me but if I beat him, I’ll get to keep my title and grad his slot in Ring’s pound-for-pound rankings,” shared Viloria.
The supporting main event for the Viloria-Segura title fight will feature veteran Mexican fighter Martin Honorio (31-6-1, 16 KOs) versus Fahsai Sakkreerin (36-2-0, 20 KOs) of Thailand for the IBF interim super featherweight title.
Al Sabaupan (17-0-1 12 KOs) vs Roy Muklis (23-3-2 18 KOs Indonesia) IBF Pan Pacific Championship.
Lolito Sonsona (17-0-1 12 KOs) vs Arden Diale (16-6-3 4KOs) Philippine Flyweight Championship.
Island Assault 3: Champion VS Champion tickets are available through Ticket Net (SM outlets) and TicketWorld—VIP: Php 500, Ringside: Php 400, Courtside: Php 250, Bleachers: Php 150. For more information visit www.solarsports.ph.
IABA UPDATE (EGAN, CUMMINGS AND SHEEHAN INTO FINALS AT OLYMPIC TEST EVENT
IRISH BOXING ASSOCIATION
Ken Egan, Conrad Cummings and Con Sheehan advanced to Sunday’s finals at the Olympic Test Event following wins at the ExCel in London tonight.
Dublin southpaw Egan beat Australia’s Damien Hooper, the 2010 Olympic Youth champion who is officially ranked number two in the world by AIBA, 15-11 to record his second win at the ExCel in 48 hours.
The 2008 Olympic silver medalist will now meet Yamaguchi Florentino of Brazil, a silver medal winner at the 2011 Pan American Games, in Sunday’s light-heavyweight final.
Belfast middleweight Cummings produced a fine performance to see off Brazilian Esquiva Florentino 19-13 and set up a 75Kg decider with Maxim Koptyakov of Russia.
Florentino – who’d received a number of cautions – was given a public warning for dropping his head in the third round of tonight’s clash. Cummings, who boxes out of the Holy Trinity club, was 13-10 in front going into the final round of a hard-punching duel.
Tipperary super-heavyweight Sheehan, meanwhile, will meet Evgnios Lazaridis of Greece tomorrow following his 11-7 decision over Mohammad Arjaoui of Morocco.
The Clonmel BC stand out took the first round 3-2 and led 6-5 going into the third and final stanza.
David Oliver Joyce and Tommy McCarthy bowed out at the semi-final stage tonight.
Joyce lost 13-9 to Eugen Burhard of Germany in the lightweight semi-final.
Burhard, who 9-3 ahead going into the final frame, took two standing counts in the third as the St Michael’s Athy man finished the stronger. The first round ended 2-2.
McCarthy dropped a 16-9 decision to experienced Kazakh heavyweight Vassily Levit. The Belfast man found himself 5-3 in arrears at the end of the first but turned in a good second round to reduce the deficit to 9-7.
However, Levit found the target seven times in the last round to secure his place in Sunday’s 91Kg final.
Sunday’s program begins at 10.30am. The women’s finals will be decided first.
Olympic Test Event ExCel London
November 24th Quarter-finals
81Kg: Ken Egan (Ireland) beat Xuan Bao (China) 13-6
November 25th Quarter-finals
51Kg: Declan Geraghty (Ireland) lost to Worapoj Petchkoom (Thailand) 12-13
60Kg: David Oliver Joyce (Ireland) beat Donato Consenza (Italy) 12-8
November 26th Semi-Finals
60kg: David Oliver Joyce (Ireland) lost to Eugen Burhard (Germany) 9-13
75Kg: Conrad Cummings (Ireland) beat Esquiva Florentino (Brazil) 19-13
81Kg: Ken Egan (Ireland) beat Damien Hooper (Australia) 15-11
91Kg: Tommy McCarthy (Ireland) lost to Vassily Levit (Kazakhstan) 9-16
91Kg+: Con Sheehan (Ireland) beat Mohammad Arjaoui (Morocco) 11-7
November 27th Finals
75Kg: Conrad Cummings (Ireland) v Makim Koptyakov (Russia)
81Kg: Ken Egan (Ireland) v Yamatguchi Florentino (Brazil)
91Kg+: Con Sheehan (Ireland) v Evgnios Lazaridis (Greece)
Irish squad
56Kg: Declan Geraghty (Crumlin)
60Kg: David Oliver Joyce (St Michael’s Athy)
75Kg: Conrad Cummings (Holy Trinity)
81Kg; Ken Egan (Neilstown)
91Kg: Tommy McCarthy (Oliver Plunkett)
91+Kg: Con Sheehan (Clonmel)
Team manager: Des Donnelly
Coaches: Billy Walsh & Zuar Antia
Physio: Conor McCarthy
Weights from Bialystok, Poland: Kuziemski vs. Ngumbu
Vacant WBF World Light Heavyweight Title:
Aleksy Kuziemski, 22-3 (6) / Poland: 79,1 Kg. / 174,4 Lbs.
Doudou Ngumbu, 27-3 (11) / France: 79,0 Kg. / 174,2 Lbs.
Promoter: Boxing Production / Dariusz Snarski.
Ibarra fan appreciation and public workout day
(Houston, Texas)- Majestic Raven Entertainment in association with Stay Young Entertainment and Hanks Gym Invite you to the public training session featuring Gerardo “TinTin”Ibarra at Hanks Gym located at 5320 Elm Street 77081. The open training is open to the public and will begin at 2:00pm and will end at 3:15pm. You are invited to attend the session which will feature:
Ibarra training
Photo and autograph opportunities for fans and media
Interview opportunity for the media.
Ibarra(11-0, 8 KOs) of Houston, is scheduled to fight December 10th, 2011 at the Arabian Shrine Center located at 10510 Harwin Drive 77036.
Houston, Texas.- Majestic Raven Entertainment in association with Stay Young Entertainment and Hanks Gym Invite you to the public training session featuring Gerardo “TinTin”Ibarra at Hanks Gym located at 5320 Elm Street 77081. The open training is open to the public and will begin at 2:00pm and will end at 3:15pm. You are invited to attend the session which will feature:
Ibarra training
Photo and autograph opportunities for fans and media
Interview opportunity for the media.
Ibarra(11-0, 8 KOs) of Houston, is scheduled to fight December 10th, 2011 at the Arabian Shrine Center located at 10510 Harwin Drive 77036.