Posted on: Thursday, May 17, 2001

Viloria fighting for a future

By Ferd Lewis
Advertiser Staff Writer

His professional boxing debut was history, and Brian Viloria stood patiently backstage at the Hawai'i Convention Center waiting to pick up his first paycheck Tuesday afternoon.

"But first," said the man with the check, pointing to several copies of Viloria's fight poster arrayed across the table top, "could you please sign these?"

As Viloria obliged, more items kept appearing for him to autograph.

"I guess," said a bystander, "you're really going to have to earn this check."

Actually, even before the marathon autograph session, Viloria already had in a manner of few pro newcomers before him.

In a unanimous decision over Ben Juan Escobia, Viloria had bitten off more opposition than most promising fighters usually debut against. A development that was as refreshing as it was instructive.

Escobia was, in the vernacular of the sport, a trial horse. Somebody that promising newcomers have to get over to progress in their careers.

But he was also one most don't get that ambitious with right out of the amateur ranks, Olympic pedigree or not. Take, for example, Ivan Calderon, one of Viloria's Olympic rivals. Calderon, Puerto Rico's 106-pound Olympic representative who defeated Viloria in an early Olympic qualifier, didn't get around to Escobia, then a veteran of 29 bouts, eight of them 10-rounders, until his third professional fight. And even then, there was no knockout.

If Viloria had been under the protective wing of some of past promoters here, the betting is he wouldn't have seen someone of Escobia's caliber until his 10th or 12th fight.

For the number of wannabe champions here who have started their careers with pushover opponents and inflated records could have formed a human chain around the ring the other day. The number of would-be meal tickets who were served up their early opposition on a silver platter is legend.

Which is why it was both rare and interesting to see Viloria stepping in against Escobia from the start and how he handled the better shots Escobia landed.

Undoubtedly, part of the reason for the match is that ESPN2, if it was going to televise the bout, wanted more than a cadaver for opposition. But it also underlines that the people handling Viloria have both confidence in his ability and a long-range plan to develop him with each fight. While they don't figure to get foolish with their meal ticket, they are looking down the road when the experience he accumulates now pays off.

So while the wins and paychecks might not always come easily now, they should help the titles come easily later.