ISLE FILE
Viloria to fight replacement foe

Advertiser Staff

A little more than 24 hours before his scheduled North American Boxing Federation flyweight bout tomorrow, Waipahu's Brian Viloria is preparing for a new opponent.

Gabriel Munoz, who was to have fought Viloria on ESPN2 "Friday Night Fights" card in New York, was removed from the show by the New York State Athletic Commission yesterday after an MRI exam disclosed a "career-ending" irregularity, according to Viloria's manager, Gary Gittelsohn.

Gittelsohn said he was told Munoz had a neurological condition.

Instead, Viloria, the NABF's No. 3 flyweight, will fight Javier Lagos of Mexico City on the nationally televised card, subject to commission approval, Gittelsohn said.

Lagos, who is 14-7-2 with four knockouts, was training in Texas for another fight when he agreed to meet Viloria for the vacant title. Lagos, who was deemed the next available NABF contender, was due to arrive in New York early this morning.

"It is a miracle we were able to get a substitute at this late date," Gittelsohn said. "But it is fortunate we found out about Munoz's condition. It might have saved his life. And, the last thing we would have wanted is for Brian to have (permanently harmed) another fighter."

New York is one of the few states that requires neurological exams for fighters to be licensed.

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