Viloria's plans to fight in Hawai'i canceled by ESPN

Advertiser Staff

Brian Viloria's triumphant return home to box will be put on hold for a while.

Plans to have Viloria fight on an ESPN card in Honolulu in November were dismissed recently, according to manager Gary Gittelsohn.

"They sort of pulled the rug out from under us," Gittelsohn said. "We really thought something was going to happen, but then ESPN said that they couldn't do it because it was going to be too expensive."

Viloria won the vacant North American Boxing Federation (NABF) flyweight championship Aug. 30 in New York. Gittelsohn wanted the Waipahu boxer to make his first defense of that title in Hawai'i.

"We still want very badly to have Brian fight back home," Gittelsohn said. "I'd like to say we'd get there by February, but nothing is fixed in stone."

Instead, Viloria's next bout will likely be Nov. 8 at the Mountaineer Race Track and Gaming Resort in Chester, W.Va.

Gittelsohn said an opponent has not been determined but "it'll have to be a solid opponent" because the NABF title will likely be on the line. If an appropriate opponent is found, the bout could serve as the main event on ESPN2's Friday Night Fights.

Viloria is 9-0 with six knockouts as a professional flyweight (112 pounds). His last fight in Hawai'i was in May.