Viloria's third title defense set for July 22 in California

Advertiser Staff and News Services

Unbeaten Brian Viloria of Waipahu will defend his North American Boxing Federation flyweight championship in the main event of a July 22 ESPN2 card, the network said yesterday.

Viloria, who is 12-0 with seven knockouts, will be defending the title he won in August for the third time. His opponent has yet to be determined.

The scheduled 12-rounder will be held at the Sea Venture Hotel & Resort in Pismo Beach, Calif., 188 miles north of Los Angeles. The two-hour Tuesday Night Fights card is scheduled to start at 4 p.m. Hawai'i time, the network said.

Viloria, a Sydney Olympian, hasn't fought since scoring an eighth-round technical knockout of Valentin Leon on April 15 at the Sheraton Waikiki Hotel.

• Pre-fight spat: Christy Martin didn't wait until Aug. 23 to take a swing at Laila Ali.

Martin took a swing at Ali during her remarks at a press conference yesterday at the Gulfport Grand Casino that was promoting their Aug. 23 bout at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum at Gulfport, Miss.

Ali grabbed a fistful of Martin's blonde hair in defense, then the various promoters on the stage separated the two female fighters before the podium came crashing to the floor.

It was not clear whether the 5-foot-4 Martin was trying to intimidate the 5-10 Ali, for their upcoming IBA super middleweight title bout, or a staged ploy to hype the fight.