Posted at 7:40 p.m., Saturday, February 18, 2006
Viloria retains WBC light flyweight title
Associated Press
LAS VEGAS — Former U.S. Olympian Brian Viloria outpointed Jose Antonio Aguirre to retain his WBC light flyweight championship Saturday night at the Aladdin Resort and Casino.Viloria, a Waipahu High graduate, spent much of the night fighting against the ropes as he was content to let Aguirre move forward. However, Aguirre's offense vanished in the second half of the fight, allowing the champion to pull away.
Viloria, who won the title with a first-round knockout of Eric Ortiz on Sept. 10, picked up the pace after being urged by trainer Freddie Roach to go to the body.
"I need tough fights. I need tough rounds," Viloria said after improving to 19-0. "He did his homework and it was a great battle. He took a lot of my punches."
Aguirre, who dropped to 33-5-1, had been knocked out in his last two fights. He seemed to hurt Viloria in the second round, landing a hard overhand right that backed the champion into a neutral corner and then following with a right to the body.
Viloria turned the fight around by getting off the ropes. He hit Aguirre with a pair of hard right hands to start the seventh, the began a pattern that lasted the rest of the fight.
