MACAU – WBO/WBA flyweight champion Brian ‘The Hawaiian Punch’ Viloria (32W-3L, 19 KOs) and Mexican challenger Juan Francisco ‘El Gallo’ Estrada (22W-2L, 18 KOs) had a final round of saber-rattling yesterday during final press conference for their Saturday night fight billed as ‘Fists of Gold’ at the Venetian Macau Resort Hotel.
Estrada’s manager Juan Hernandez fired the first salvo by saying that “we are here to prove a point. I hope after this fight the world will realize that we have a special fighter in Estrada.”
“I feel very good, better than when I fought Roman Gonzales,” Estrada said referring to his WBA light flyweight title loss last year. “Four pounds was a big difference, I had to go down to 108, now I feel better at 112 lbs.”
This sentiment was echoed by Mexican Promoter Fernando Beltran of Zanfer Promotions who added that Estarda will show that he is the best 112 lb fighter in the world. Team Estrada talked about Viloria’s reputation as a ‘Mexican Assassin’ after beating the likes of Julio Cesar Miranda, Giovani Segura, Omar Nino Romero and Hernan ‘Tyson’ Marquez and they vowed to reverse the trend.
VILORIA IS THE BEST
Viloria’s manager Gary Gittelsohn countered by saying that on the day of the fight the world will see that Viloria is one of the best flyweights in history.
“I beg to differ with what Estrada said,” a confident Viloria spoke calmly before the packed ballroom. “A couple of years ago I was down, people said I was through. But after a string of wins against tough Mexican fighters, I thanked God I stuck to the sport. I continued training and believing that I could win another championship.”
Gittelsohn also thanked the Philippine press for supporting Viloria. He spoke about Macau becoming the next boxing capital of the world while Top Rank CEO Bob Arum and WBO VP for Asia-Pacific Leon Panoncillo also spoke about this historic first world title bout in Macau and the first major WBO world championship event in China.
The card will also feature the pro debut of China’s two time Olympic gold medalist Zou Shiming, who will take on Eleazar Valenzuela of Mexico in a four rounder.
Legendary trainer Freddie Roach, who handles both Viloria and Shiming told CDN that he is very confident of his ward’s chances.
“He is a good student,” Roach said. “He learns fast and was able to handle himself very well against Viloria during sparring.”
This blockbuster card will also feature the WBO superfeatherweight title match between champion Roman ‘Rocky’ Martinez of Puerto Rico and challenger Diego Magdaleno of the U.S.