Big undercard to feature Pinoys

It won’t just be Manny Pacquiao whom Filipino fans will be cheering for in the San Antonio show Saturday night (Sunday morning, Manila time).

Two other Filipinos are seeing action in a star-studded undercard. Hawaii-born Brian Viloria, whose parents are full-blooded Filipinos from Narvacan, battles Mexico’s Edgar Sosa for the vacant WBC lightflyweight title while Binangonan’s Bernabe Concepcion stakes his WBC Youth superbantamweight crown against Texas’ Benjamin Flores in a tenner.

If time allows, another Filipino prospect might be accommodated in the Top Rank program. Saranggani bantamweight Ernel Fontanilla is set to take on Torrence Daniels in a "swing" bout that will be held if the other fights in the card are abbreviated.

Viloria, 26, is out to regain the WBC 108-pound title he lost to Omar Niño Romero last year. He fought Romero to a majority draw in a rematch but the throne was later declared vacant after the Mexican tested positive for an illegal substance.

Sosa, 27, has not lost in his last 14 outings and will be an acid test for Viloria who reports for work with new trainer Joe Goosen in his corner. Sosa’s record is 26-5, with 14 KOs, compared to Viloria’s 19-1-1, with 12 KOs. Viloria’s manager Gary Gittelsohn said he’s afraid of what could happen to Sosa in the ring. "Brian is back to being the Brian of old," said Gittelsohn. "I’m convinced we’ll see the best Brian on fight night. In the gym, he’s been throwing punches all three minutes of every round – no shortcuts. Brian has been responding to Goosen like a thirsty man in the desert."

Concepcion, 19, outpointed previously unbeaten Joksan Hernandez for the WBC Youth title in Las Vegas last November and has since halted Korean Jae Chun Moon to raise his record to 19-2-1, with 11 KOs. Flores, 22, is coming off three straight wins and will enjoy the hometown advantage. His record is 14-2, with four KOs.

Fontanilla, 25, was described by trainer Buboy Fernandez as the next Pacquiao because of his natural power. A former Palarong Pambansa medalist, Fontanilla has scored four first round KOs in an 8-3-1 record since turning pro in 2002. Daniels, 32, has won his last four outings, two by KO. His record is 9-2-1, with four KOs.

In other bouts, WBC superflyweight champion Christian Mijares faces crowd-pleasing flamboyant challenger Jorge Arce and unbeaten lightmiddleweight Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. meets Anthony Shuler.

Mijares, 25, is making the first defense of the 115-pound crown he wrested from Katsushige Kawashima in Tokyo last January. Arce, 27, is a former WBC lightflyweight titlist whose victims include Filipinos Juanito Rubillar (twice), Carmelo Caceres, Jovan Presbiterio and Joma Gamboa. A southpaw, Mijares has a 30-3-2 record, with 12 KOs, while Arce’s record is 46-3-1, with 35 KOs.

Chavez, 21, boasts of a 30-0-1 record, with 23 KOs, and has a seven-inch advantage in reach over Shuler whose record is 20-4-1, with 14 KOs.