Viloria not in mood to give up WBO title

MANILA, Philippines - Brian Viloria is looking at many options but vacating his WBO title is not one of them.

The Fil-American boxer who recently unified the WBO and WBA flyweight titles faced questions yesterday regarding his immediate plans.

He said he wants to rest and enjoy the holidays with his family first before he decides on whom to fight either in February or March.

Viloria knocked out Mexico’s Hernan “Tyson” Marquez last Nov. 16 in Los Angeles. The victory opened many doors for the 32-year-old champion.

There are suggestions for Viloria to vacate the WBO title and let Filipio Milan Melindo go for it perhaps against another Filipino contender, Froilan Saludar.

Melindo was recently ranked the No. 1 contender by the WBO, and Saludar at No. 2 or No. 3. 

Viloria said he’d rather consider other options than fight another Filipino for the title, but said vacating the crown won’t be that easy.

“We fight hard for these titles. You just don’t give it up for others to fight for it.  I put my life on line for this.  It’s unfair to just give it up,” he said.

But he’s not closing the doors on any possibility because in boxing, there’s really nothing certain unless or until the fight contract is signed.

“You don’t know. We’ll see,” added Viloria, who can also go for the rest of the flyweight titles and be crowned the undisputed champion of his class.

“I think the last person to do that was (heavyweight) Mike Tyson. I’m halfway there. What’s two more (winning the WBC and IBF titles),” he said.

“There are a lot of things I can do,” said Viloria during the PSA Forum at Shakey’s Malate.

Viloria arrived in Manila last Saturday as the unified champion in the crowded 112 lb division. It’s the first time in nearly 50 years the WBO and WBA titles were unified.

There are other fights he might consider, including those against WBC flyweight champion Toshiyaki Igarashi of Japan and IBF flyweight king Moruti Mthalane of South Africa.

Viloria has won six fights in a row now, and is the hottest flyweight there is.