Ni Gilbert Espeña
Tatangkain ni Filipino-American Brian Viloria na muling maging kampeong pandaigdig sa pagsabak laban kay Artem Dalakian ng Ukraine para sa bakanteng WBA flyweight title sa Pebrero 24 sa The Forum, Inglewood, California sa Estados Unidos.
Ipinahiwatig ng manedyer ni Viloria na Amerikanong si Gary Gittelsohn na anumang oras ay maglalabas sila ng pahayag kaugnay ng laban na posibleng maisabay sa “SuperFly 2” card kung saan magdedepensa ng korona si WBC super flyweight titlist Srisaket Sor Ruvingsai ng Thailand laban kay mandatory contender Juan Francisco Estrada ng Mexico na umagaw sa WBA at WBO flyweight titles ni Viloria via 12-round split decision sa Macau, China.
“We will be issuing press releases shortly,” sabi ni Gittelsohn hinggil sa laban nina Viloria, No. 2 sa WBA ratings at rated No. 1 na si Dalakian.
Akari Sports wala pang balak pasukin ang PBA
Kinumpirma naman ng promoter ng “SuperFly 2” card na si Tom Loeffler ng 360 Promotions na hindi pa opisyal ang sagupaan ngunit interesado siyang gawin ito lalo’t lumaban at nanalo sa knockouts si Viloria sa “Super Fly 1” series.
“The fight is not official yet, but that’s a fight I would like to add,” ani Loeffler sabay paglilinaw na depende sa WBA kung aaprubahan ang kampeonato.
May rekord si Viloria na 38-5-0 win-loss-draw na may 23 pagwawagi sa knockouts samantalang si Dalakian ay may perpektong rekord sa 15 panalo, 11 sa knockouts.
“Viloria had previously held the WBA 112-pound belt during his time as unified flyweight champion, and has won 6 of his last 7 fights, with his 2015 stoppage loss to Roman Gonzalez being the lone defeat in that period,” ayon sa ulat ng Rappler.com.
“Viloria, who is 7 years older (than Dalakian) at 37, had flirted with the idea of chasing a title in a third division at 115 pounds after appearing on the first “SuperFly” card in September before announcing he’d remain at 112,” dagdag sa ulat. “Dalakian had originally been the mandatory challenger to Japan’s Kazuto Ioka before Ioka vacated the title. He turned pro in 2011 and had stopped his last 4 opponents, but has not fought since April of 2017.”
