Ni GILBERT ESPEÑA

SA edad na 37, ilang beses nang tinangka ni Filipino-American Brian “Hawaiian Punch” Viloria na magretiro sa boksing pero tuwing naaalala ang apat na koronang hinawakan ay may bagong lakas siyang nadarama para sa ikalimang titulo.

Sasabak laban sa walang talo na si Artem Dalakian ng Ukraine, sa Pebrero 24, para sa bakanteng WBA flyweight title sa The Forum, Los Angeles, California sa United States, target ni Viloria na mapatingkad pa ang kanyang boxing career.

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Matindi ang pagsasanay na ginagawa ni Viloria lalo’t madalas niyang maka-spar ang kababayang si IBF flyweight champion Donnie Nietes sa Wild Card Gym sa Hollywood, California, na magdedepensa rin ng korona laban kay mandatory at No. 1 contender Juan Carlos Reveco ng Argentina.

Naging miyembro si Viloria ng 2000 United States Olympic team at nagretiro na ang kanyang mga kasabayan na sina Jermain Taylor, Jeff Lacy at Rocky Juarez na pawang naging world champions din, kaya maraming nagtataka sa kanyang patuloy na paglaban sa ibabaw ng lona.

“It’s basically just taking care of myself outside the ring,” sinabi ni Viloria sa BoxingScene.com. “In between fights I still try to eat healthy, even though I’m not in training camp. I try to stay active, and the key part of the longevity is staying in shape in between fights. Guys like (Floyd) Mayweather have done that, Bernard Hopkins the same thing, and I’m basically living the lifestyle of a training camp even when I’m not in training camp.”

“I thought I would be over by the age of 30,” pag-amin ni Viloria. “A lot of guys in the lower weight divisions don’t last past 30, 32 years old, much less 37. I just feel like I’m blessed. God has given me the chance and the strength to just keep doing this at an elite level. I’m not just going out there and hoping for things to happen; I’m just happy that things are turning out the way they are right now.”

Huling natalo si Viloria nang hamunin si dating WBC flyweight champion Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez ng Venezuela noong 2015, nang nakipagpukpukan siya bago napatigil sa 9th round at naisip na niyang magretiro noon.

“I’d be lying to you if I said that didn’t cross my mind,” diin ni Viloria na laging dala ang bandila ng Pilipinas sa kanyang mga laban. “There are many times when I did come into a self-reflection of where I should go after the losses. When I lost to (Juan Francisco) Estrada, and even before that when I lost my WBC title (to Omar Nino Romero) way back then. There are many times in my career when I seriously thought I was going to take another route and hang up the gloves.”

Pero nakabawi siya nang magkasunod na talunin ang world rated boxers na sina Ruben Montoya at Miguel Cartagena, kapwa ng Mexico. Plano ngayon ni Viloria na matamo ang kanyang ikalimang world title sa paggapi kay Dalakian sa Pebrero 24.

“Fighting smart, just using that experience to my advantage and exploiting some of his inexperience in the ring,” diin ni Viloria kung paano tatalunin ang Ukrainian. “I know how talented he is but, at the same time, I’ve gone through the wringer myself and I’ve faced the best. So given that experience, I’m gonna have to utilize that come fight night and try to maximize each mistake that he makes, try to maximize the experiences I’ve gone through in the past and try to use that. And I’ve used that in training camp. I’ve taken what’s worked in past training camps and I’m preparing myself the right way to try to get myself in position to get the best work and reach the goals that I set out for myself. I’m ready for it, I’ve gone through it, and I just have to deliver it on the 24th.”