“It’s amazing how Manny drives himself to work so hard in the gym, the way he prepares for a fight,” said Viloria. “When you think he’s achieved the pinnacle, Manny surprises you by doing even more. It’s unfair when someone calls a prospect the next Manny Pacquiao because there’ll never be another Manny Pacquiao. What he has done is unheard of, winning seven world titles in seven divisions.”
Viloria was at ringside broadcasting for Solar TV when Pacquiao halted Miguel Cotto to win the WBO welterweight crown - his seventh world title - in Las Vegas last November.
“The fight against Cotto proved how far Manny has progressed,” continued Viloria. “In every fight, he just gets better, showing more intelligence, more skills. He’s come full circle. He hits just as hard with the left hook as the right straight. Right now, Pacquiao’s the guy. He’s earned his stripes.”
Asked to drop hints on his fightplan for Tamara, Viloria said he’ll apply a lot of pressure, work the body, slow him down and move inside.
“I think my biggest strengths are resiliency and the ability to pressure my opponents,” he said. “I don’t really think too much of what I’ll do inside the ring. If you think too much, you lose that split-second edge. I just go with my instincts. I’ll come in with a fightplan, which I’ll stick with until there’s a need to adjust, depending on what Tamara brings to the table. I’m not going in looking for a knockout. I’ll be ready to go 12 rounds if necessary but if there’s an opening to go for the kill, I’ll definitely go for it.”
Viloria said his trainer Robert Garcia, a former IBF superfeatherweight champion, has injected new life in his career.
“Robert brought me back to the basics and worked on my fundamentals,” he said. “He and his father Eduardo are a big influence along with my manager Gary Gittelsohn. He got me excited to work in the gym again. He made me aware of the value of being in condition. Robert really knows his stuff. He’s now working with Nonito Donaire as a strategist. He also works with Steven Luevano. I don’t think Robert is spreading himself too thinly working with so many world champions. He’s there when you need him.”
Viloria admitted his career has been topsy-turvy.
“I know what it’s like to go down and I don’t like it,” said Viloria. “Now that I’m back as world champion, I intend to stay a world champion. If I were to pattern my career after somebody else’s, it would be the Cinderella Man’s. Jim Braddock was down when he picked himself up and beat Max Baer for the world heavyweight title as a 10-to-1 underdog in 1935.”
Viloria was hailed as a star on the rise when he knocked out Mexico’s Eric Ortiz in one round to capture the WBC lightflyweight title in 2005. Then, he lost the title in his second defense and failed to regain it in two attempts.Critics pounced on Viloria for losing the fire in his belly and the Hawaiian Punch from Narvacan, Ilocos Sur, had to rebuild his reputation all over again, fighting in small cards in small venues, until he halted Ulises Solis in a dramatic 11th round knockout to wrest the IBF 108-pound crown at the Araneta Coliseum last April.
Regarding the aborted fight between Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather, Viloria said there’s no doubt in his mind that “Pretty Boy” brought up impossible conditions to wiggle out of a duel with the Filipino icon.
“Mayweather just doesn’t want to fight Manny,” he said. “Why should Manny accept his conditions? Manny stuck to his principles. Mayweather has no right to demand drug-testing procedures because that’s none of his business. It’s the regulating authorities who make the call on drug-testing. They set the guidelines and fighters follow.”
Viloria said he’s not worried that Pacquiao will lose focus as a fighter with his commercial and business commitments.
“Manny thrives in what some people think is a chaotic situation,” continued Viloria. “Some fighters won’t like it when they move around with an entourage of 40 people. But Manny’s different. He loves it. It’s been that way since he became a multiple champion. That’s what Manny’s about. God put him in this planet for a reason. Manny brings pride and honor to the Philippines and the Filipino people. That’s his purpose and nobody can take that away from him.”
Viloria said Pacquiao genuinely enjoys what he’s doing and it shows in the way he drives himself in and out of the ring.
“Like Manny, I don’t consider boxing a job,” said Viloria. “I love the sport. I embrace doing what I have to do to be the best I can be in the ring.”
Source: Joaquin Henson | Philstar.com
No comments:
Post a Comment