Roman Gonzalez vs. Brian Viloria: Preview and Prediction for Title Fight
International superstar and three-division world champion Roman Gonzalez will be the featured undercard attraction on the Gennady Golovkin-David Lemieux pay-per-view Saturday night when he defends his WBC and lineal flyweight title against former two-division champion Brian Viloria.
It's rare that fighters in the lowest weight classes receive this type of showcase in the United States, but Gonzalez more than deserves it. He's a technically brilliant and offensively explosive dynamo who has never lost and has knocked out 37 of the 43 men he has faced.
Viloria is an experienced veteran and one of the best fighters in the division. This should be an exciting fight.
Tale of the Tape
1 of 7
| Per BoxRec | Roman Gonzalez | Brian Viloria |
| Record: | 43-0, 37 KOs | 36-4, 22 KOs |
| Height: | 5'3" | 5'4" |
| Reach: | 64" | 66" |
| Weight: | 112 lbs | 112 lbs |
| Age: | 28 | 34 |
| Stance: | Orthodox | Orthodox |
| Hometown: | Managua, Nicaragua | Waipahu, Hawaii |
| Rounds: | 184 | 311 |
Brian Viloria is six years older, but not necessarily a lot more experienced than Roman Gonzalez. While still two years shy of 30, Gonzalez has been competing at the world championship level for the better part of a decade.
Viloria does have a two-inch edge in reach. He'll need to take advantage of it to have any shot against the ferocious Chocolatito.
Main Storylines
2 of 7
Roman Gonzalez is arguably the top pound-for-pound boxer in the world today. Ring Magazine rates him No. 1, and I agree with the assessment. The three-division world champion is undefeated in 43 professional fights.
Gonzalez doesn't just win—he wins in electrifying fashion. He's won 37 of those 43 fights by knockout. He is an explosive puncher who breaks down and overwhelms opponents.
He throws the hook to the body/uppercut combination to the head as well as any fighter since Mike Tyson.
In Asia and Latin America, where the smaller fighters are more popular than in the United States, Gonzalez has been a major star for years. But in 2015, even U.S. fans have gotten hip to the biggest little man of this generation.
Gonzalez was the co-main event for Gennady Golovkin's clash with Willie Monroe Jr. last May, and this weekend, he'll be the featured undercard bout on GGG's pay-per-view debut against David Lemieux, defending his WBC flyweight belt against former champion Brian Viloria.
Viloria is an experienced and highly skilled veteran, with good power. He represented the United States in the 2000 Olympics and held the WBC light flyweight belt from 2005 to 2006 and the IBF version of the belt from 2009 to 2010.
Viloria had an outstanding 2011 and 2012. He won the WBO flyweight belt from Julio Cesar Miranda in July 2011 and recorded a brilliant Round 8 knockout of the hard-punching Giovani Segura the following December.
In 2012, Viloria stopped Omar Nino Romero to avenge one of his previous losses. In November of that year, he unified the WBO and WBA flyweight belts when he beat Hernan Marquez by thrilling Round 10 TKO.
But in 2013, Viloria dropped his belts via split decision to Juan Francisco Estrada. This challenge to Gonzalez is his first major fight since then.
Viloria is among the best fighters Gonzalez has ever faced, and possibly the best he's seen at 112 pounds. Still, he has to be viewed as a significant underdog.
Strengths
3 of 7
Roman Gonzalez hits with outstanding power to both the body and head. His punches are quick and explosive. Perhaps no fighter in the sport has better footwork and balance.
Although Gonzalez is an offensive dynamo, his head movement and ability to change levels make him surprisingly tough to hit, even as he fights in the pocket.
Brian Viloria is a skilled and experienced boxer with good power. He can fight at long range and trade in the pocket.
Viloria makes good use of the jab to control range and pace. He also throws the uppercut well off the jab.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Weaknesses
4 of 7
Roman Gonzalez has shown little in the way of weaknesses in a professional ring. There is a reason that he has been undefeated for a decade while compiling an 86 percent KO ratio. He is a truly great fighter.
Brian Viloria is a well-rounded fighter, but at 34, he has been through years of tough ring wars. While he had a great career resurgence in 2011 and 2012, he was outworked and consistently beaten to the punch by the much younger Juan Francisco Estrada in 2013.
Roman Gonzalez Will Win If...
5 of 7
Roman Gonzalez should be able to win this fight by turning in his typical performance. He needs to cut off the ring and use his explosive and precise footwork to move into a well-balanced position to deliver hammering power shots.
He needs to change levels moving forward to slip Brian Viloria's jab and then counter hard off the slip, doubling up with the hook to the body and the uppercut to the head. When he manages to get Viloria off balance, he should attack with stinging, straight right hands.
Perhaps the biggest key for Gonzalez in this fight is to not get too overaggressive and fail to respect Viloria's potential to hurt him. Viloria is a smart fighter with dangerous power. Even at 34, he demands a certain degree of caution, at least until Chocolatito has seriously damaged him.
Brian Viloria Will Win If...
6 of 7
For Brian Viloria to have any shot at pulling off an upset here, it is essential that he establish the jab. He is not as quick or explosive as Roman Gonzalez, so he will need to rely on timing to disrupt Gonzalez's offense. The key to that will be sticking the jab in the champ's face while moving laterally on the outside.
Viloria should look to string the right uppercut off from the jab, hoping to catch Gonzalez lowering his level. Viloria has good power, and if he can buzz Gonzalez early, it will give him a shot at making this competitive.
Viloria's experience will be an advantage here. Even in the best of circumstances, he can count on having some tough rounds. But he's a veteran, so he should have the psychological toughness to hang in and keep looking for his opportunities.
Prediction
7 of 7
This is a position Brian Viloria has been in before—facing a younger, dangerous opponent. And historically, he's done well in these situations.
In December 2011, Giovani Segura was ranked in Ring Magazine's pound-for-pound top 10 and was viewed as one of boxing's most dangerous punchers. But when he challenged for Viloria's WBO flyweight title, Viloria broke him down and stopped him in Round 8.
In November 2012, Viloria turned in a similar performance to unify the WBO belt against Hernan "Tyson" Marquez's WBA flyweight title.
But Gonzalez is on a different level than Segura and Marquez. And he's on a different level than Viloria, too. The veteran might have enough left to make some of the early rounds interesting, but ultimately I expect a fairly one-sided battle, with Gonzalez winning by stoppage in the second half of the fight.
The biggest possible fight for Gonzalez going forward would be a clash with WBO super flyweight champion Naoya Inoue. The 22-year-old Japanese star has less than 10 fights but world titles in two divisions. He shares a promoter with Gonzalez in Japan.
Another intriguing matchup would be Juan Francisco Estrada, who relieved Viloria of his WBO and WBA flyweight titles in April 2013. Gonzalez has a previous win over Estrada, but it was at light flyweight and was Gonzalez's closest fight in recent years, so a rematch to unify the flyweight belts would be a big-time event.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
