In the Defense of Brian Viloria: It was Tamara’s Night

Was it lack of conditioning? Or was his focus somewhere else? Did he look past his opponent? Or was it simply a bad night (or day) for former IBF junior bantamweight champion Brian Viloria?

All over the web, boxing fans have been bashing Viloria for his failed attempt to defend his crown against the young Carlos Tamara from Colombia. Most cited his overconfidence as the reason for his downfall or it was lack fo proper training because his coach was busy somewhere else with someone else.

Prior to this bout, it was reported that Viloria and fellow Filipino fighter Nonito Donaire, Jr. were on a row again when Donaire hired Viloria’s chief trainer Robert Garcia as his fight strategist for his upcoming bout in February.

While Donaire said that he never intended to adversely affect Viloria’s training by hiring the latter’s coach, Viloria has voiced out his concerns, saying he is worried his trainer might be spreading himself too thin to accommodate his clients and their needs.

But boxing trainers are like free agents and there are a number of those who have successfully juggled multiple boxers and corners. Elite trainers like Freddie Roach currently works with a number of champions and top contenders, including Manny Pacquiao, Amir Khan, and Shawn Porter. With that said, Garcia is capable of multitasking and preparing Viloria for this bout is something he is competent of doing.

Another thing being thrown around is that Viloria’s marriage proposal to his long-time girlfriend Erika Navarro last month may have affected his performance. But how really? If there is any effect, a marriage proposal should motivate the fighter to fight harder. Saying that Viloria lost his focus because he got engaged may be true but not likely. In fact, it should be a motivation.

If there is any reason why Viloria lost, blame the man from the opposite corner. Carlos Tamara was boxing effectively and his relentless tirade of body shots and head blows eventually wore Viloria down the stretch. The Colombian’s height and reach advantage also played well to his favor, as most of Viloria’s punches came up short and were not able to land on their target.

Boxing fans really need to stop blaming Viloria for the loss. He put up a great fight against a great opponent and, the thing is at the crucial moments of the fight, Tamara was the better man.