Boxing’s Greats of the States | Hawaii: Brian Viloria

Boxers come from every corner of the globe. Sometimes, fighters are products of their environment, favoring styles prevalent in the country or state from which they hail. Various regions of the United States are considered factories for great fighters, though that certainly is not the case with each state. In this weekly Sherdog.com series, the spotlight will shine on the best boxer of all-time from each of the 50 states. Fighters do not necessarily need to be born in a given state to represent it; they simply need to be associated with it. For example, all-time great heavyweight legend Joe Louis was born in Alabama, but he is identified almost universally with Detroit.

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Hawaii has made its contributions to the sport of boxing, but only one man can be considered the state’s best: former two-division world champion Brian Viloria. Having borrowed his nickname -- “The Hawaiian Punch” -- from Jesus Salud, Viloria’s achievements as a professional line up with the promise he showed as an amateur.

While Viloria failed to medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, the multiple-time national champion and 1999 Golden Gloves winner made a seamless transition to the pros. He staked his claim as one of the premier lighter-weight fighters in the sport on Sept. 10, 2005, when he destroyed Eric Ortiz to capture the WBC light flyweight championship. Viloria successfully defended the title against Jose Antonio Aguirre before surrendering it to Omar Romero. He eventually moved to the flyweight division after winning and losing the IBF crown at 108 pounds.

Viloria took home the WBO flyweight belt by conquering Jose Cesar Miranda and defended it on three occasions while also adding the WBA flyweight title to his collection. He lost his championships to Juan Francisco Estrada but resurrected his career before being dominated by current pound-for-pound ace Roman Gonzalez in a bid for the Nicaraguan’s WBC and The Ring magazine flyweight crowns.

Considering the wins he posted against some of the best smaller-weight fighters of his generation and the fact that he won multiple world titles, Viloria seems likely to be enshrined in the International Boxing Hall of Fame someday. At 35, there may not be much sand left in the hourglass, but his 36-5 record speaks for itself.

HONORABLE MENTIONS: Carl “Bobo” Olson, Jesus Salud, Takeshi Fuji