By Ronnie Nathanielsz

WBO flyweight champion Brian Viloria (30-3, 17 KO’s)  says “This time its personal” in reference to his third title fight against Mexico’s Omar Nino Romero (31-4-2, 13 KO’s) on May 12 at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.

In a well-attended international conference call at the new offices of Solar Sports at the Worldwide Corporate Center Building along Shaw Boulevard in Mandaluyong, Viloria responded to a question as to why he picked Omar Nino who is very crafty when he could have chosen someone like Giovanni Segura whom he beat, who is more suited to his style.

Viloria who won the title last December 11, 2011 with a spectacular 8th round TKO win over Segura who was then ranked No. 9 in the pound for pound list of  Ring Magazine replied, “This is personal. Its something I needed to prove to myself that I get over this hump that I hit  a few years ago. This is more challenging because I want to get something cleared in my head.”

Viloria emphasized “this is the fight I really needed,  to give me a chance to clear some smog in the air. This is coming up and I need to clear the plate with Nino and I’ve prepared myself well for this fight and I  won’t have any excuses.”

He said he “learned a lot from that fight (vs Segura) and right now I am able to fulfill the abilities that I have and I think I have tweaked a lot of things in training camp. The last month has really given me the chance to refine my craft and look over the things I needed to work on and refine those. I feel really confident going into this fight all because my training has gone well and I’ve prepared myself to the best of my ability for this fight. I know I am going to perform well and do a lot better than the Segura fight.”

Viloria lost his WBC light flyweight title to Nino Romero by a unanimous twelve round decision on August 10, 2006 and in a rematch on November 18 that same year failed to regain the title in a bout that was initially declared a controversial draw but was subsequently changed to a “no contest” after the Mexican tested positive for an illegal substance in a post-fight medical examination.

The WBO champion refused to look ahead to his next fight  pointing out that  Nino Romero “is a tricky fighter and one of those guys who can out-box you even though you have better style, better power than him” conceding that “I really don’t have a future if I don’t get past Nino. I don’t want to overlook him right now because Nino is my future.”

Viloria believes that moving up to flyweight has helped his power come back saying “what I was most surprised about is that I’ve increased my speed with it more and my defensive work and I have been working a lot on my foot movement.”

The champion who is scheduled to arrive in Manila on Friday said he is really excited about this fight because he wants “to show the people that I am re-defining my craft and showing that I am just more than a left hook or a right hand or punching power. I really want to keep learning and keep really finding myself and maturing in terms of how I box in the ring and keep showing my talent.”