:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/imported_assets/360475/610x.jpg)
Never-hyped Colombian junior flyweight Carlos Tamara scored the first Upset of the Year candidate of 2010 with a stunning 12th round knockout of IBF junior flyweight titlist Brian Viloria last night in Pasay City, Philippines.
After the fight, Viloria was taken to the hospital, skipping the post-fight press conference. There had been scattered reports that he collapsed, but those appear untrue. Apparently he complained of a headache and chest pains, and was taken in as a precaution. GMA News reports that he is in stable condition, so that's good news.
BLH regular Sickle gave us a short recap of the fight in the FanShots:
"Just finished watching this bad boy. This fight was an all out war. Viloria was getting tired during the later rounds and found himself in trouble on the 11th round. At the sound of the bell he was just trying to land something "razy. Tamara took over in the middle of the round. The ref eventually stepped in and stopped the fight. I was a great fight. First Fight of the Year candidate of 2010."
The accounts I've read indicate that Viloria was winning the fight on points and likely just had to survive the 12th round. At the 1:45 mark of the final frame, referee Bruce McTavish intervened and called a stop to the action.
This is a huge career lift for Tamara (21-4, 15 KO), who now lives in New Jersey. The 26-year-old had lost all of his steps up in competition before, including flyweight fights against Rayonta Whitfield and long-running titlist Omar Narvaez. He'd also lost at 108 to Giovani Segura and Gerardo Verde. He was supposed to simply be a stepping stone for Viloria, who was in negotiations to fight unbeaten Ivan Calderon after this fight.
You can forget about that. As big a lift as this is for Tamara, it's that much of a fall for Viloria. Sure, he remains a top 10, probably top five guy in the division, but it gives new life to his thought-to-be-dead reputation as a guy who fades and disappoints at the worst times. His big win over Ulises Solis last year didn't look anything like a fluke; it was as good a win as you can get. But losing to Tamara like this really could bring the ghosts out, at least in the press.
At 29, Viloria (26-3, 15 KO) still has plenty of career left. I'd expect he'll move up to flyweight as this sounds like a stamina issue. He's actually fought most of his career there, but important stuff (fights with Solis, Omar Nino, Edgar Sosa, Jose Antonio Aguirre, etc.) has all been at 108.
Congratulations to Carlos Tamara, and here's to having a fight to track down.
On the undercard: Strawweight contender Donnie Nietes stopped Jose Silvestre in 10 ... Jimrex Jaca won his first fight since 2007, stopping an 0-3-2 streak, by by knocking out Ramadhan Weriu in the fifth round ... 17-year old Filipino lightweight prospect Jason Pagara improved to 21-1 (10 KO) with a majority decision win over Eddy Comaro.