Brian Viloria stopped Hernan Marquez in the 10th round Saturday to add Marquez's World Boxing Association flyweight world title to his own World Boxing Organisation belt. Filipino-American Viloria knocked down Marquez with a right late in round one and continued to dominate the early rounds.
Mexico's Marquez came alive in the fifth, unleashing a battery of blows, but Viloria weathered the storm and sent Marquez to the canvas again. "I knew it looked bad but I wasn't hurt," Viloria said. "I knew he was going to get tired."
When Viloria sent Marquez down a third time in the 10th with a left to the head, Marquez's corner threw in the towel and the referee stopped the bout at 1:01 of the round.
"I think my left hook was too fast for him," said Viloria, who had won the WBO title with a victory over Julio Cesar Miranda in July 2011. Viloria, coming off a technical knockout victory over Mexico's Omar Romero in the Philippines on May 13, stretched his winning streak to six fights since a defeat to Carlos Tamara in 2010.
He took his record to 32-3 with 19 wins inside the distance, while Marquez fell to 34-3 with 25 knockouts. In an action-packed bout on the undercard, Nicaragua's Roman Gonzalez retained his WBA light flyweight title with a 12-round unanimous decision over Juan Francisco Estrada.
Gonzalez remained unbeaten, taking his record to 34-0 with 28 knockouts. One judge scored it 118-110 while two others saw it 116-112 in favour of the champion.