Brian Viloria-Artem Dalakian possible for vacant WBA flyweight title on ‘SuperFly 2’ card

Photo by Naoki Fukuda

Dec

Artem Dalakian and Brian Viloria, the Top 2 ranked contenders for the vacant WBA flyweight title, could meet to fill the vacancy, with the “SuperFly 2” card on February 24 being eyed, says Viloria’s manager Gary Gittelsohn.

The show’s promoter Tom Loeffler of 360 Promotions says that while the fight is “not official yet,” for the card at The Forum, in Inglewood, California, “that’s a fight I would like to add.” Should the fight be confirmed, it wouldn’t be part of the HBO Boxing After Dark card but rather “a bonus for the fans live in attendance and on the international broadcast,” Loeffler said.

Gittelsohn is confident the fight will get made, saying, “We will be issuing press releases shortly.”

Viloria (38-5, 23 knockouts), a Filipino-American now based in Los Angeles, is the No. 2-rated contender while Dalakian (15-0, 11 KOs) of Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine, is rated No. 1.

An email to the World Boxing Association seeking comment has not received a response by the time of this story’s publication.

Viloria had previously held the WBA 112-pound belt during his time as unified flyweight titleholder, and has won six of his last seven fights, with his 2015 stoppage loss to then-THE RING Magazine champion Roman Gonzalez being the lone defeat, in that period.

Viloria, who is seven years older at 37, had flirted with the idea of chasing a title in a third division at 115 pounds after appearing on the first “SuperFly” card in September, before announcing he’d remain at 112.

Dalakian had originally been the mandatory challenger to Japan’s Kazuto Ioka before Ioka vacated the title. He turned pro in 2011 and had stopped his last four opponents but has not fought since April of 2017.

The card will be headlined by Srisaket Sor Rungvisai, a two-time conqueror of Gonzalez, defending the WBC junior bantamweight title, against Juan Francisco Estrada, with Carlos Cuadras versus McWilliams Arroyo also scheduled.

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