Hawaii's favorite son was in action last night at Blaisdell Centre in Honolulu as Brian Viloria came up with a decision over iron-chinned Mexican challenger Jesus Iribe in a firefight to retain the IBF light flyweight title.

Iribe came into the bout as the reigning WBC fecombox titlist and had gone 12 rounds in a losing cause against top man in the division, Edgar Sosa, but "Azul" from Culiacan was the decided underdog in this title challenge.

Cheered on by a heavily partisan audience, Honolulu born Viloria came out and, as expected, gave the visitor a boxing lesson over the first half of the contest.

Viloria aired out his complete arsenal over the first six rounds in a fine display of skill, but Iribe showed true grit and determination to ride it out. More...

This biggest happenings this weekend in Asia took place last night in The Philippines, with a bill in Cebu City and one in Tagbilaran City.

At the Cebu Coliseum, there were four title fights, all for WBO regional belts, with three of the contests ending in stoppages, providing a fireworks display for the packed audience.

Hard-nosed former WBO Interim Lightweight Champion Michael Katsidis bounced back from competitive losses to two of the best in the world at 135 pounds, Juan Diaz and Joel Casamayor, to grind out a big win over granite-jawed Argentine veteran Angel Hugo Ramirez over ten rounds to capture the vacant WBA Asia Pacific belt.

Katsidis aggressively went after Ramirez, flooring him in the second, third and fourth frames but the Aussie couldn't put Ramirez away, losing a point in the second round for hitting the opponent after he was down.

Ramirez, 19-5-2 (8), survived the knockdowns and managed to go the distance on his feet, losing a wide points decision to Katsidis, who improves to 24-2 (20). More...

Rafael Concepcion of Panama overpowered AJ Banal on Saturday to score a dramatic tenth round knockout and win the WBA Interim Super Flyweight Crown.

The end came in the 2:35 mark of the tenth round with a solid right to the face in a neutral corner. More...

We start this weekend's Asia report with a good show at the Coliseum in boxing mad Cebu City, Philippines where it was title fight fury in the lower weights on Saturday night.

The main event saw Rafael "El Torito" Concepcion, 11-2-1 (7), turn a maiden voyage outside his native Panama into a successful Philippines excursion by putting the first loss onto the record of local hero AJ "Bazooka" Banal, 17-1-1 (14), and win the Interim WBA Super Flyweight title in the process.

In a thrilling battle of southpaws, the stakes were raised considerably in the ninth when Banal lost a point for straying low but the real action took place in the tenth as Concepcion nailed his Filipino rival with a perfect right hand that forced Banal to take a knee while he was counted out at 2:35 of the tenth round.

The vacant WBO Oriental Bantamweight title was up for grabs on the undercard, but after less than six minutes of combat, local veteran Michael "Bruce Lee" Domingo, 36-14-2 (15), decided matters in brutal fashion as the 28 year old crushed Indonesia's Rivo Rengkung at just 0:46 of the second round.

20 year old light flyweight Milan Melindo, 16-0 (4), shed the prospect tag by winning the biggest fight of career with a twelve round unanimous decision over Panama's Carlos "Shanghai" Melo, 18-7 (2), that earned the Mandaue City man the WBA Intercontinental title. More...

Panamaʼs Rafael "El Torito" Concepcion is poised and ready to take on AJ "Bazooka" Banal in the much anticipated battle for the WBA Super Flyweight crown at New Cebu Coliseum, Philippines on July 26, 2008.

Concepcion is ready for Banal. His training for the world title has been well planned, with the final stages intensifying in New York with renowned Panamanian trainers Hector Roca and Pedro Romero at the world famous Gleasonʼs Gym in Brooklyn. More...

Rafael "El Torito" Concepcion has arrived in New York from Panama to intensify his training for the WBA Super Flyweight fight against AJ "Bazooka" Banal.

"Rafael is looking strong," says Damon de Berry from Optimum Sports Agency. "He arrived in New York last week and he is looking forward to stepping up his training." More...