No Freddie in Viloria’s corner

Hall-of-Fame trainer Freddie Roach won’t be in Brian Viloria’s corner when the "Hawaiian Punch" attempts to regain the World Boxing Council (WBC) lightflyweight title from Omar Nino Romero of Mexico in the undercard of the Manny Pacquiao-Erik Morales rubber match at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas on Nov. 18.

Viloria’s manager Gary Gittelsohn told The Star the other day he consulted Roach on how to prepare the fighter for the Romero rematch and they agreed to hire a solid team of professionals to exclusively attend to the training program in a private Los Angeles facility.

Gittelsohn named Joe Hernandez, Mario (Yuca) Morales, Raquel (Racket) Flores and Ruben Gomez as the team to work with Viloria in his "career-defining fight."

Hernandez is known for having trained unbeaten World Boxing Association superfeatherweight champion Edwin Valero and former WBC Youth lightwelterweight titleholder Francisco Bojado. Morales, 41, is a former fighter reputed to be among the best punch-mitt drillmasters in the business. Flores is an expert ring technician and Gomez, a cutman, has worked the corners of Pacquiao, Diego Corrales and International Boxing Federation featherweight champion Robert (The Ghost) Guerrero.

"Yuca and Racket are working with Brian on in-ring technique," said Gittelsohn. "Ruben and Joe are focusing on conditioning and the overall big picture. The men comprising the team have worked the corners of countless world champions and boxing legends."

Gittelsohn, Viloria and Roach met for dinner to discuss plans for the Romero rematch over a month ago.

"Although we would all love to have Freddie in Brian’s corner, as he has always been, we understand the practical limitations of his time constraints," said Gittelsohn. "Simply put, Freddie cannot devote adequate time to Brian during this period of preparation for Manny’s fight against Morales."

Gittelsohn said he advised Roach that under the circumstances, it would be in Viloria’s best interest to train in a facility far removed from the busy atmosphere at the Wild Card Gym.

"Freddie was entirely supportive," continued Gittelsohn. "I explained to Freddie that I would be sending Brian elsewhere to train."

Gittelsohn said it is not optimal for Roach to train Pacquiao and Viloria and work their corners because they will see action in back-to-back fights on the same card.

"Freddie will be pre-occupied with Manny’s preparation," said Gittelsohn. "Let me be clear. This doesn’t mean I am moving away from Freddie. All it means is that I will need to bring others in to ensure that Brian gets the proper attention for the most important fight of his life. Freddie is aware of my feelings and we will work together in Brian’s best interest. Freddie can spread himself only so thinly."

Viloria, who turns 26 a week after the fight, lost the WBC 108-pound crown on an upset 12-round unanimous decision to Romero in Las Vegas last August. It was his first defeat since turning pro in 2001.

Roach said Viloria beat himself by not keeping busy against Romero but will be back with a vengeance.

"Brian’s disappointed," said Roach, quoted by Don Stradley in The Ring Magazine. "He doesn’t have an answer for anybody. He should have been throwing combinations and been more active. Brian is usually stronger than his opponents so I think he lost too much weight too fast. We’ll do better in the rematch. Hopefully, we’ll get this guy one more time."