Philippine boxing put on a show of force Sunday when Justin Viloria and Jino Rodrigo scored sensational first-round knockout wins in the United States.
Viloria, nephew of Brian Viloria, needed just 64 seconds to crush Nicaraguan Juan Centeno in their scheduled six-round super-featherweight match in Long Beach, California.
Across the massive US mainland, Rodrigo took out erstwhile unbeaten Puerto Rican Mathew Gonzalez in just 57 seconds in their super-lightweight clash in Philadelphia, Pennsylvannia.
Viloria floored Centeno with a flurry of hard head and body shots and while the Central American managed to get up, it was downhill from there as the 20-year-old Filipino-American puncher unleashed another barrage that compelled the referee to stop the carnage.
The victory boosted his win-loss-draw record to 8-0-0 with six knockouts.
As for Rodrigo, his second fight in American soil turned out to be a huge hit as he sent Gonzalez crashing to the deck after taking a massive right.
At first, it did’t look as if Gonzalez would get up but even if he did, the referee wisely pulled the plug as the New York-based fighter was still in wobbly legs.
The win raised Rodrigo’s slate to 13-4-0 with 11 knockouts while the shocking loss was Gonzalez’s first in 17 bouts.