Villanueva gets big break: match with ex-champ

Following a frustrating loss to McJoe Arroyo, Arthur Villanueva gets a huge break as he faces former world champion Zolani Tete in a World Boxing Organization bantamweight title eliminator on April 8 in the United Kingdom.

The 28-year-old Villanueva earned his first shot at a world title in 2015 against Arroyo for the vacant International Boxing Federation (IBF) super flyweight belt. He, however, suffered his first career loss after a controversial technical decision in favor of Arroyo.

Villanueva, rated No. 1 in the WBO bantamweight division, gets another chance at a title run if he gets past a daunting task against Tete.

“It will really be a tough fight,” ALA Promotions president Michael Aldeguer told SunStar Cebu.

Since his loss to Arroyo, Villanueva has won three in a row— an unimpressive split decision over Victor Mendez and backto-back knockout wins over Juan Jimenez.

“We have seen his videos. He is good and is very good at finding the distance,” ALA Gym head trainer Edito Villamor said.

The 28-year-old Tete, ranked No. 2 in the bantamweight division of the WBO, is a former IBF super flyweight champion after winning the belt back in 2014 with a unanimous decision over Teiru Kinoshita. He successfully defended it once against Paul Butler, who he knocked out, before relinquishing the crown to move up in weight.

He has won two straight fights as a bantamweight against Jose Santos Gonzalez and Victor Ruiz.

Villanueva is 30-1 with 16 knockouts, while Tete is 24-3 with 20 knockouts.

The winner of the Villanueva vs. Tete fight becomes the mandatory challenger of Cebu-based WBO bantamweight king Marlon Tapales.