He’s raring to get Villanueva out of way of WBO title shot
fell at the hands of the southpaw boxer who goes by the “Blue Machine” moniker.
And that is not lost on Tete who has his own moment to shine when he takes on Filipino Arthur Villanueva for the rights to get a shot at WBO bantamweight champion Marlon Tapales.
“Indingo came here and conquered and that is good for boxing on the African continent because now we are no longer taken lightly,” Tete said.
“His win is serving as a motivation for me in my own fight to keep the African boxing flag flying [high]. I cannot drop the ball now because I am aiming for that world title,” he added.
Tete is a former undefeated IBF junior bantamweight king, a throne he renounced on his own when he could not accept terms and conditions for his mandatory title defence against Puerto Rican MacJoe Arroyo.
Arroyo remains the only boxer to beat Villanueva when they battled for Tete’s vacant title.
Now Tete will get his day in the sun and he plans to use it to the best of his abilities.
“We have studied Villanueva and am not having sleepless nights,” the amiable southpaw said.
“We have a strategy to beat him but with this age of technology I would rather not reveal it. But we have observed that he likes to throw straight punches and that should not be a problem to deal with.”
Tete will enter the fight as the bigger puncher having knocked out 20 of his victims against three losses while the Filipino has scored just 16 stoppages in 30 bouts against the odd loss he suffered to Arroyo. ZOLANI Tete will always figure to be in any discussion around who is South Africa’s best boxer.
Lean and lithe, the former IBF superflyweight champion has rampaged through two divisions since his last defeat five years ago and is on the cusp of challenging for the WBO title.
Tomorrow, in England, he fights an eliminator against Arthur Villanueva of the Philippines – the number two contender against the number one.
It’s a fight that has captured the imagination of South African boxing fans, who particularly enjoy Tete’s power game.
The action from Leicester will be broadcast live on SuperSport 6 from 7.15pm tomorrow.
Tete has been on a tear-up in recent years with nine of his last 11 wins via the short route, none of them better than in 2015 when he starched UK hopeful Paul Butler with a savage uppercut.
This will be his fourth fight in the UK, where he has established a firm following due to his exciting fighting style and exotic ring entrances.
Villanueva, with just one loss in 31 fights, has earned this shot by beating a range of fringe contenders.
He is, however, on the small side and has never ventured beyond the East in a pro career dating back to 2008.
“I’ve been through plenty to get this far,” said Tete, who also had to deal with a postponement from the original fight date.
“I’ve had great sparring and am now on the verge of a title shot. Villanueva is very good, but he stands in my way. There’s no way he’ll stop my march to the WBO title.” — DDC