MANILA – The Negrense fighter Arthur Villanueva is set to give another shot in boxing as he battles young prospect Bryan Tamayo in “Kumbati 9” fight card today at the IPI Complex in Mandaue City, Cebu.
This will be the Bago City, Negros Occidental-native boxer’s first bout after losing to World Boxing Council (WBC) bantamweight champion Nordine Oubaali in Kazakhstan two years ago. The Negrense considered retiring from the sport after his defeat. He only changed his mind after being signed up Slovenian boxing manager Hinko Kostanvejec last year.
“I was really thinking about retirement after my loss to Nordine. I am already feeling a lot in my body. My left knuckle would swell up after every fight. After my last fight, my left eyebrow had to be operated on because of a cyst,” Villanueva said.
“I was planning on becoming a trainer in China, but, because I received an offer [from Kostanvejec], I thought of coming back and felt that it still wasn’t my time to become a trainer. So, I’ll give boxing one more try,” he added.
Villanueva admitted that he is not giving up on his dreams to become a world champion and wanted to use his six-round bout against Tamayo to move closer to that aspiration.
“Becoming a world champion is every boxer’s dream,” Villanueva said. “But I cannot take Bryan for granted. He is a good fighter. He is also long and a southpaw. He’s active and throws punches in bunches.”
The Negrense boxer, a three-time world boxing championship challenger, will enter the match with 32-4-1 win-loss-draw ring record, with 18 knockout wins, while Tamayo has 6-1-2 slate with two knockout triumphs.
Also making his return in the fightcard organized by Omega Sports Promotions is Ilonggo boxer Juanito Paredes (8-6-1, 3 KOs), who will battle veteran Peter Apolinar (13-1-0, 8 KOs). The Bacolodnon Paolo Sy (6-5-1, 3 KOs), meanwhile, hoped to snap his two-game losing skid in the undercard match when he faces the undefeated Regie Suganob (5-0-0, 1 KO).
