MANILA – Bacolodnon boxer Arthur Villanueva will have another shot at a world championship.
He faces WBC bantamweight champion Nordine Oubaali of France on July 6 at the Barys Arena in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan.
This will be the third world title fight of the Bacolod City-native after losing in his previous two against former IBF super flyweight champion McJoe Arroyo and former WBO bantamweight belt holder Zolani Tete.
Villanueva admitted that he is the underdog in the matchup but promised to give his all to pull off an upset against his undefeated opponent Oubaali and finally become a world champion.
“I’m expecting a very tough fight,” Villanueva said in an interview with Boxing Scene. “I learned a lot from my previous fights. Even though I wasn’t successful in winning the belt that time, I picked up things I can use against Oubaali.”
Oubaali, who is defending his world title for the first time since winning it against American Rau’Shee Warren last January, expects Villanueva to be a tough challenge for him.
“I’m expecting this to be a huge night of boxing,” Oubaali said. “The fans can expect great entertainment because this collision with Villanueva has all the ingredients to be a really explosive fight.”
The 30-year-old Villanueva will be entering the match with 32-3-1 win-loss-draw ring record, including 18 stoppage wins, while the 32-year-old Oubaali has unblemished 15-0-0, with 11 knockout wins./PN
