MANILA – Negrense boxer Arthur Villanueva is not yet hanging his boxing gloves as he commited to London-based Slovenian boxing manager Hinko Kostanjevec.
The Bago City, Negros Occidental-native Villanueva said he was thankful to the new opportunity after his former boxing promotion ALA Boxing Promotions folded due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“As agreed, I will be flying and training in Slovenia when things are already good. I think this will be a great chance for me to get bigger fights,” Villanueva said in an interview with Sportsjourn.com.
“With my new deal, I am expected to earn at least three fights a year,” the 31-year-old Negrense boxer added. “Right now, I have returned to training with my fellow Negrense Merlito Sabillo.”
Villanueva admitted that thoughts of retirement had crossed his mind following his defeat to World Boxing Council (WBC) world bantamweight champion Nordine Oubaali in Kazakhstan in July 2019.
“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 because of a cyst. I felt that those were signs that I had to retire,” Villanueva said.
“I was planning on becoming a trainer in China, but because I received an offer after the closure of ALA, 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, a former holder of the World Boxing Organization Asia Pacific Bantamweight, WBC International Super Flyweight and International Boxing Federation International Super Flyweight titles, has an impressive boxing record of 32-4-1 win-loss-draw with 18 knockouts./PN
