‘King’ Arthur likely to fight abroad for world title eliminator

IT’S ALWAYS a big plus to fight at home but for “King” Arthur Villanueva’s upcoming crucial fight, there’s little to no chance he could get that critical advantage.

According to his promoter, it is almost certain that Villanueva will be fighting away from home in his World Boxing Organization (WBO) world bantamweight title eliminator against Zolani Tete of South Africa.

“We are finalizing it already. It’s ninety-nine percent sure that the fight’s going to happen but most probably it will not happen in the Philippines. We will be making an announcement next week as soon as everything is finalized,” said Michael P. Aldeguer, CEO of the Cebu-based ALA Promotions International.

The winner in the Villanueva-Tete fight will challenge the reigning WBO world bantamweight champion Marlon “Nightmare” Tapales.

Villanueva (30W-1L-0,16KOs), who is the reigning WBO Asia Pacific Bantamweight champion, fought for a world title in 2015 but couldn’t snatch the IBF world super flyweight belt when he lost to Mcjoe Arroyo via a technical decision.

Trainer Edito Villamor said Villanueva has been training since September following his knockout victory against Juan Jimenez in the United States.

“He’s been training regularly because we will never know when a fight might be offered,” said Villamor. “He’s always trains and conditions himself as if he has an upcoming fight.”

Villamor added Villanueva of Bago City, Negros Occidental sparred with quality boxers regularly in preparation for Tete.

Villanueva’s sparmates included fellow ALA Boxing Gym boxers Roli Gasca, Virgel Vitor and Kenneth Gentallan.

Tete, the current IBF International bantamweight champion, is considered a very dangerous opponent for Villanueva as the African fighter holds a record of 24 wins with 20 knockout victories.

The former IBF world super flyweight champion only has three losses.