Arthur Villanueva to see action on July 12 in Atlanta

Arthur Villanueva flexed his chiseled physique at the Knuckleheads Boxing Gym. | Photo from Viva Promotions

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Former world title challenger “King” Arthur Villanueva is scheduled for a bounce-back fight on July 12 at the Overtime Elite Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, United States.

The 35-year-old Villanueva remained in the United States following his March defeat against American prospect Elijah Pierce via a technical knockout at the same venue.

Instead of flying back to the Philippines, Villanueva stayed in the United States and trained at the Knuckleheads Boxing Gym of MP Promotions’ top honcho Sean Gibbons in Las Vegas.

Four months later, Villanueva, a former ALA Boxing Gym mainstay, found an opponent in Saul Sanchez of the United States for the Overtime Boxing fight card.

Villanueva and Sanchez will battle in an eight-round bout in the bantamweight division.

Before losing to Pierce, Villanueva was on a three-fight winning streak. He won the World Boxing Association (WBA) Asia South bantamweight title during that winning streak.

Despite his crushing TKO defeat against Pierce, Villanueva still holds a dangerous record of 35 wins, with 20 knockouts, five defeats, and one draw.

Meanwhile, Sanchez, 27, dubbed “The Beast,” has a 20-3 (win-loss) record with 12 knockouts. He is also a world title challenger but lost to Aussie boxing star Jason Moloney last January for the WBO world bantamweight strap by majority decision.

Sanchez is familiar with fighting Filipino foes. He already fought RV Deniega in Japan in 2023, where he won by unanimous decision.

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