KING Arthur Villanueva failed in his attempt to claim the vacant International Boxing Federation (IBF) bantamweight title after losing a 10-round technical decision against McJoe Arroyo of Puerto Rico Saturday night (Sunday morning, Manila time) at the Don Haskins Center in El Paso, Texas.
Referee Rafael Ramos called the fight to a halt upon the doctor’s advice due to a bad cut on the Filipino’s right eye caused by an accidental headbutt.
Judges scored it 97-92, 98-91, 98-91 in favor of Arroyo, a former Olympian who kept his unbeaten record at 17-0, with 8 KOs.
The loss was the first for the 26-year-old Villanueva as a pro (27-1, 14) and became the third straight Filipino to fall short of winning a world title in the past two months after fellow ALA boxing stablemate Milan Melindo and Johnriel Casimero.
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