THE world championship remains very much elusive for Arthur Villanueva.
The Filipino again failed in his title bid late Saturday night, suffering a seventh round technical knockout loss against Nordine Oubaali for the World Boxing Council bantamweight crown at the Barys Arena in Nur-Sultan (formally Astana), Kazakhstan.
Villanueva suffered a knockdown in the sixth round following a straight left and a right hook by the defending champion from France. Although the Filipino managed to get up on his feet, it was just a matter of time before the end came for the ALA boxing stable stalwart.
The 30-year-old native of Bago City, who trailed Oubaali the entire fight, have had enough and failed to answer the bell for round seven.
Official time of the stoppage was at 0:01 of the seventh round.
Villanueva’s record now stands at 32-4-1 with 18 KOs as he fell anew in his bid to win a world crown four years after being foiled by McJoe Arroyo for the vacant International Boxing Federation (IBF) super-flyweight belt.
Oubaali meanwhile, kept his unbeaten record at 16-0 (12 KOs) and made known his intention to unify the bantamweight division.
“My first title win was for the WBC belt. Now I want all the belts,” said the Frenchman, a two-time Olympian.