After the South African Zolani Tete vacated the International Boxing Federation (IBF) super flyweight title, the #1 ranked McJoe Arroyo, from Puerto Rico, will face the #3 ranked Arthur Villanueva, from Philippines, for the vacant belt, possibly on July 18 in the United States.
Tete (20-3, 17 KOs) would defend his belt against Arroyo (16-0, 8 KOs) this summer, but negotiations were unsuccessful and after an IBF purse bid held recently- won by Golden Boy Promotions- the African boxer didn’t accept the terms for the fight and vacated the title.
“We are already negotiating with the promoter of Villanueva (ALA Promotions), with whom we have already worked before, and there should be no problem for the fight to take place,” said Peter Rivera, vice president of PR Best Boxing Promotions (PRBBP), company representing
Arroyo, who is also ranked number seven by the WBO in the super flyweight division.
“We have a tentative date, which is July 18 in the United States, which is what we are working.”
Arroyo, an Olympic representing Puerto Rico in 2008, defeated by unanimous decision last December 20, 2014, Filipino Mark Anthony Geraldo in an elimination fight for the top spot in the 115 pounds IBF rankings.
In his amateur career, Arroyo was a bronze medalist at the 2007 World Amateur Boxing Championships in Chicago and at the 2006 Central American and Caribbean Games in Colombia.
Last year, the 29-year, got two wins, one against countryman David Quijano by unanimous decision in April, and the other an 11th-round TKO over former world champion Hernan “Tyson” Marquez in June in Mexico.
Villanueva (27-0, 14 KOs) is a boxer who comes from a unanimous decision victory last February 7, 2015, over former world champion Julio Cesar Miranda. In 2014, Villanueva scored two wins by decision over Mexico’s Fernando Aguilar (unanimous) in March and the Nicaraguan Henry Maldonado (split) in September.
