Ruben Villa (born April 16, 1997) is an American professional boxer who challenged for the WBO featherweight title in October 2020. As an amateur he was a two-time U.S. National Golden Gloves champion. As of June 2020, he is ranked as the world's eighth best active featherweight by The Ring.[2]

Ruben Villa
Born (1997-04-16) April 16, 1997 (age 27)
NationalityAmerican
Other namesRV4
Statistics
Weight(s)
Height5 ft 6 in (168 cm)
Reach66+12 in (169 cm)
StanceSouthpaw
Boxing record[1]
Total fights23
Wins22
Wins by KO7
Losses1

Amateur career edit

As an amateur, Villa compiled a record of 116–17, winning two U.S. National Golden Gloves Championships and competing at the U.S. Olympic Trials. He holds notable wins over WBO featherweight champion, Shakur Stevenson,[3] and WBC lightweight champion, Devin Haney.[4]

Professional career edit

Villa made his professional debut on July 29, 2016, scoring a first-round knockout (KO) victory over Gerardo Molina at the DoubleTree Hotel in Ontario, California.[5]

After compiling a record of 10–0 (4 KOs) he defeated Marlon Olea on April 14, 2018, at the Salinas Storm House in Salinas, California, capturing the WBO Youth featherweight title[6] by unanimous decision (UD) over eight rounds. All three judges scored the bout 80–72.[7]

After four more wins in non-title fights, one by KO, he won his second professional title by defeating Luis Lopez-Vargas via UD on May 10, 2019, to capture the vacant WBO International featherweight title,[8] with the judges' scorecards reading 98–92, 97–93 and 96–94.[9] He retained the title against Enrique Vivas by UD in September[10] followed by a UD victory against Alexei Collado in January 2020.[11]

Professional boxing record edit

23 fights 22 wins 1 loss
By knockout 7 0
By decision 15 1
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
23 Win 22–1   Cristian Cruz Chacon UD 10 Apr 13, 2024   American Bank Center, Corpus Christi, Texas, U.S. Won vacant WBC Silver featherweight title
22 Win 21–1   Brandon Valdes UD 8 Sep 15, 2023   American Bank Center, Corpus Christi, Texas, U.S.
21 Win 20–1   Maickol Lopez Villagrana KO 5 (8), 0:55 May 13, 2023   Stockton Arena, Stockton, California, U.S.
20 Win 19–1   Horacio García KO 9 (10), 1:12 Apr 15, 2022   DoubleTree Hotel, Ontario, California, U.S.
19 Loss 18–1   Emanuel Navarrete UD 12 Oct 9, 2020   MGM Grand Conference Center, Paradise, Nevada, U.S. For vacant WBO featherweight title
18 Win 18–0   Alexei Collado UD 10 Dec 21, 2019   Hirsch Memorial Coliseum, Shreveport, Louisiana, U.S. Retained WBO International featherweight title
17 Win 17–0   Enrique Vivas UD 10 Sep 20, 2019   La Hacienda Event Center, Midland, Texas, U.S. Retained WBO International featherweight title
16 Win 16–0   Luis Lopez-Vargas UD 10 May 10, 2019   Omega Products International, Corona, California, U.S. Won vacant WBO International featherweight title
15 Win 15–0   Ruben Cervera UD 8 Jan 11, 2019   StageWorks, Shreveport, Louisiana, U.S.
14 Win 14–0   Miguel Carrizoza UD 8 Oct 13, 2018   Salinas Storm House, Salinas, California, U.S.
13 Win 13–0   José González UD 8 Aug 24, 2018   Omega Products International, Corona, California, U.S.
12 Win 12–0   Ricardo Torres KO 6 (8), 2:49 Jun 30, 2018   Omega Products International, Sacramento, California, U.S.
11 Win 11–0   Marlon Olea UD 8 Apr 14, 2018   Salinas Storm House, Salinas, California, U.S. Won vacant WBO Youth featherweight title
10 Win 10–0   Juan Sandoval UD 6 Feb 16, 2018   DoubleTree Hotel, Ontario, California, U.S.
9 Win 9–0   German Meraz UD 6 Oct 21, 2017   Turning Stone Resort Casino, Verona, New York, U.S.
8 Win 8–0   Ernesto Guerrero UD 6 Sep 22, 2017   DoubleTree Hotel, Ontario, California, U.S.
7 Win 7–0   Jonathan Alcantara UD 4 Jul 1, 2017   Omega Products International, Sacramento, California, U.S.
6 Win 6–0   Anthony Sanchez KO 5 (6), 2:43 May 19, 2017   DoubleTree Hotel, Ontario, California, U.S.
5 Win 5–0   Luis Torres TKO 6 (6), 1:34 Apr 14, 2017   MGM National Harbor, Oxon Hill, Maryland, U.S.
4 Win 4–0   Francisco Camacho UD 4 Feb 10, 2017   DoubleTree Hotel, Ontario, California, U.S.
3 Win 3–0   Aaron Lopez UD 4 Nov 4, 2016   Omega Products International, Corona, California, U.S.
2 Win 2–0   Jose Mora KO 1 (4), 2:31 Sep 23, 2016   DoubleTree Hotel, Ontario, California, U.S.
1 Win 1–0   Gerardo Molina KO 1 (4), 2:25 Jul 29, 2016   DoubleTree Hotel, Ontario, California, U.S.

References edit

  1. ^ "Boxing record for Ruben Villa". BoxRec.
  2. ^ "Ratings". The Ring. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
  3. ^ Abramson, Mitch (July 26, 2016). "Banner, Thompson Boxing sign amateur standout Ruben Villa". The Ring. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
  4. ^ Frauenheim, Norm (January 30, 2020). "Ruben Villa, former amateur star, fighting way into title mix". Boxing Junkie. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
  5. ^ "Ruben Villa Impresses in Pro Debut, Knocks Out Gerardo Molina in the First". FightBook MMA. July 31, 2016. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
  6. ^ "Photos: Ruben Villa, Marlon Olea Ready For Battle in Salinas". BoxingScene.com. April 13, 2018. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
  7. ^ Salazar, Francisco (April 14, 2018). "Ruben Villa shuts out Marlon Olea over eight rounds". The Ring. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
  8. ^ "BoxRec: List of WBO International featherweight champions". boxrec.com. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
  9. ^ Salazar, Francisco (May 10, 2019). "Ruben Villa outpoints Luis Alberto Lopez over 10 rounds in ShoBox main event". The Ring. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
  10. ^ Idec, Keith (September 21, 2019). "Ruben Villa Drops Vivas, Wins 10-Round Unanimous Decision". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
  11. ^ Christ, Scott (February 1, 2020). "ShoBox results: Ruben Villa shuts down Alexei Collado, Taras Shelestyuk wins". www.badlefthook.com. Retrieved June 2, 2020.