Anthony Villanueva

Besides boxing, Villanueva worked as an actor and boxing coach in the Philippines and as a security guard in the United States. He died after suffering several strokes. His father, José Villanueva, was also an Olympic boxer who won a bronze medal as a bantamweight at the 1932 Los Angeles Games thus becoming the first father and son to win Olympic medals for the Philippines.

• Name — Anthony Villanueva • Nationality — Filipino • Weight Class — Featherweight • Height — 165 cm • Weight — 57 kg • Born — 18 March 1945 • Birthplace — Cabuyao, Laguna, Philippine Commonwealth • Died — 13 May 2014 • Place of death — Cabuyao, Laguna, Philippines • Wins — 1 • Losses — 3 • No Contests — 1 • Medal Templates — the Philippines Olympic Games

Villanueva studied at the Far Eastern University.

Anthony Villanueva was scouted by businessman and sport enthusiast Eugenio Puyat. He later won the 1962 national title and qualified for the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. He faced Soviet boxer Stanislav Stepashkin, in the gold medal match and lost in a 3–2 controversial decision.

1964 • Defeated Giovanni Girgenti (Italy) 3–2 • Defeated Ben Hassan (Tunisia) 4–1 • Defeated Piotr Gutman (Poland) Referee Stopped Contest • Defeated Charles Brown (United States) 4–1 • Lost to Stanislav Stepashkin (Soviet Union) 2–3

Villanueva became a professional boxer at age 20. His first fight as a professional was with Shigeo Nirasawa of Japan at the Araneta Coliseum in Cubao, Quezon City which took place on October 2, 1965, as part of Fiesta Fistiana, a fund raising event organized by the Philippine Sportswriters Association for disabled boxers. Villanueva won the match by a controversial majority decision. The scoring of the judges was criticized and was described as something seen in movies. Judges Alfredo Quiazon and Alex Villacampa chose Villanueva as the victor with the tight scores 29–28 and 28–27 respectively. The third judge Jaime Valencia called it a draw with the score 29-all. Anthony and his father filed a case against Ilang-Ilang Productions of Espiridion Laxa for P45,000 for "exploitation of popularity". The production firm was accused of filming the said match without the consent of the Villanuevas. The results of the case were never announced.

Shortly after winning the silver medal, Villanueva went into an acting career, though at the cost of his amateur boxing license. He then starred in five movies. He appeared in Malakas, Kaliwa't Kanan with Nida Blanca, Salonga Brothers with then actor Joseph Estrada. Villanueva also appeared in The Pancho Villa Story.

Villanueva was separated from his first wife from whom he had two children. He remarried in the US, and had a son with his American wife. After coming back from the US, he stayed with his common-law wife, Liezel Beldia, for 17 years until his death in 2014; they had a son together. In 1976, he went to the United States to earn a living. He worked as a cook in a Mexican restaurant in Massachusetts, then as a security guard in Staten Island and the Philippine Consulate in New York City. He also worked as a boxing coach at private gyms. He later returned to the Philippines in 1988 assisted the Philippine national boxing coach team to prepare the team for the 1988 Summer Olympics then later returned the United States after failing in a bid to find a stable job but eventually returned home for good. Villanueva suffered a mild stroke in 1999. He tried selling his silver medal for 1 million pesos a year later. He was persuaded to donate the medal to the Philippine Sports Commission instead.