José Villanueva (boxer)

For the cyclist, see José Antonio Villanueva.

José Villanueva

Personal information
Full name	José Luis Villanueva
Nickname	Cely
Born	March 19, 1913 Binondo, Manila
Died	November 11, 1983(1983-11-11) (aged 70) Kamuning, Quezon City
Sport
Sport	Boxing
University team	FEU
Medal record Men's Boxing Representing the Philippines Olympic Games 1932 Los Angeles Bantamweight

José Luis "Cely" Villanueva (March 19, 1913 – November 11, 1983) was an amateur boxer from the Philippines who represented his country at the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics. Born in Binondo, Manila, he won the bronze medal in the bantamweight class after winning the fight for third place against Joseph Lang.

His son, Anthony Villanueva, also became a boxer, and won a silver medal during the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.

Amateur career

At the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics, Villanueva claimed the Philippines its first Olympic medal in boxing. He gained a bye and bested Japan's Akira Nakao in the quarterfinals. However, his run was cut short after he fell to eventual gold medalist Horace Gwynne of Canada in their semifinal clash. He closed out his campaign with a victory over USA's Joseph Lang in the bronze medal match.

1932 Olympic results

Main article: Boxing at the 1932 Summer Olympics – Bantamweight

Below are the results of boxer José Villanueva who competed for the Philippines as a bantamweight at the 1932 Olympic boxing tournament in Los Angeles:

• Round of 16: bye
• Quarterfinal: defeated Akira Nakao (Japan) on points
• Semifinal: lost to Horace Gwynne (Canada) on points
• Bronze Medal Bout: won by walkover over Joseph Lang (USA)

Professional career

After the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics, Villanueva turned pro. There are no records of how his professional boxing career went.

Later life

Villanueva later on became a boxing trainer. One of his trained fighters was Gabriel Elorde who won a world 130-pound title and held it for seven years. His son, Anthony Villanueva, also became a boxer, and won a silver medal during the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. He was one of his son's first trainers. To this day, they are the only Filipino father-and-son duo to win Olympic medals. He also worked as a Malacañang employee until the early 70s.

Villanueva died of a heart attack in 1983.

Legacy

In 2010, Villanueva and his son Anthony were inducted as part of the Philippine Sports Commission's first batch for their Hall of Fame. In 2021, they were inducted into Far Eastern University's Sports Hall of Fame.

External links

• José Villanueva at Olympedia
• José Villanueva at databaseOlympics.com at the Wayback Machine (archived March 14, 2007)
• Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "José Luis Villanueva". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020.
• "REMEMBERING THE GLORY YEARS - Hall of Fame Launched in Historic Rites" at the Wayback Machine (archived September 5, 2010)