By Ryan Songalia
The fight between WBO Oriental featherweight champion Lorenzo Villanueva of Midsayap, Cotabato (del Norte), Philippines and former title challenger Billy Dib of Sydney, Australia has been scrapped, says Villanueva's manager Manny Pinol.
Pinol, who previously served as Governor of the North Cotabato district of the Philippines, cited a disagreement between his camp and Australian promoter Peter Maniatis as to where the referees and judges would be from.
"The promoters of Billy Dib scrapped the fight because I asked for a neutral referee and one Filipino judge since it is a WBO Oriental championship," Pinol told BoxingScene. "I eventually settled for a respected Australian judge - Brad Vocale - provided there would be one Filipino referee but they turned it down.
"They said it would cost them too much. Maybe they also realized that Villanueva would be a dangerous opponent for Dib given his knockout record."
Pinol also lamented Hussein's intentions on changing the venue and date from the original March 12 in Perth, Australia to the capital of Sydney on March 5, where he felt Villanueva would have a harder time getting a fair shake.
Pinol did concede that the fallout may end up working in his favor, though. "The scrapping of the fight could also be good because I also see the Dib fight as a difficult one for Villanueva with very little beneficial value to Lorenzo's boxing career."
No alternate matchup has been announced for the 25-year-old Lorenzo, who holds an unbeaten record of 18-0 with 17 knockouts. Dib, also 25, challenged Steven Luevano for the WBO featherweight title in 2008 and stands at 30-1 with 18 knockouts as a professional.
Ryan Songalia is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) and contributes to GMANews.TV and the Filipino Reporter newspaper. From January through April, he will cover the Daily News Golden Gloves tournament for the New York Daily News. He can be reached at ryan@ryansongalia.com . An archive of his work can be found at www.ryansongalia.com . Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ryansongalia .
