Dib accuses champ Villanueva of chickening out

Australian contender Billy Dib fired back at the camp of Filipino champion Lorenzo Villanueva, saying the reigning World Boxing Organization (WBO) Oriental featherweight champ is to be blamed for the cancellation of their scheduled bout in March. "He (Villanueva) punked out," said Dib of his would-be opponent Villanueva, who is promoted by Cebu-based ALA Promotions. Villanueva's manager, former North Cotabato governor Manny Piñol, had requested Australian promoter Peter Maniatis to get a neutral referee and one Filipino judge, which Dib said would cost too much for Maniatis. "They (Villanuva camp) don't understand this was a small promotion. The fight was going to cost like $50,000 to put on," said the 25-year-old Dib, who insisted that Villanueva and his team didn't want the fight to happen. The Sydney native Dib (30-1 with 18 knockouts) was originally scheduled to meet the pride of North Cotabato Villanueva (18-0, 17 KOs) on March 12 in Perth, Australia. But Piñol took exception of Maniatis' intention to reschedule the fight to March 5 in Sydney, where he felt they wouldn't get fair judging. "That's the risk you take; I'm the bigger name. What about when Nedal Hussein boxed [Manny] Pacquiao in the Philippines [in 2000]? Did he [Hussein] get robbed of the win?" An email requesting comment from Dib's trainer Billy Hussein was not returned as of posting time. Despite being upset over the cancellation, Dib said he is hoping to have the bout rescheduled in the near future. "I would even fight in the Philippines for the right money." Dib, who is ranked number 5 by the IBF, is still scheduled to face a yet to be determined opponent on March 12. Dib hopes to win and earn another title shot, this time against WBA champion Chris John (44-0-1, 22 KO) of Indonesia. – Ryan Songalia, JVP, KY, GMANews.TV Ryan Songalia is a New York-based Filipino-American reporter who is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA). He 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.