Oubaali ready for first WBC crown defense

Frenchman Nordine Oubaali (15-0, 11 KO) will defend the World Boxing Council bantamweight crown for the first time, on July 6 in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, against the Filipino Arthur Villanueva (32-3-1, 18 KO), on a card that will be broadcast live on ESPN +.

Nordine won the title by defeating American Rau’shee Warren to win the vacant WBC belt on January 19 in Las Vegas. It was a rematch, since Oubaali also defeated Warren at the 2012 Olympics.

Villanueva, who was already the WBC’s International Champion, is a 30-year-old fighter who has been a professional since 2008, and he trusts that his experience will lead him to conquer the Green and Gold Belt.