212: Is That Who I Think He Is? ANTHONY N. VILLANUEVA for TONDEÑA RUM (1966) and TERYLENE (1967)

CELEBRATED BOXER ANTHONY VILLANUEVA. Highest-placed Filipino Olympian, 1964

BOY BOXER, Anthony Villanueva

The 19 year old boxer who became a household name in 1964 with his triumph at the Tokyo Olympics was born Anthony N. Villanueva (b. 18 March 1945)  to an Olympian father, Cely Villanueva, a bronze medallist at the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics.

His pugilist father influenced his interest in boxing, so much so that at an early age, he became an accomplished athlete. 

Boxing aficionado and businessman Eugenio Puyat saw his potential and supported him, such that by 1962, at age 17, the FEU teen became a national boxing titlist.

This qualified him to the 1964 Tokyo Olympics where he competed in the Featherweight Division, where he defeated boxers from Italy, Tunisia, Poland and the U.S. before facing the Russian  Stanislav Stepashkin in the finals. In the controversial Gold medal match, Villanueva lost 3 to 2.

Nevertheless, Villanueva came home to a hero’s welcome—the highest-placed athlete in Philippine Olympic history. Showbiz beckoned, and Villanueva starred in at least 5 action movies, including the boxing-inspired “Malakas, Kaliwa't Kanan” with Nida Blanca and the bio-flick, “The Pancho Villa Story”.

 

VILLANUEVA AND STEPASHKIN in the controversial finals.

As he lost his amateur status due to his lucrative acting career, Villanueva turned professional in 1965, debuting in a fund-raising event called “Fiesta Fistiana” at the Araneta Coliseum, matched against the Japanese, Shigeo Nirasawa. He would hang his boxing gloves after only 5 bouts.

Capitalizing on his Olympic fame, advertisers sought out the acclaimed boxer, who signed up with two clients.

 

VILLANUEVA FOR TONDENA RUM, 1966

For La Tondeña, Villanueva did an ad for TONDEÑA NATURAL RUM in 1966. The B&W print ad featured a close-up photo of the boxer, holding a glass of “smooth as velvet” TONDEÑA RUM.

Villanueva also appeared in a TERYLENE ad that was part of  a campaign series. TERYLENE, a fabric perfect for suits, was a revolutionary clothing material made of a combination of viscose rayon and terylene. The thematic ad series featured active men in heroic James Bond roles, coming to damsel in distress, unmasking enemies, delivering karate chops—that tests the fabric for durability, comfort and strength.  

 

VILLANUEVA POSING FOR A TERYLENE AD,1967

Villanueva’s version shows him as a travelling photographer, smartly dressed in a suit—“so neat, so masculine, so elegant”-- flitting to and fro to his shooting assignments.

When his boxing and acting days were over, Villanueva became a boxing coach, until 1976, when he decided to go find his future in the U.S.  

SOURCES:

https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/05/15/14/villanuevas-death-puts-spotlight-poor-retired-athletes