Ruben Villa is introducing himself to fans as someone to watch. He’s a potential contender, a featherweight trying to fight his way into the title mix.
But Villa needs no introduction to a featherweight already with a title. Shakur Stevenson knows him, knows him well.
As an amateur, Villa went 2-2 against Stevenson, who faces Miguel Marriaga on March 14 at New York’s Madison Square Garden in the first defense of a 126-pound belt he won in a unanimous decision over Joet Gonzalez on Oct. 26.
“It was back in 2015 and 2016 before he went on to the (2016) Olympics and won a silver medal,’’ said Villa (17-0, 5 KOs), who hopes to add a victory to his credentials as a prospect Friday night against Cuban Alexei Collado (26-2, 23 KOs) on Showtime’s ShoBox at Hirsch Memorial Coliseum in Shreveport, Louisiana. “I knew then that I was fighting somebody special. I knew it wouldn’t take him long to win a world title.’’
Villa, of Salinas, California, says he continues to learn from his amateur experience against Stevenson, who at 22 is a couple of months younger than Villa.
“I like the way he counters, I like the way he boxes,’’ said Villa, who says he has been concentrating on improving his own counter punching in training for the dangerous Collada.
“Collado is a real strong aggressive guy,’’ said Villa, who also beat Devin Haney, a current lightweight champion, in the Junior Olympics in 2014. “He’s a veteran. I have to be cautious because of his power and play it very smart on our end.”
Villa hopes the Collado bout is the first of three in 2020.
“By the end of the year,” he said, “I’m hoping to fight my way into spot for a mandatory shot at a world title.’’