Anthony Villanueva, forgotten hero, dies

MANILA, Philippines — Boxer Anthony Villanueva came home from the 1964 Tokyo Olympics a hero. Five decades later, the forgotten Olympic silver medalist died a pauper.

Villanueva, the first Filipino to bag a silver in sports’ biggest stage, died in his sleep Tuesday morning after losing his long-running bout with various illnesses. He was 69.

Bedridden for quite some time and unable to speak, Villanueva suffered a stroke five times in recent years, according to broadcaster Chino Trinidad, who visited the old man recently in his apartment in Cabuyao, Laguna. Villanueva, curled up in a state of atrophic contortion, had swollen feet due to kidney malfunction and was diagnosed with heart abnormalities.

He was survived by his wife Liezel Deldia and 15-year-old son Joey. He had three more children, Avery, 43, and Agatha, 41, with his first wife, and a son, Jose, 18, with another woman.

Then 19 years old, Villanueva shot to prominence when he beat his first three opponents—Ben Hassan of Tunisia, Piotr Gutman of Poland and Charles Gutman of the United States—to earn a crack at the featherweight gold medal against the taller Stanislav Stepashkin of the Soviet Union in Tokyo.

Despite putting up a gallant stand, Villanueva lost by a disputed split decision, 3-2, with the judges from Italy, Lebanon and Tunisia siding with the Russian and those from Egypt and Germany picking the Filipino.

Anthony, a southpaw, was the son of Jose “Cely” Villanueva—the first Filipino Olympic medalist with a bronze in the 1932 Los Angeles Games.

Years after his Olympic stint, Anthony worked as a security guard at the Philippine consulate in New York. He returned to the country in 1988.

“We lost a great athlete like we lost the gold in the Olympics,” said Philippine Sports Commission chair Richie Garcia. “Our prayers go to his family. We will make sure he gets a proper burial.”

The wake has been set at the Manila Memorial Park in Sucat, Parañaque City.

Villanueva, who had a forgetful professional career—he lost thrice in five bouts—and appeared in three movies, would have been one of the 19 Filipino sports heroes to be honored in the “Gabi Ng Pagpupugay’’ on June 12 at the Newport Performing Arts Theater of the Resorts World.

Trinidad, who organized the “Pagpupugay,” said Villanueva—who reportedly tried to sell his Olympic medal several times—died penniless. With a report from Roy Luarca