Villasana first challenged Azumah Nelson for the WBC featherweight title, losing a narrow split decision on February 25, 1986.
Villasana's very next bout was a third shot at the WBC featherweight title against champion Jeff Fenech, which resulted in a unanimous decision defeat.
Shortly thereafter, Fenech relinquished the title and moved to the super featherweight division.
Villasana won the vacant WBC featherweight title June 2, 1990, defeating Paul Hodkinson.
He successfully defended the title three times including against Ricardo Cepeda in Spain,[1] before losing a unanimous decision rematch to Hodkinson on November 13, 1991.