Jason Moloney‘s quest to become a two-time titlist at 118 lbs has gathered further momentum, with the former WBO champion besting unheralded American Andre Donovan over 10 rounds at Brisbane’s Fortitude Music Hall on Thursday.
The victory was not without hardship for the 35-year-old Moloney (29-4, 20 KOs), who not only suffered a cut over his right eye from a tenth-round headclash but was dealt his share of blows in the unanimous decision win (97-92 x 3). Despite retaining his WBC Australasian title, picked up via a fourth-round stoppage of Filipino Herlan Gomez last December, and capturing the IBF intercontinental belt, thus solidifying his rankings with both sanctioning bodies (WBC #7 and IBF #9), the Kingscliffe-trained product aired some of the frustrations he had with his outing post-fight.
“Just winning that fight wasn’t enough tonight. I’m pretty disappointed in my performance,” he said. “It’s another step forward, and it gives me the opportunity to go back, review the fight, learn from it, and get better, which is something I pride myself on every time I’ve lost or had a dull performance.”
Donovan (12-3, 8 KOs), a game southpaw, started the bout in fast fashion, targeting the body of a cautious Moloney with jabs and left rips in the first. Though the American worked hard to disrupt the rhythm of the former champion with timing and constant movement, Moloney started to use his superior reach, and by the end of the third, had increased his tally of right hands landed noticeably.
The script truly flipped for Donovan in the final seconds of round four when a thudding hook to his mid-section started to dent any hopes of a fairytale win, causing visible pain in the process. Still, he battled gallantly, going forehead to forehead with Moloney and battling through every hard body blow sustained throughout the following period.
An already high-tempo fight somehow picked up another gear from the start of the sixth. Despite Donovan’s ability to land on the inside, the advantages of conditioning and power clearly sided with Moloney and started to come to the fore, as evidenced by a telling overhand right in the middle of the seventh stanza. Now with a compromised mid-section to feast on, Moloney began to mix up his attacks, targeting head and body more freely with every passing moment.
Sensing the fight slipping away, the Uhrichsville, Ohio native battled on bravely, but any fleeting success from the in-tight exchanges was soon thwarted when a point was taken from his card for excessive holding. The deduction was compounded by a strong Moloney showing in the ninth.
Coming out for the final three minutes like he’d been shot from a cannon, Donovan’s over-zealousness to close the distance led to a clash of heads that opened a gash on the right eyebrow of the Australian. Spurred on by the sight of his own claret, “Mayhem” upped his level of aggression as the pair traded until the final bell.
With another win now in the books, attention turns to what the next 12 months hold in store for Moloney. On the one hand, banking 10 rounds against a southpaw for a fighter with limited professional experience against left-handed opponents suggests manager Tony Tolj may have one eye on IBF champion Jose Salas Reyes, a contest that seems even more plausible with the regional title win.
By contrast, Moloney has a strong history with Japan and has played a significant role in “The Land of the Rising Sun,” gaining a stranglehold over the bantamweight division through his fights with Naoya Inoue, Yoshiki Takei, and Tenshin Nasukawa. For that reason, a challenge to the winner of next month’s WBC title bout between Takuma Inoue and Kazuto Ioka shouldn’t remain out of the question.
As is often the case in boxing, time will tell – but with little of it to waste, expect Moloney to be banging the drum advocating for one last shot at glory.
Jason Moloney vs. Andre Donovan Undercard Results
The card’s co-main event saw IBF #2 light heavyweight Conor Wallace (17-1, 12 KOs) return after 10 months out of the ring, dusting off the cobwebs with a sixth-round stoppage of Argentinian veteran Walter Sequeira (28-14-2, 19 KOs).
Lured into a brawl early, the Irish-born Queenslander suffered a cut over his left eye from a clash of heads in the third. Tightening things up from that point on, Wallace scored a body-shot knockdown in the fifth, before forcing Sequera to his knees with a barrage of punches in the following frame and bringing an end to the eight-round 178 lb catchweight bout.
Earlier in the night, Ben Mahoney (17-0-1, 9 KOs) defended his IBF Pan Pacific super welterweight title against a relentless Dan Hill (7-3, 3 KOs), scoring a unanimous decision win (96-94, 97-93 x 2) in a close, entertaining stoush that saw neither man give an inch.
Finally, highly-touted 21-year-old prospect, Max “Money” McIntyre (10-0, 9 KOs) passed the toughest test of his burgeoning career to date, turning back the ever-tough Tej Singh (20-9-3, 9 KOs) via eighth-round corner stoppage.
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