WBO bantamweight champion Jason ‘Mayhem’ Moloney 27-2 (19) survived a scare in his first title defence to retain his belt by majority decision against spirited challenger Saul ‘The Beast’ Sanchez 20-3 (12) at the Videotron Center in Quebec City, Canada on Saturday night.
The fight was contested at a frenetic pace with both boxers appearing to have the ascendancy at different stages of the fight only for their opponent to rally back.
The 26-year-old Sanchez from Pacoima in California was having his first world title shot but was out to prove early on that he belonged at this level, dragging the champion into a brawl that lasted the full 12-round distance.
An accidental head clash in the third round opened up a sizeable cut over Moloney’s right eye to further complicate the fight for him.
Hooks and body shots were the order of the day and just when it looked like one of the combatants was wilting from the relentless onslaught, they would come roaring back to life.
CompuBox statistics had Sanchez slightly ahead in terms of volume and accuracy, landing 362 of his 897 punches at 40% efficiency. Australia’s Moloney, 33, wasn’t far behind though, connecting with 297 of his 824 punches at 36% efficiency.
When the final bell rang it was always going to be close. Judge Jean Gauthier couldn’t separate them at 114-114, while judges Richard Blouin and Richard DeCarufel both saw the fight for Moloney with identical scores of 116-112.
The bout was so fast-paced and exciting that many fans and pundits are considering it an early frontrunner for Fight of the Year.
“Saul Sanchez is a warrior. I am proud to be the WBO bantamweight champion and I was going to do whatever it took to keep my title,” said Moloney.
“The era of ‘Mayhem’ is only beginning. And the fans here in Quebec City were incredible. I felt like I did enough in the later rounds to retain my title.”
Moloney won the vacant strap with a 12-round majority decision victory over Filipino Vincent Astrolabio 19-4 (14) in Stockton, California in May.
He now want the opportunity to defend the bauble a home, with one possible option being a fight on the undercard of the proposed lightweight bout between former world champions Geornge Kambosos Jr 21-2 (10) and Vasiliy Lomachenko 17-3 (11) that will reportedly take place in Australia on May 12.
“I’d love to defend my world title ‘Down Under’ in front of my Australian fans,” Moloney said.
If Moloney has his way, that fight would be against IBF 118-pound champion Emmanuel Rodriguez 22-2 (13) in a unification bout. The 31-year-old Puerto Rican holds a razor-thin split decision win over Moloney dating back to October 2018.
“That’s definitely one I need to get back before my career is done. It still eats away at me,” Moloney said to Fox Sports Australia last week.
“Now that I’m a champion it’s not something I cry over, but still — whenever I watch that fight back — I think I won it.
“And what makes me want (the rematch) more is knowing how much I’ve improved since that fight. I know that if we get in there again, I’ll beat him.
“So I’m determined to make that fight happen and fingers crossed it can happen this year. I know he wants the fight. And I want the fight.
“So let’s hope we can get it on. I’m very confident I can beat him next time around.”
