A furious Andrew Moloney 26-4 (16) announced his retirement in the ring following his split decision loss to Pedro Guevara 42-4-1 (22) in their battle for the vacant WBC interim super flyweight title at the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia on Sunday afternoon local time.
The 33-year-old Australian was originally scheduled to face Carlos Cuadras 42-5-1 (28) before the 35-year-old Mexican veteran withdrew with a torn Achilles tendon shortly after the fight was announced.
In stepped fellow Mexican Guevara, 34, who interestingly dropped a split decision to Cuadras in his second last fight in Uzbekistan six months ago.
Fighting in the style that his nation has been renowned for, Guevara pressed the action throughout the fight and maintained a relentless body attack.
For his part, Moloney was the sharper, more accurate puncher and controlled large portions of the fight with his shot selection and poise.
CompuBox had Guevara landed 177 of 661 punches at 27% and Moloney connecting with 152 of 506 blows at a clip of 30%. The punch counting company also credited Guevara 81 power shots landed to the body out of a total of 132.
The three official judges at ringside had a hard time splitting them too. Judge Samantha Bulner saw it 116-113, while judges Humberto Olivares and Zanashir Taznaa both turned in identical cards of 115-113 for Guevara.
The result did not sit well with the local boxer.
In an interview with Ben Damon in the ring after the fight, Moloney insisted he was in full control of the fight.
“Absolutely. I felt in total control. I did what I had to do in there tonight just to get through the rounds and win,” Moloney said.
“I don’t want to make excuses but I went into this fight with a torn bicep. I couldn’t throw that left hook unless I needed to – but I didn’t feel like I needed to throw it because I was in total control.
“I just want to say thank you to Top Rank, thank you for my team for everything you’ve done for me.
“But I’m done with this sport. That’s the last you’ll see of me.
“I want to thank my sponsors for everything they’ve done for me over the years because I’m retired, I’m out. I love you all but sorry, fuck that!”
Moloney said he felt corruption was at play to prevent him from winning the title. The WBC is headquartered in Mexico City.
“They saw an envelope get pushed under the table,” he said. “No way he fucking won that.”
He added: “[It’s] Money. He’s Mexican.”
At the post-fight press conference Moloeny elaborated on his thoughts.
“When one judge scored it for him, I thought ‘OK, you can’t get any worse than that’ – surely the other two will give it to me, wide,” he said.
“There’s no reason other than it’s corruption. No qualified judge can see him winning that fight.”
