Moloney vs Astrolabio on Saturday has the Mark of an Old-fashioned Dust-Up

Published

7 months ago

May 9, 2023

Moloney=vs-Astrolabio-on-Saturday-has-the-Mark-of-an-Old-fashioned-Dust-Up

This Saturday night in the Stockton Arena in California a fascinating 118lb match will be fought between two of the world’s best bantamweights, Australia’s Jason Moloney, 25-2 and ranked two, and Filipino Vincent Astrolabio, 18-3 and ranked four.

Asrolabio’s rise has been the more meteoric. Clearly talented, it is also true that in 2021 he was very much a preliminary fighter, a supporting act for more storied Filipinos, minimumweight Rene Mark Cuarto among them. In February of 2022 however, Astrolabio got the call he had been waiting for – he was to headline a card out in Dubai, his opponent the former pound-for-pounder and two-time Olympic gold medallist Guillermo Rigondeaux. His purse, rumoured to be around $75,000, was less than a third of what Rigondeaux was set to pocket but still represented a career’s best payday. To maintain such riches, all Astrolabio had to do was win.

This he did, and in style.

Astrolabio came into the fight riding a four-fight knockout streak, a response to his loss out in China to ZongLi He. In truth, Astrolabio probably deserved the nod in that fight, a majority decision that had the smell of hometown cooking if not quite out and out theft. The lesson he learned from his eight-rounder with ZongLi though was not to neglect his body punching. Astrolabio banked early rounds hitting with a right hand to the body and it was a punch he forgot when ZongLi upped the aggression and it probably cost him. Against Rigondeaux, he would not make the same error.

Rigondeaux did his thing, made Astrolabio miss, sometimes by a lot, but the Filipino also turned in a strategic masterpiece. Patient, he also bought pressure. Careful never to throw one punch when two were there to be had, he never got greedy. His mix of touch and power was perfect. Rigondeaux kept waiting as though he expected the same old openings to present themselves, but when they did – and they did – he often found himself out of position or landing a single shot. In the eighth, Astrolabio flashed Rigondeaux with a right-handed punch, but only after repeatedly rattling him with right hands to the head throughout that round. The penny finally seemed to drop for Rigondeaux who won the ninth and tenth but by then it was too late – all three judges had the fight for Astrolabio by virtue of the knockdown (I saw it slightly wider).

His first steps with his newfound status were tentative; he boxed a rusty Nikolai Potapov (now 23-3-1) on a Frank Martin undercard. In fairness, he met the expectation of those of us who had been following his career and exceeded the expectations of many others, sending Potapov to the canvas twice in the very first round, first with a cuffing right hand above the ear and later in the round with a similar counter left. After handing out some brutal treatment in the fourth, Astrolabio found his man with hurtful uppercuts in the fifth and Potapov was down again; matters were settled in the fifth by pressure and a left hook/right uppercut combination. It is worth pointing out that Potapov had never been down as a professional and although stopped once before by long-reigning titlist Omar Narvaez in 2017, this was a corner stoppage. Against Astrolabio a rattled Potapov was sent down four times and heard the ten.

Astrolabio, now twenty-six years old, further developed his body-attack in this fight and his right uppercut is a punch that has come to fruition; furthermore, he clearly impressed an American commentary team (and perhaps audience) who were not that familiar with him – but there is a sense that despite his superb 2022 form, his final confirmation as world-class lies before him. Was Rigondeaux past it? Was Potapov hampered by inactivity? Neither one of these things can be said of Astrolabio’s next opponent.

Moloney is thirty-two, in his fistic prime and highly regarded. The route to divisional kingship lies, for him, through Emmanuel Rodriguez, the current number one and a man who bested him in 2017. This was a close fight and a frustrating one for the Australian, who finished far and away the stronger, winning the ninth through twelfth on my card, but having been cleanly out-boxed in the first half of the fight, it wasn’t enough. It underlines, though, Moloney’s greatest strength: it is unlikely that there is a better conditioned fighter on the planet.

Workrate and conditioning have been the core of what has made Moloney a success since that split loss to Rodriguez as he won eight including five by stoppage. It is true that these wins were bisected by a defeat to the mighty Naoya Inoue, the pugilistic equivalent of being struck by lightning. Still, it is worth noting that when Moloney has stepped up to a level of competition that might be considered higher than Astrolabio’s, he has lost, and that if he were to successfully best Astrolabio, it would represent his biggest, his most important victory.

Moloney spent the first years of the 2020s in the USA, building his name and being battered by Naoya, but in 2022 he returned to Australia for a pair of homecoming fights. The first was against Filipino Aston Palicte (now 28-5-1) who is in possession of neither the quality nor the patience of Astrolabio but does fight with the same sort of punching aggression. It is worth noting then that Moloney timed him on the right uppercut, a shot Astrolabio likes, with a beautiful right hand of his own from which Palicte never recovered. Moloney got him out of there in three – it had previously taken world-class veteran Kazuto Ioka ten. Moloney was heavily favoured, but this was impressive work.

More intriguing in many ways was his most recent fight against the teak-tough Thailander Nawaphon Kaikanha. Kaikanha, now in his early thirties, has boxed one of those fascinating Thai careers heavy on numbers and light on names, but for his 56-2-1 he has victories over former flyweight champion Sony Boy Jaro, and a past-prime version of the storied flyweight beltholder Amnat Ruenroeng. Stopped just once very much against his will back in 2017, Kaikanha, stalking forwards in his Muay Thai stance, was in many ways the perfect foil for Moloney to deploy his fleet-footed, clean-punching style. Alternating between moving to his left, his right, and holding his ground with the proper frequency to create confusion, Moloney also had a fine eye for the right punch, seeking a home for a left to the body and a defence- splitting straight while bringing Kaikanha on to those punches. Moloney is very well balanced and challenges his opponent’s balance with his mobile aggression.

It is clear though that Kaikanha’s heavy hands made Moloney nervous early. Astrolabio has those heavy hands too and he will not get caught following Moloney around the ring. I suspect that Astrolabio will be able to make Moloney fight more often and make him fight when he doesn’t want to, possibly by the ropes. This is the place where the boil for Astrolabio and Moloney begins to intrigue and where the potential fireworks lie. Moloney appears to have a style advantage and also the advantage in quickness, but these were things that were said about both Rigondeaux and Potapov and Astrolabio was not out-sped. Skilled in timing and quick-handed himself in bringing the second punch in behind the first and third behind the second, he, too, remains technically sound under pressure. It is easy to envisage a situation where Astrolabio brings that patient aggression to bear and Moloney finds himself being driven around the ring in an uncontrolled fashion rather than moving and turning at his own pace. That is how he loses this fight.

Moloney’s skill in movement is limited by his inability to tie-up or dominate on the inside, facts that make him over-reliant upon it and can quickly draw him into territorial fire-fights that might otherwise be avoided against a puncher. Astrolabio’s job is therefore two-fold – first, to keep Maloney fighting on the backfoot and to out-hit him in enough exchanges to bag rounds. Moloney can be hit by a right hand and this is the punch that Astrolabio used to punish Rigondeaux and it is likely to be the punch he most favours here given the skill Moloney has shown in countering the right uppercut.

On the other hand, Moloney is built for exactly the type of fight Astrolabio is going to have to fight to win and this is what we mean by style advantage. If, as it appears, he is also the faster man the route to victory for Astrolabio becomes fettered. That is not new for the Filipino though. The bookies have rightly installed Moloney as a slender favourite, but this is a fight that could go either way and a fight which, for Astrolabio to win it, needs to become a fight-of-the-year contender. If he can make it a war he can come away with the spoils; if he allows the Australian to glide his way through the first half of the fight, Maloney’s elite engine should get him home.

But even if Moloney bosses matters, this is going to be fascinating and highly watchable, an old-fashioned dust-up to cement the division’s elite contender in place, a fight both men should be commended for taking and one that The Sweet Science’s readership will undoubtedly enjoy.

Editor’s Note: Moloney vs. Astrolabio will be the co-feature to the WBO world middleweight title fight between Kazakhstan’s Janibek Alimkhanuly and Canadian challenger Steven Butler. The bouts will be broadcast live on ESPN and ESPN Deportes at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT.

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In the Homestretch of His Career, Philadelphia’s Joey “Tank” Dawejko Keeps on Rolling

Seasons Beatings from Philly where Local Fighters of Note are in Action This Weekend

Published

9 hours ago

December 7, 2023

Luis A. Cortes III

Seasons Beatings from Philly where Local Fighters of Note are in Action This Weekend

Tomorrow night (Friday, Dec. 8) begins a nice stretch of live boxing in the Philadelphia area after a relatively quiet fall schedule. These shows will wrap a bow on the 2023 fight schedule for the Delaware Valley with a slate of shows already scheduled for the early part of the upcoming new year.

This sudden boom, well overdue, is good for the Delaware Valley, for its fighters and its fight fans. So, while these shows aren’t large-scale, they are a great way for fight fans to learn about fighters they may see competing on those larger shows in the future.

Let’s look at what exactly fans are in for with the final shows of 2023.

Friday, December 8^th – Wind Creek Events Center, Bethlehem, PA (Kings Promotions)

Jesse Hart (29-3) vs. Jeyson Minda (14-7-1) tops a massive 11-fight card. For years now, Marshall Kauffman’s Kings Promotions has put on successful shows in the Philadelphia region. Not only do they hit the mark from a commercial standpoint, but his shows always have entertaining fights where the result could go either way and this show should be no different.

Jesse Hart (pictured with Jarrett Hurd) finds himself somewhat in limbo in the sport. Staying active and keeping his tools sharp is crucial for Hart to continue to keep his name out there and work his way back into the rankings.

A powerful fighter who often finds himself in engaging battles, Hart’s three defeats happened against only two fighters — Gilberto Ramirez (twice) and Joe Smith, both former world champions. Since his last setback in 2020, Hart has won three fights on the local scene while enduring some setbacks outside of the ring due to hand injuries. Released from his contract with Top Rank, Hart finds himself in the position where his name and pedigree (he’s the son of former middleweight standout Eugene “Cyclone” Hart) coupled with a string of quality victories could open the door to another crack at a marquee name in the super middleweight or light heavyweight division.

Former super welterweight king Jarrett Hurd (24-3) takes on Tyi Edmonds (14-5). In his most recent fight back in March, Hurd returned to the ring after a long absence and was shockingly stopped in the tenth round by Armando Resendiz. Against Edmonds, Hurd looks to prove that he still has elite-level abilities as he too tries to work his way back to the top. A much-needed victory would start that process while a third defeat in a row, especially if it’s physically taxing, would all but mark the end of having his name mentioned anywhere near the division’s best.

Julian Gonzalez (11-0-1) is a talented Kings Promotions fighter who packs a punch, especially for a super featherweight. The 22-year-old Reading, PA native continues his growth against Texas journeyman Juan Antonio Lopez (17-15-1). If successful, Gonzalez will set himself up for a bright 2024 that should see him face quality fringe contenders as well as other prospects which will lead to bigger fights down the road.

Saturday, December 9^th – Showboat Hotel, Atlantic City, NJ (Champions Sports and Entertainment)

Philadelphia fan favorite Joey “The Tank” Dawejko (26-10-4, 14 KOs) is staying busy in the twilight of his career. He’s 3-0 thus far in 2023 which includes two exciting victories over Colby Madison (their first fight, a bruising tiff, will most likely be the 2023 Philadelphia Fight of the Year). On Saturday he returns to the ring to defend his WBC USA heavyweight title in an 8-round battle vs. Jesse Bryan (21-7-2, 16 KOs) of Jefferson City, Missouri. This fight headlines a nine-bout show by CSE which is trying to revive boxing on the boardwalk.

In the co-main, Glassboro, NJ native Derrick Webster (29-4-1) will take on the always durable Cleotis Pendarvis (22-19-2) in an 8-round battle of super middleweights.

Liverpool, NY super lightweight Bryce Mills (13-1, 4 KO) looks to add to his 7-fight winning streak when he battles the durable Tackie Annan (15-10) in a fight scheduled for six rounds. Mills has continued to grow his fan base in the northeast by taking part in action-packed fights from the opening bell. His fans tend to travel well and Saturday looks to be no different as a large contingent of his fans are expected to turn up in Atlantic City to support their young charge. It also helps that Mills, like Dawejko, has teamed up with Hall-of-Fame promoter J. Russell Peltz to help guide his professional career.

Edward Donovan (7-0), a super welterweight prospect from Limerick, Ireland, puts his undefeated record on the line when he battles tough Jetter Burgos (6-1, 5 KO) from the Bronx, NY. Puerto Rican lightweight Joey Borrero (11-1, 9 KO), along with super middleweight prospect Cali Box (2-0) from Franklin Township, NJ, will appear in separate fights.

Date TBD– 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, PA (R&B Promotions)

Tevin Farmer (32-5-1) and Patrick Okine (21-6-2) were slated to meet in the main event last Friday, Dec. 1, on a show at the always-fun 2300 Arena. At the last minute, the show was postponed. An e-mail announcing the unfortunate postponement stated that the show would be rescheduled soon. While a new date has yet to be locked in, all signs point toward the show coming to fruition at the close of 2023 or early in 2024.

A former IBF world super featherweight champion, Tevin Farmer was set to make his third appearance of 2023 as he continues to shake off the ring rust that formed after a much-needed break and continue his push toward becoming a two-time world title-holder. It’s crazy to think, but it’s already been more than three full years since Farmer lost his title to Jojo Diaz in January of 2020.

Farmer, who had a late start in the sport, turned pro without the glitz and glamour that accompanies a highly decorated amateur, but fought his way to the top, beating the odds to achieve his life’s dream of championship glory. His break from the sport following his defeat to Diaz was needed to reenergize him from both a physical and mental standpoint.

In Okine he will find himself in the ring with a sturdy opponent that has faced some of the top contenders in and around the lightweight division. “I wanted Tevin [Farmer] to stay active and keep sharpening his tools and Okine provides that opportunity for him,” stated Alex Barbosa, the promoter/matchmaker. “Okine is always tough and comes to win, which is just what Tevin needs at this point of his career.”

With the lightweight division having had a changing of the guard at the top in terms of the championships, Farmer, 33, just may get that second chance at the top of the mountain. And if he continues to stay active while racking up solid victories, it may come sooner rather than later.

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The IBHOF Class of 2024 includes Ricky Hatton, Michael Moorer, and Ivan Calderon

Published

16 hours ago

December 7, 2023

TSS Press

The IBHOF Class of 2024 includes Ricky Hatton, Michael Moorer, and Ivan Calderon

The International Boxing Hall of Fame and Museum in Canastota, New York, has unveiled its newest class of inductees. The Class of 2024 includes Ricky “The Hitman” Hatton, Michael “Double M” Moorer, Ivan “Iron Boy” Calderon and Diego “Chico” Corrales (posthumous) in the men’s Modern category; Jane “The Fleetwood Assassin” Couch and “La Guerrera” Ana Maria Torres in the Women’s modern category; trainer Kenny Adams, manager Jackie Kallen, and publicist Fred Sternburg in the Non-Participant category; journalist Wallace Matthews and broadcaster Nick Charles (posthumous) in the Observer category; Luis Angel Firpo (posthumous) in the Old Timer category and Theresa Kibby (posthumous) in the women’s Trailblazer category.

The inductees will be formally enshrined during the annual Hall of Fame Induction Weekend. The 2024 event, a four-day jamboree, commences on Thursday, June 6.

The IBHOF is located at Exit 34 of the New York Thruway. Hours of operation are Monday-Sunday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Biographies on the Class of 2024 can be found on www.ibhof.com

Fred Sternburg was previously honored with the Marvin Kohn Good Guy Award by the Boxing Writers Association of America, an honor bestowed upon him in 2004. Rick Folstad interviewed Sternburg for a story that appeared on these pages in December of 2005.

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Ebanie Bridges Poised to Defend Her Title and Boost Her Brand in SanFran This Weekend

Published

2 days ago

December 6, 2023

Arne K. Lang

Ebanie Bridges opposes late sub Miyo Yoshida on the undercard of Saturday’s Matchroom card in San Francisco featuring the WBC lightweight title fight between Regis Prograis and Devin Haney. It’s doubtful that Bridges vs. Yoshida will steal the show (Prograis vs Haney is a compelling match-up), but it’s a stone-cold lock that Bridges vs. Yoshida will steal the weigh-in. It goes at 1 pm Friday at the Chase Center and is open to the public.

This is all Bridges’ doing. She can fight more than a little, as Damon Runyon would have phrased it, but is best known for turning up at weigh-ins in lingerie so sexy that Matchroom honcho Eddie Hearn averts his eyes to keep from blushing. Others can’t keep their eyes off the 37-year-old, well-endowed Australian and on Friday the paparazzi will crash the scene to capture images that will be all over the internet within hours.

This doesn’t sit well with a lot of people. Former opponent Shannon Courtenay, who saddled Bridges (9-1, 4 KOs) with her only defeat, chastised her for selling their fight for the wrong reasons and disrespecting the sport. Her most recent opponent, Shannon O’Connell, called her a skank and other terms of derision unfit for a family newspaper.

Bridges stopped her in the eighth round in what is her most gratifying win to date. “She made it personal,” says Ebanie. “It felt good to make her eat her words.”

Bridges, who set a withering pace, was making the first defense of the IBF bantamweight title she won with a comprehensive 10-round decision over Argentina’s long-reigning Maria Cecilia Roman. Shannon O’Connell, a fellow Aussie, entered that bout on an 8-fight winning streak that included hard-earned decisions over Australian standouts Taylah Robertson and Cherneka Johnson.

So, although Bridges vs O’Connell was contested in Leeds, England, it was something of the culmination of an Australian round-robin tournament, and it would be Ebanie Bridges that emerged as the Queen Bee.

Bridges has a platform on Only Fans. Known for its “adult” content, the web site is also a place where B-list celebrities go to monetize their fan base by promising a closer look into their personal lives. For attractive female celebs, that usually means displaying more skin that can be found in generic publicity photos, but well short of hard-core. Current Only Fans performers include recording artist Cardi B, actress Denise Richards, the former spouse of Charlie Sheen, actress Drea de Matteo, best known for portraying Adriana on “The Sopranos,” former “Baywatch” sex symbol Carmen Electra, boxer Mikaela Mayer, and former Miss USA Shanna Moakler who shares a daughter with Oscar de la Hoya.

Women that profit from cheesecake, to use an old word for racy photos, aren’t known for having the brightest bulbs between their ears but Bridges, despite embracing her nickname, the Blonde Bomber, doesn’t fit the stereotype. She’s no bimbo.

Ms. Bridges has two college degrees, an undergraduate degree in math and a master’s in secondary education. In her spare time, she finds solace in playing the piano and in drawing, a skill that she inherited from her father, a painter and commercial artist.

In her drawings, she is partial to British soccer coaches and athletes, in particular boxers. Some of her photos are embedded in her smart phone. These, I can attest, are very good. There was no mistaking her drawing of Sugar Ray Robinson. It ranked right up there with Stanley Weston whose illustrations adorned the covers of 57 issues of The Ring magazine.

Bridges is her own best publicist. It’s an attribute she shares with UFC superstar Conor McGregor.

It comes as no surprise to learn that they are well-acquainted. Bridges and McGregor sat together at the first fight between Katie Taylor and Chantelle Cameron. She is a spokesperson for the latest product that McGregor is pushing, Forged Irish Stout, a brand of beer that debuted at the Black Forge Inn, the Dublin pub that McGregor owns.

“I love Conor,” she says, “he’s lovely,” a rather odd adjective to apply to a man who once attacked a bus with a metal barricade at a UFC media event in Brooklyn, injuring three people.

“He’s great for my brand,” says Bridges of McGregor, “and I’m great for his brand.”

Like it or not, this is the new world order. This reporter is old enough to remember when colleges and universities had football teams. Now they have football franchises, which isn’t quite the same. A franchise requires a well-oiled marketing department to enhance the value of the brand.

Bridges got her first crack at a world title (the WBA version held by Shannon Courtenay) after only five pro fights against opponents who were collectively 12-25-5. Her opponent on Saturday, Miyo Yoshida, sports a 16-4 record and is coming off a loss.

This is fodder for critics of female boxing but, make no mistake, Bridges would be a tough out for any female bantamweight in the world and she has paid her dues. She had 30 amateur fights after previously training in karate, kickboxing, and Muay Thai. (In fairness to Matchroom’s matchmaker, he salvaged Saturday’s date for her, securing Yoshida after three previous opponents fell out.)

Looking ahead to 2024, Bridges envisions fighting England’s Nina Hughes, the WBA belt-holder, and then Denmark’s Dina Thorslund who owns the other two meaningful pieces of the bantamweight title. A match with Thorslund (currently 20-0, 8 KOs) with all four belts on the line would be a blockbuster and, by then, should it transpire, the Blonde Bombshell would undoubtedly be one of the most well-known boxers in the world.

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