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Vicent "Asero" Astrolabio Battles Jason Moloney for the vacant WBO bantamweight title Saturday in Stockton, California; Massive Chance for the Pinoy By Carlos Costa PhilBoxing.com Wed, 10 May 2023  In a battle of heavy-hitters, Filipino Vincent Astrolabio of Gensan will battle Australian Jason “Mayhem” Moloney for the vacant WBO bantamweight world title, this coming Saturday, May 13, at the Stockton Arena, California, USA. The exciting fight, promoted by Bob Arum's Top Rank in association with Eye of the Tiger, live on ESPN, will produce "The New" WBO Bantamweight Champion of the World, and who will he be? The 25-year-old Astrolabio (18-3, 13 KO's), trained by renown, experienced and beloved Davao coach Nonoy Neri, rose to boxing prominence last year with a well-deserved unanimous decision win over Cuban former unified champ Guillermo Rigondeaux, a fight in which the Filipino was fantastic against a very complicated opponent. Then, last November, fully-focused and accurate Astrolabio dropped Nikolai Potapov 3 times, overpowering the strong Russian in 6 chapters to earn this fight against Moloney, the Filipino's first shot at a world championship. “Since I started boxing, my dream has been to fight for a world title, and dreams come true with hard work,” Astrolabio says. “I have thought about this moment over and over again, and I will not be denied the world title. "I want to thank my promoter Manny Pacquiao and Sean Gibbons for giving me this WBO bantamweight world title shot."  Astrolabio (R) with his coach Nonoy Neri. To claim the world title that he dreams of, there is one big thing that Astrolabio needs to do: He needs to defeat Jason Maloney on Saturday. It will be an exciting, thrilling clash of titans with so much to win and so much to lose, and Moloney is prepared too. Nineteen years as a pro boxer, the hard-hitting Jason Moloney (25-2, 19 KO's) of New South Wales in Australia's east coast, began his pro career as a super bantam before dropping to 118 pounds five years ago. As a bantam, Jason Moloney scored 3 knockout victories in a row before losing to Puerto Rican Emmanuel Rodríguez via split decision. That was a controversial result in Jason's first world title shot. But then, the friendly but lethal Aussie, quickly scalped 4 opponents to earn another world title shot, this time against none other than Japanese sensational super star Naoya Inoue for the unified bantamweight championship. But we can all guess the outcome as nobody has ever defeated "Monster" Naoya Inoue. Yes indeed, Naoya Inoue is something else. Casimero might have a chance. Might. Surely not easy at all for nobody to fight Inoue, and Jason Moloney was not destined to be the fighter to defeat the awesome Japanese "Monster." Naoya Inoue knocked out Jason Moloney in 7 frames nearly 3 years ago at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. That was a rough night in Sin City for Jason Maloney, but Jason has the heart of a warrior, coming back from being stopped by Inoue to scoring 4 more consecutive wins. Those wins including a demolition work over Filipino Aston Palicte. Jason punished and disassembled the former world-title challenger from Bago, Negros Occidental, in just 3 frames. If Moloney stopped a good boxer as Palicte so brutally, could he do the same to "Asero" Astrolabio? (Asero in Tagalog means "Steel") Not necessarily so. A good number of fans think that Astrolabio is a real bantamweight with strength, endurance, boxing skills and knocking out power. That's why Astrolabio has been able to earn this title shot, by being able to out-smart and out-slick a fighter so smart and slick as the Cuban Rigondeaux, and then overpower a boxer so strong as the Russian Potapov. That is great. But Moloney feels that he is THE ONE with the superior fighting skills. In fact, it is natural and normal that Jason Moloney thinks that way: “On May 13, I will become a world champion,” Moloney promises to his fans. “Nineteen years of hard work, countless sacrifices and total dedication to the sport of boxing have prepared me for this moment. "I will do whatever it takes to have this world title on my waist. Nothing will stop me. "I want to thank Top Rank and my team for giving me this opportunity." Will Vincent Astrolabio - who is 7 years younger than Jason Moloney - be able to defeat the popular Aussie to claim the WBO world title for his beloved Philippines? Could "Asero" Astrolabio score a thrilling win just like compatriots Melvin Jerusalem and Marlon Tapales have recently done? Or will the experienced Jason "Mayhem" Moloney shatter the dreams of glory of the well-trained 25-year-old Pinoy warrior born in "The Tuna Capital of the Philippines," General Santos City? May the Best Man Win! The author Carlos Costa is a veteran boxing reporter from Panama. Carlos can be reached at carlos@philboxing.com and whatsapp +639184538152. Top Rank Boxing #moloneyastrolabio #wboboxing Click here to view a list of other articles written by Carlos Costa.  |
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