By: Hans Themistode
Jason Moloney thought he had it all figured it out.
After coming up short in his first bid to win a world title back in 2018 against Emmanuel Rodriguez via split decision, the Australian born product believed that the loss actually turned him into a better fighter. Since then, he went on to win four straight contests, all before the final bell. So while the rest of the world believed that he had no chance against unified super bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue, Moloney (21-2, 18 KOs) was under the impression that he had all of the tools necessary to get the job done.
With that being said, Moloney found out in the most painful of ways that he was flat out wrong.
Inoue (20-0, 17 KOs) wasted no time in getting into the face of his opponent on the night. He pushed his man back and landed the sort of thudding shots that drew a reaction from Moloney each and every time. Not wanting to stay to much in retreat mode, Moloney began firing off a few hard shots of his own in the third round.
Inoue to his credit however, didn’t take a step back and instead, fought fire with fire.
The nonstop aggression by the three division titlist seemed endless as Moloney simply couldn’t uncork anything that deterred him from coming forward.
Realizing that meeting his man head on would only lead to a painful outcome, Moloney began fighting from the outside. The former title challenger bounced on his toes and attempted to box. The success however, was few and far between as he continued to take shots upstairs.
With the punishment mounting, Inoue threw his combinations together in the six round which ended with a left hook that sent his man flat on his back.
Moloney’s toughness though, wouldn’t allow him to stay there for too long as he managed to beat the count. As round seven came, Moloney felt it was time to take his shot. The Australian native let off right hand with all of his force behind him. Unfortunately for him however, so did Inoue, and his was much faster to the target.
Moloney took the shot and was subsequently dropped for the second time during their contest. He took a few seconds to breathe deeply before regaining himself. Yet, as he attempted to return to his feet, he fell back on the seat of his pants which forced the referee to step in and call a halt to their matchup.
With another victim left lying by the wayside, Inoue immediately turned his attention on another world title.
“If I had to choose one, it would be the winner of Oubaali and Donaire,” said Inoue following his victory. “I just want to see how far I can push myself in the ring.”
