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Jason Moloney To Defend WBO Bantamweight
Crown Against Saul Sanchez On Beterbiev vs. Smith Undercard
At Quebec City’s Videotron Centre Jan. 13
The bantamweight king from Down Under is ready to bring a
little mayhem up north. Jason “Mayhem” Moloney will defend
his WBO world title against Mexican-American challenger Saul
Sanchez on Saturday, Jan. 13, at Videotron Centre in Quebec
City, Canada.
Moloney-Sanchez will stream LIVE & exclusively in the U.S.
on ESPN+ before the ESPN-televised doubleheader (10 p.m.
ET/7 p.m. PT) featuring Artur Beterbiev’s WBC/IBF/WBO light
heavyweight title defense against Callum “Mundo” Smith and
undefeated super middleweight knockout artist Christian
Mbilli against Rohan Murdock.
Moloney (26-2, 19 KOs), from Melbourne, Australia, traveled
the long road to world title honors. In October 2018, he
dropped a split decision to Emmanuel Rodriguez for the IBF
bantamweight world title. Two years later, he fell to Naoya
Inoue in seven rounds in a bid for the WBA, IBF and Ring
Magazine titles. The former amateur standout stayed the
course, reeling off victories over contenders Joshua Greer
Jr. and Aston Palicte to position himself for a third crack
at the brass ring. In May, he bested Filipino puncher
Vincent Astrolabio by majority decision to claim his WBO
title.
“Saul is coming off an impressive win against an undefeated
opponent in Japan, and I’m sure he will be hungry to fight
for a world title, but this is my era, the era of ‘Mayhem,’”
Moloney said. “I achieved my dream of becoming world
champion, but 2024 is the year I prove I’m the best
bantamweight in the world. I want a very active year, and I
plan to take out all the other champions. My mission is to
become the undisputed champion, but first things first, an
impressive knockout victory over Saul Sanchez. Canada, get
ready for Mayhem!”
Los Angeles native Sanchez (20-2, 12 KOs) enters his first
world title challenge riding a wave of momentum. After
dropping a split decision to Eros Correa last June, Sanchez
returned a year later to knock down Mexican puncher Franklin
Gonzalez four times en route to a sixth-round stoppage
victory. Sanchez rode that momentum to an October assignment
against Filipino southpaw RV Deniega in Japan, where he won
an eight-round unanimous decision.
Sanchez said, “I am excited about this opportunity. I am
going to come in the best shape I have ever been in to get
the victory and become the new world champion. I want to
thank my manager Nomaan Ali at GOAT Management for securing
and presenting this opportunity. I have won back-to-back
fights, and I will be ready for this fight."
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