Jason Moloney defeated Saúl Sánchez by majority decision to retain his WBO bantamweight title tonight in Quebec City, in a 12-round war that is the initial clubhouse leader, as much as it matters in mid-January, for Fight of the Year 2024.
Moloney took two scorecards of 116-112, with the third tied, 114-114. Bad Left Hook unofficially scored the fight 117-111 for Moloney, but this was a tremendous fight with three fair scorecards depending on how several key rounds looked.
Moloney (27-2, 19 KO) was making his first defense of the belt he won last May, while this was the first world title shot for underdog Sanchez (20-3, 12 KO), who made a tremendous effort and will. I surely want another chance with Moloney.
CompuBox saw Sanchez, 26, land and throw more punches, giving him credit for 362 of 897 landed, a good 40 percent landing rate, compared to Moloney’s 297 of 824 (36 percent).
But the power shots were closer, especially in connection percentage, with Sánchez connecting 260 of 585 (44 percent) and Moloney 233 of 550 (42 percent).
Sanchez landed 102 punches to Moloney’s 64, and he also outshot him in body shots, 96 to 51 in total.
However, it was a fight that played out in a much more interesting way than just by the numbers, and one that you would (and should) see to really feel it. There were constant changes in momentum, not just from round to round but over several rounds. Just when one guy seemed to be “taking control,” the other responded with something nice. Both did damage although there were no knockdowns or great drama.
How did you get the fight and do you want to see them repeat it?
