Last weekend in Las Vegas, Jason Moloney retained his WBO bantamweight title with a very tough twelve round majority decision win over Saul Sanchez.
The scores were 116-112, 116-112, and 114-114.
“The team did a great job with the cut but the blood, it was going into my eye,” Moloney said. “There were a few head clashes throughout the fight – it was a brutal war – and you just have to deal with everything as best as you can. But it was hard. I was trying to wipe the blood whenever I could get a chance to see clearly. And [Sanchez] could tell, too. He was trying to jump on me at times.
“But mentally before every fight, you prepare yourself to deal with anything — knockdown, injury, broken hand, head cut. I prepare myself for those moments so that when they do come I don’t panic, I stay composed and then work my way through it. And that’s what I did. I wiped the blood out and dealt with it as best as I could.”
Moloney is now looking at a potential defense of his title in the coming months, as part of the undercard to the planned lightweight clash between Vasiliy Lomachenko and George Kambosos.
If Moloney had his choice, he would like to get a rematch with Emmanuel Rodriguez, who holds the IBF world title.
As BoxingScene.com recently reported, Rodriguez has been ordered to make a mandatory defense against Ryosuke Nishida. The IBF has already scheduled a purse bid for January 30.
Five years ago, Rodriguez won a close twelve round split decision over Moloney in the World Boxing Super Series tournament.
“That’s definitely one I need to get back before my career is done. It still eats away at me. Now that I’m a champion it’s not something I cry over, but still — whenever I watch that fight back — I think I won it. And what makes me want [the rematch] more is knowing how much I’ve improved since that fight,” Moloney said.