Aussie Wrap-Up: Kambosos says Pacquiao will KO Horn, Kimweri comes up short in title bid, Moloney twins win by KO, Brown and Doheny return, Parker and Duco split

MOLONEYS & J-MITCH VICTORIOUS IN MELBOURNE

WBA #9 super bantamweight Jason Moloney 13-0 (11) put on a classy display of power boxing to stop Emanuel Armendariz 12-3-2 (5) in the fifth round of their ten-round contest at the Melbourne Park Function Centre in Melbourne, Victoria on Saturday night.

Headlining Hosking Promotions’ “Punches at the Park IV” Moloney showed off a varied arsenal in attack and superior ring generalship against an opponent who came to fight. The 21-year-old Mexican had his moments in the early going but as the rounds wore on Moloney’s accuracy and firepower began to chip away at Armendariz’s resolve.

“We knew coming into the fight that Armendariz was going to be tough,” Moloney told Maxboxing after the fight. “We had only seen a small amount of footage but we knew that he was an aggressive, walk-up style of fighter who was definitely coming over here to win and that is exactly what we got. He put up a hell of a fight and showed a ton of heart.”

An accidental headclash during an exchange in a neutral corner late in the fourth opened up a cut over the left eye of Armendariz. Early in the fifth Moloney stunned Armendariz with a left hook and the follow-up fusillade drove him backwards into the ropes, where only the bottom strand was holding him up. Referee Tony Marretta waved off the fight 0:53 into the round.

“We have been working on a lot of different things in the gym and really trying to fine tune all areas of my game but in this fight I really thought my jab was going to be the key,” said Moloney, who was making the fourth defence of his WBA Oceania 122-pound title. “Once I started landing my jab everything else was coming together and I felt I was really starting to break Armendariz down.”

Andrew “Lil’ Bull” Moloney 13-0 (8) showed off his deadly accuracy against Mexican beanpole Aramis Solis 16-5 (9) in the third defence of his WBA Oceania 118-pound title in the support bout. The WBA #11 bantamweight was methodical in his attack, taking a measured approach to breaking down and stopping his much taller opponent.

Moloney controlled the distance and pace of the fight, initiating engagement and getting the better of the exchanges. Clearly the stronger fighter, he raked the 31-year-old visitor’s body with hard left rips and punished him with power punches to the head.

Late in the third a left rip from Moloney dropped Solis hard in his own corner moments before the bell to win by KO3 at the official time of 2:59. Solis stayed on the canvas holding his stomach for a long time after the end of the fight.

“The left rip is my favourite punch and we have worked on it a lot during this training camp,” Moloney said to Maxboxing after the fight. “I can generate a lot of power in that shot and when I land it properly I’m pretty confident that my opponent won’t be getting back up.

“I wasn’t 100% satisfied with ending this fight so early as I didn’t get a chance to showcase a lot of the improvements I had made in training camp. Solis was very tall and awkward and I had only really just started to settle when the fight ended.”

It was the third time in the last four fights that Moloney has stopped his opponent with a body shot.

“It’s hard to rate my performance on Saturday,” said Moloney, the 2014 Commonwealth Games gold medalist at flyweight. “I didn’t really get started before it was over. My plan was to slow things down, fight at a more professional pace and pick my shots a lot better. I did this and didn’t really get hit with any clean punches so I’m happy with those things, however there is still a lot of things I know I can do better and will keep working to improve on.”

The plan is for the 26-year-old Moloney twins to be back in action against a higher level of opposition on August 19.

Super middleweight Jayde “J-Mitch” Mitchell 14-1 (8) from Rye on the Mornington Peninsula was forced to run a mini-marathon in chasing down Hungarian survivor Istvan Zeller 37-16 (11).

In three previous trips to Australia, Zeller was stopped by Michael Zerafa (TKO5) and Zac Dunn (TKO3), and lost a wide decision to Bilal Akkawy (UD10). Against Mitchell he didn’t fare any better, getting dropped in the third and stopped by KO at 2:22 of the fifth.

Zeller did what Zeller does: circle the ring and try to survive until his opponent cuts him off and lands something big. It wasn’t much of a test for Mitchell, whose next fight is a defence of his OPBF and interim WBA Oceania titles against undefeated Ainiwaer Yilixiati 10-0 (8) of China on 21 July at the Melbourne Pavilion.

“BIG DADDY” AND TJ DOHENY SHAKE OFF THE RUST

In Sydney former WBA heavyweight titleholder Lucas “Big Daddy” Browne 25-0 (22) climbed back into the ring for the first time in 14 months to stop American trailhorse Matthew Greer 16-21 (13) in two rounds on Saturday night at Club Punchbowl in Sydney, NSW.

The 38-year-old Browne made history last year when he became the first Australian boxer to hold a piece of the world heavyweight crown when he knocked out Uzbek Ruslan Chagaev in the tenth round of their clash in Grozny, Chechnya.

His glory was short lived as he failed two subsequent drug tests that have kept him out of the ring for over a year.

Browne was forthright about his position when he spoke to iFL TV before the fight.

“People are wondering why I’m fighting Matthew Greer, who is 16 wins 20 losses,” said Browne. “But it’s a warm-up fight against a journeyman for the purpose of getting back in the ring. That’s the whole purpose. There’s no point going in against a world class challenger just yet. That will be next, or very soon.”

With Browne still on the blacklist with the WBA, he is hoping to get himself in a position to challenge Kiwi WBO world champion Joseph Parker.

“A fight with Joseph Parker for the WBO title would be a great start, title contention wise, and I think it’d be a great fight with the Anzac [rivalry], there would be a lot of interest,” said Browne.

Also on the Paul Nasari promoted card WBA #5 super bantamweight TJ Doheny 17-0 (13) stayed busy with a first round TKO of Espinos Sabu 16-13-2 (9) of Indonesia. It was the 30-year-old Australian-based Irish southpaw’s first fight of 2017.

PARKER AND DUCO PART WAYS

WBO heavyweight champion Joseph Parker is sticking with former Duco Events director David Higgins, according to a report from New Zealand’s 1News.

A falling out between Higgins and fellow Duco director Dean Lonergan came to a head last month with the pair announcing they would be splitting their shared business interests.

This included the contract to promote the fights of world champion Parker into late 2018.

Parker was scheduled to make a mandatory defence of his world title against British challenger Hughie Fury in Auckland last month, but the undefeated challenger withdrew a fortnight out from the fight citing a back injury. Parker went on to defeat late replacement Razvan Cojanu of Romania by wide decision on the same date. Lonergan was a notable absence at that fight.

Higgins is pushing ahead with plans for a rescheduled fight with Hughie Fury in September this year.

Parker’s decision to stay with Higgins hasn’t come as a surprise to some. The promoter and his 25-year-old charge have formed a solid bond that has blossomed into genuine friendship since Duco first began promoting his fights back in 2012.