Andrew Moloney Loses Split Decision, Announces Immediate Retirement

Instead of doubling his pleasure Saturday night in a homecoming fight, Australia’s Andrew Moloney doubled down on his disappointment.

On top of bitterly losing a split decision to Mexico’s Pedro Guevara in a WBC junior bantamweight interim title fight, Moloney told the fans inside RAC Arena in Perth that he was retiring, effective immediately.

“I felt in total control … I was in total control,” Moloney told an interviewer inside the ring. “I’m done with this sport. I’m retired. I’m sorry. F*** that.”

Guevara (42-4-1) won on the road by scores of 115-113, 113-116, 115-113 thanks to an 86-15 advantage in landed body blows.

The competitive bout saw Guevara pay extra attention to the body, as he racked up 50 body blows by the end of the eighth round and endured two head-butts, as Moloney tended to deliver blows toward the head.

Guevara’s strategy had a two-pronged effect, as Guevara seemed to gain more pop on his punches in the second half of the bout while Moloney (26-4) turned less mobile and active.

Seconds before Moloney said he was retiring, Guevara said he was willing to meet Moloney in a rematch.

Moloney was left reeling earlier in the week when his twin brother, Jason Moloney (27-3), surrendered his WBO bantamweight belt to Japan’s Yoshiki Takei by unanimous decision on the undercard of Naoya Inoue’s sellout card at the Tokyo Dome on Monday morning, U.S. time.

Andrew Moloney entered Sunday morning’s bout just less than a year removed from suffering a vicious 12th-round knockout to WBO junior bantamweight titleholder Junto Nakatani (27-0, 20 KOs) of Japan.

Guevara won as a replacement for former titleholder Carlos Cuadras as Moloney’s foe, after Cuadras suffered a torn Achilles in training camp.

The interim title places Guevara behind full WBC champion Juan Francisco Estrada, who is set to meet fellow champion Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez in a June 29 unification bout in Phoenix.