Former world champion Andrew Moloney is one step closer to a WBA Super Flyweight title fight after an impressive defeat of Filipino Froilan Saludar on Tuesday night.
The 30-year-old headlined the first night of an Aussie boxing double-header, with former NRL star Paul Gallen set to battle Darcy Lussick on pay-per-view on Wednesday night.
Moloney's win was the highlight of the night, but there were plenty of other big talking points - including the performance of disgraced rugby league star, Tim Simona.
Here's the five main takeaways from Tuesday night's card.
Andrew Moloney shoots back into world title contention
Former world champion Andrew Moloney is one step closer to a WBA Super Flyweight title fight after an impressive defeat of Filipino Froilan Saludar in Sydney overnight.
Coming off a difficult 18 months for the Australian boxing veteran, which included a trilogy loss to Joshua Franco, Moloney's push for the world title is back on track.
Saludar was visibly beaten towards the later rounds after an onslaught from Moloney but refused to go down, much to the admiration of the Australian.
“All these Filipinos, I’ve fought quite a lot of them now, they’re just so tough,” Moloney said after the fight.
“They don’t get the credit they deserve. And boy, he was so tough. A few times I thought I might’ve had him there, but just his head is made out of concrete or something – just so tough.”
Congrats to @AndrewMoloney who earns the UD victory in a dominant performance! 🇦🇺👏
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The victory for Moloney, which was his first fight back on home soil since November 2019, ends a difficult stretch in the New South Welshman's glittering boxing career.
Moloney was handed his first-ever professional loss as part of a difficult trilogy fight run against fellow contender Joshua Franco back in June last year.
The second rematch of that series saw controversial ‘No Contest’ ruling issued after a Moloney cut Franco's eye with a legitimate punch only for officials to rule it came from a headbutt.
But the win for Moloney against Saluda in Sydney, his first since the defeat of Elton Dharry in Melbourne just over two years ago, is an important one as the 30-year-old hunts down another shot at the world title.
It places him on a collision course with Japan's four-weight world champion Kazuto Ioka for his WBO super-flyweight belt.
Tim Simona outclassed in professional boxing debut
Former NRL star Tim Simona stepped into the ring for his first professional bout on Tuesday night, and things couldn't have gone much worse for the former Tigers centre.
The 30-year-old was stopped by Aaron Cocco in the third round of their four-round fight, despite coming out of the gates strong.
Simona's attempt at boxing was eventually stopped by the ringside doctors, after he copped some pretty heavy shots in the clip below.
'The referee should've stopped it' 🗣️ Jeff Fenech hasn't pulled any punches 😳
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Boxing legend Jeff Fenech praised the doctors for their decision, and said Simona may have realised putting the gloves on is harder than it looks.
“Great work by the doctor, that’s what it was. It’s a great job because the referee should’ve stopped it, and the corner should’ve stopped it. I’m not gonna pull any punches here - to me, that’s not a good look,” he said.
“Of course the fight should’ve been stopped. The referee’s standing there watching this guy get hit without coming back.
“In the first round it was Simona that opened up landing 10 or 12 punches...it looked like Cocco was gonna do what Simona did.
“I think he learned it’s a little bit harder than playing football, but he put up a great show. The first round I thought this might be a huge win for him, but the doctor’s done the right thing and I take my hat off to him.”
Manuer Matet's hilarious post-match interview
After some early glove drama before the fight, Manuer Matet survived in an entertaining six-round bout with Jye Lane Taylor to win by unanimous decision.
Matet dominated the early stages of the fight, but a bloodied Lane Taylor fought back and delivered some highlights in the final round.
Unfortunately, the early damage done by Matet proved too much to overcome, with the judges landing on a 59-55, 59-55, 60-55 unanimous decision.
But perhaps the biggest highlight came after the fight, with Matet delivering a hilarious expletive-laden interview, despite the best efforts of Ben Damon to keep it PG.
Jackson Murray backs up entertaining walkout with TKO victory
Heavyweight slugger Jackson Murray kept his undefeated record in tact on Tuesday night, scoring a big TKO victory over David Tuliloa.
Standing at 6'7", the 27-year-old cuts an imposing figure and proved too strong for Tuliloa despite giving up a 40kg weight advantage, finishing the job in the fifth round.
But perhaps even more enjoyable was his walk to the ring, as Murray got the fans at The Star up and about with some Vengaboys.
Get you a man that can do both!
Caleb Hardwood's impressive knockout win
On a card that saw plenty of impressive performances, Caleb Hardwood got things underway in brilliant fashion in the first fight of the night.
The debutant took down Caleb Sims in the second after an entertaining few minutes inside the ring, earning high praise from Jeff Fenech.
“For me it was the best round and a half I’ve seen in a long long time,” he said.
“if nothing else happens tonight I’ve watched one of the best fights I’ve seen in a long time.”
Daniel Hardwood takes down Caleb Sims in the second round!
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