Jason Moloney’s shock loss on night of heartbreak for Australian boxing

Australian boxing champion Jason Moloney has suffered a devastating loss, relinquishing his world title in a shocking upset.

Japan's Yoshiki Takei (R) celebrates his upset decision victory over Australia's Jason Moloney (front L) at the end of their WBO bantamwight title boxing match at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo on May 6, 2024. (Photo by Philip FONG / AFP)

Jason Moloney’s career is in tatters after the Australian world champion suffered a shock loss on a night of disaster in Japan.

Australian boxing is now without a male world champion after a shocked Moloney was outgunned and outmuscled by Japanese knockout artist Yoshiki Takei at the Tokyo Dome on Monday night.

The 33-year-old Moloney made history in Japan, breaking Jeff Horn’s attendance record (51,026) for an Australian boxer by walking out before a 55,000-sellout as the co-main on a card headlined by national icon Naoya Inoue.

But Moloney’s record-breaking night ended in tears, with ‘Mayhem’ losing his WBO bantamweight world title to Takei, who scored a unanimous decision (117-110, 116-111 x 2) in a monster boilover.

A shattered Moloney slumped to a 27-3 record, while the unbeaten Takei, a former kickboxer, fought back tears as he celebrated his coronation as a world champion in just his ninth bout.

The losses of Tim Tszyu and Moloney leaves Australia without a male world champion, but Jai Opetaia has the chance to atone when he takes on Mairis Briedis for cruiserweight gold on Sunday week.

Moloney almost pulled off a miracle. Picture: AFP

While Takei dominated, Moloney almost pulled off a Jeff ‘Hitman’ Harding miracle, nearly stopping his Japanese rival in the final round in a desperate last-ditch bid to keep his world crown.

Moloney saved his best for last, landing 71 punches in the 12th round as he left nothing in the tank against Takei, who was out on his feet and fell back on the ropes in relief when the final bell sounded.

Had the fight gone another round, Moloney could have prevailed, but the Melbourne-born veteran will rue his lack of activity early that allowed the tenacious Takei to steal the ascendancy.

It was a strong start for Jason Moloney. Picture: AFP

Moloney was watchful in the opening round, with his rival being warned by the referee Steve Willis after landing two blows below the belt, prompting a shake of the head from the Australian.

Takei continued his aggression in the second round, landing more punches and cleaner shots, but the Japanese local suffered a setback when he was deducted a point for another low blow.

Moloney had blood pouring from his nose in the fourth, underlining Takei’s precision punching, and he went down midway through the round, only for the referee to correctly rule the Melburnian had slipped.

Where to next for Jason Moloney? Picture: AFP

Moloney lifted in the fifth, but the round still belonged to Takei, who continued to pepper his more experienced rival with looping left hooks and powerful jabs that established ring control.

The Australian had a better round in the sixth, rocking Takei with a sweet four-punch combination, only for the Japanese warrior to hit back in the final seconds with a short right that briefly wobbled Moloney.

Moloney stepped up the pace in the seventh. He was busier and more aggressive, but in his bid to close the distance, Takei continued to comfortably land as the Japanese crowd sniffed a boilover.

Entering the eighth, Moloney looked fitter and increased his pressure, but he walked into some clean shots from Takei, who clearly had more power, headlined by a savage left hand.

Sensing Takei was tiring, Moloney kept pressing forward, mindful he was down on points, but he struggled to land downstairs, scoring with just 11 body shots after nine rounds.

The tenth was a continuation of Takei’s dominance, the 27-year-old mixing a fusion of body shots and jabs to hurt Moloney, whose eyes were visibly marked up.

Moloney knew he needed a stoppage in the final round and he almost conjured a miracle.

Mayhem unleashed a hurricane of punches in the final 60 seconds, tagging a buggered Takei with a number of shots, but the Australian just ran out of time to finish titleless and heartbroken.

The content summaries were created with the assistance of AI technology then edited and approved for publication by an editor.

Originally published as Jason Moloney’s shock loss on night of heartbreak for Australian boxing