ASTON Palicte faces his toughest test yet as a bantamweight when he faces Jason Moloney in a 10-round clash Sunday (Manila time) at the Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Australia.
Aston Palicte vs Jason Moloney preview
The Filipino felt at ease making the 118 pound-limit during the official weigh-in Saturday, tipping the scales at 117.06 pounds.
Palicte previously had difficulty meeting the super-flyweight limit in a division where he twice vied for a world title.
“I’m not super hungry like when I was at 115 pounds. I feel much stronger now that I’m fighting at 118 pounds,” said the 5-foot-7 Palicte on the eve of the fight that serves as co-main event of the undisputed lightweight championship between George Kambosos Jr. and Devin Haney.
Moloney weighed in at 117.61 pounds and is expected to be the heavy favorite in the fight, being a native of Victoria State in Australia.
A win over the 31-year-old Moloney will have Palicte’s stocks rising again.
He lost in his first two attempts at a world title. He drew against compatriot Donnie Nietes for the vacant WBO junior bantamweight crown in 2018, and then was stopped in the 10th round by Japanese Kazuto Ioka for the same title the following year.
He is on a three-fight winning streak for a 28-4-1 record with 23 KOs.
The native of Bago City is reunited with trainer Nonoy Neri, who will work the corner of the Filipino with assistant and sportswriter Ryan Songalia.
Moloney meanwhile, carries a 23-2-1 record with 18 KOs. He challenged undefeated champion Naoya Inoue of Japan for the WBA and IBF bantamweight crowns, but lost by a seventh-round knockout two years ago.
The third man on the ring will be Ignatius Missailidis, while the three judges working the bout will be Andrew Campbell, Brett Manton, and Martin O’Malley.
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