Vincent Astrolabio | Facebook photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines— World-rated Vincent “Asero” Astrolabio finally gets a world title shot on May 13 against former world title challenger Australian Jason Moloney for the vacant World Boxing Organization (WBO) world bantamweight title in Stockton, United States.
The 25-year-old Astrolabio is ranked No. 2 in the WBO world bantamweight rankings with Moloney ahead of him.
The world title bout came after its erstwhile champion and Japanese boxing super star Naoya Inoue moved up to the super bantamweight division after unifying all four major world titles in the bantamweight division.
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Moloney and Astrolabio’s world title showdown will be a special featured bout in the Zhanibek Alimkhanuly-Steven butler WBO world middleweight title showdown.
Rise of Astrolabio
Astrolabio of General Santos City slowly ascended into the world rankings by racking up a six-fight winning streak since 2018. He clinched the WBO Oriental bantamweight, WBC International bantamweight, and the WBO Inter-Continental bantamweight titles in the process.
His most recent fight was nothing short of being impressive after he captured the vacant WBO Inter-Continental bantamweight title against Nikolai Potapov of Russia via a sixth round knockout in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States last December.
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Before that, Astrolabio staged a huge upset by beating former world champion Guillermo Rigondeaux in Dubai, UAE for the WBC International bantamweight title via unanimous decision in February 2022.
The win improved Astrolabio’s record to 18 wins with 13 knockouts and three defeats.
Moloney Australian boxing veteran
Meanwhile, Moloney, 32, of Australia is a veteran in world title bouts.
He fought for the world title twice, but faltered in both occasions. His first world title was against Emmanuel Rodriguez for the IBF world bantamweight title in 2018, where he lost by a 12-round split decision.
His second world title shot was against Inoue for the IBF and WBA super world bantamweight straps in 2020. Inoue knocked him out in the seventh round.
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Despite, the losses, Moloney remains an excellent world title contender with a 25-2 (win-loss) record with 19 knockouts. He is also familiar in fighting Filipino boxers.
Moloney built his promising career by victimizing Filipino ring warriors. He already defeated 10 Filipino boxers, including world title challenger Aston Palicte last June for the WBC Silver and WBO International bantamweight belts.