Results
Main card
Masamichi Yabuki def. Rene Calixto by unanimous decision (118-108, 118-108, 116-110)
John Riel Casimero def. Luis Nery by TKO (R4, 0:42)
Andrew Moloney def. Willibaldo Garcia by majority decision (115-113, 114-114, 115-113)
Michael Angeletti def. Kenneth Llover by unanimous decision (115-112, 115-112, 116-111)
Prelims
Aoi Yokoyama def. Vince Paras by unanimous decision (96-94, 96-94, 96-94)
Shuri Oka def. Adilet Kachkynbekov by TKO (R5, 0:04)
Nurzhigit Dyushebaev def. Seiya Meguro by TKO (R4, 2:27)
Willibaldo Garcia vs. Andrew Moloney - June 6, 2026
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Ruthless-RKO
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Ruthless-RKO
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- Joined: 24 Apr 2016, 11:59
Re: Willibaldo Garcia vs. Andrew Moloney - June 6, 2026
Andrew Moloney wants Jesse 'Bam' Rodriguez after dethroning Willibaldo Garcia
Andrew Moloney claimed the IBF junior bantamweight title with a majority decision victory over Willibaldo Garcia in Tokoname, Japan. The judges scored the bout 115-113 (twice) and 114-114 in favour of the Australian who, in victory, invited Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez to be his next dance partner.
“It’s been a long, hard road to get this world title, but we finally got it done,” Moloney told ESPN afterwards. “This means everything to me. My whole life has been dedicated to being a world champion.”
Garcia, 23-7-2 (13 KOs), applied pressure from the opening bell but Moloney, in control, countered masterfully to both body and head. Such was Moloney’s class, which was trumping the champion’s determined but crude forward motion, he took five of the first six rounds on all cards.
The Mexican, always pressuring, rallied from the seventh round, however. Moloney, 29-4 (18 KOs), suddenly looked a little bedraggled and, by the eighth, was nursing two cuts above his eyes.
It would take a rally in the 12th and final round to swing things Moloney’s way again. He would take it on all three judges’ cards to eke out a narrow triumph.
“I had to dig deep in that final round,” Moloney said. “We pulled it out. I couldn’t be happier.”
As for what’s next, the new champion said: “I’d love the undisputed fight with ‘Bam’. That’s the biggest prize in boxing.”
Sikho Nqothole, who last week beat Charlie Edwards to secure mandatory status with the IBF, might have something to say about that.
In the main event of a card that also featured John Riel Casimero blasting out Luis Nery, Masamichi Yabuki, 20-4 (18 KOs), unanimously outpointed Mexico’s Rene Calixto, 24-2-1 (10 KOs), over 12 rounds to retain his IBF flyweight title. The scores were 118-108 (twice) and 116-110.
Andrew Moloney claimed the IBF junior bantamweight title with a majority decision victory over Willibaldo Garcia in Tokoname, Japan. The judges scored the bout 115-113 (twice) and 114-114 in favour of the Australian who, in victory, invited Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez to be his next dance partner.
“It’s been a long, hard road to get this world title, but we finally got it done,” Moloney told ESPN afterwards. “This means everything to me. My whole life has been dedicated to being a world champion.”
Garcia, 23-7-2 (13 KOs), applied pressure from the opening bell but Moloney, in control, countered masterfully to both body and head. Such was Moloney’s class, which was trumping the champion’s determined but crude forward motion, he took five of the first six rounds on all cards.
The Mexican, always pressuring, rallied from the seventh round, however. Moloney, 29-4 (18 KOs), suddenly looked a little bedraggled and, by the eighth, was nursing two cuts above his eyes.
It would take a rally in the 12th and final round to swing things Moloney’s way again. He would take it on all three judges’ cards to eke out a narrow triumph.
“I had to dig deep in that final round,” Moloney said. “We pulled it out. I couldn’t be happier.”
As for what’s next, the new champion said: “I’d love the undisputed fight with ‘Bam’. That’s the biggest prize in boxing.”
Sikho Nqothole, who last week beat Charlie Edwards to secure mandatory status with the IBF, might have something to say about that.
In the main event of a card that also featured John Riel Casimero blasting out Luis Nery, Masamichi Yabuki, 20-4 (18 KOs), unanimously outpointed Mexico’s Rene Calixto, 24-2-1 (10 KOs), over 12 rounds to retain his IBF flyweight title. The scores were 118-108 (twice) and 116-110.
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Ruthless-RKO
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Re: Willibaldo Garcia vs. Andrew Moloney - June 6, 2026
Masamichi Yabuki drops, outpoints Rene Calixto to retain IBF title
Masamichi Yabuki proved too slick and a class above gamely challenger Rene Calixto to make another successful defense of his IBF flyweight world title.
Yabuki (20-4, 18 KOs) kicked off his 2026 after logging a final-round knockout win over Felix Alvarado in December and was largely in cruise control.
The Ring's No. 2-rated flyweight could afford to be after a purposeful start and will surely seek title unifications at 112 pounds against other divisional champions or make another move up in weight, having seen his six-fight stoppage streak end against a Mexican challenger second best but who wouldn't stop trying to turn the tide.
Judges Nobuto Ikheara and Cherdchai Srirat scored it 118-108, while Carl Zappia gave the visitor more grace with a 116-110 scorecard.
The champion exploded into action without warning, landing a pair of equilibrium-shaking knockdowns to assert himself as the aggressor against a tentative Calixto (24-2-1, 10 KOs). A triumphant fist pump heading back to the corner, overlooking fans in his fourth consecutive appearance at Aichi Sky Expo, spoke volumes between rounds.
This title defense could've been over relatively sharpish, though Calixto boxed well behind his jab in round two, despite conceding speed and momentum to a man stringing together two and three-punch combos without telegraphing entries, nor really exerting himself.
Yabuki curled a hook to the body which visibly hurt Calixto, a minute into round four, though the challenger fired back through the fire when it would've been easy to shell up and evade danger. It wasn't immediately obvious but that sequence prompted his best frame of the fight in the fifth. A pair of stinging right hands pinged the champion back against the ropes, while Calixto looked to counterpunch with successful spells in round six.
Yabuki was more sprightly in the seventh and used that impetus in the eighth, hurting Calixto with an overhand right and left hook as the challenger's low defensive guard came unstuck at close-range. Facial bruising didn't stop the 31-year-old trudging forward into more punishment, Yabuki almost leaving him frozen as he landed a combination in the final minute of a nervy ninth.
Calixto's infrequent success kept him competitive in a fight he was miles behind on the scorecards, despite winning some middle rounds, so he needed urgency and connected well in the latter stages. Doing so left him defensively open to counters though, with Yabuki unloading a furious flurry looking mightily close to a stoppage.
Having survived that spell, the champion's combinations continued to land flush but he wasn't having it all his own way as they traded hooks with both wanting to have the final say in exchanges. Into the final frame they went, Calixto swinging for the fences and Yabuki retreating towards the ropes knowing he was well ahead but fatigued.
Unable to keep the Mexican off him, Yabuki remained defensively responsible while overhand rights bounced off his head, uppercuts through the guard and punishing hooks too, before he returned the favor in the final seconds.
Calixto refused to relent after a disastrous first frame, though Yabuki built up an early lead and despite absorbing more damage than he would've liked, proved a worthy winner.
Casimero crunches Nery
In the chief support bout, John Riel Casimero (36-5-1, 25 KOs) scored a stunning fourth-round stoppage of Luis Nery (37-3, 28 KOs). Former two-weight world champion Nery, who came in 3.2 pounds overweight on Friday, was noticeably a step slow to throw and defensively ragged from the off, as the Filipino fighter took full advantage early to stun him with three first-round knockdowns.
The dominance continued as time wore on, the older man logging a knockdown apiece in rounds two and three set the tone for a dominant display, despite Nery insisting to referee nobuto Ikehara he was okay to continue, though 'Pantera' was folded onto the canvas by a looping left hand in the fourth to end an unforgiving onslaught.
Masamichi Yabuki proved too slick and a class above gamely challenger Rene Calixto to make another successful defense of his IBF flyweight world title.
Yabuki (20-4, 18 KOs) kicked off his 2026 after logging a final-round knockout win over Felix Alvarado in December and was largely in cruise control.
The Ring's No. 2-rated flyweight could afford to be after a purposeful start and will surely seek title unifications at 112 pounds against other divisional champions or make another move up in weight, having seen his six-fight stoppage streak end against a Mexican challenger second best but who wouldn't stop trying to turn the tide.
Judges Nobuto Ikheara and Cherdchai Srirat scored it 118-108, while Carl Zappia gave the visitor more grace with a 116-110 scorecard.
The champion exploded into action without warning, landing a pair of equilibrium-shaking knockdowns to assert himself as the aggressor against a tentative Calixto (24-2-1, 10 KOs). A triumphant fist pump heading back to the corner, overlooking fans in his fourth consecutive appearance at Aichi Sky Expo, spoke volumes between rounds.
This title defense could've been over relatively sharpish, though Calixto boxed well behind his jab in round two, despite conceding speed and momentum to a man stringing together two and three-punch combos without telegraphing entries, nor really exerting himself.
Yabuki curled a hook to the body which visibly hurt Calixto, a minute into round four, though the challenger fired back through the fire when it would've been easy to shell up and evade danger. It wasn't immediately obvious but that sequence prompted his best frame of the fight in the fifth. A pair of stinging right hands pinged the champion back against the ropes, while Calixto looked to counterpunch with successful spells in round six.
Yabuki was more sprightly in the seventh and used that impetus in the eighth, hurting Calixto with an overhand right and left hook as the challenger's low defensive guard came unstuck at close-range. Facial bruising didn't stop the 31-year-old trudging forward into more punishment, Yabuki almost leaving him frozen as he landed a combination in the final minute of a nervy ninth.
Calixto's infrequent success kept him competitive in a fight he was miles behind on the scorecards, despite winning some middle rounds, so he needed urgency and connected well in the latter stages. Doing so left him defensively open to counters though, with Yabuki unloading a furious flurry looking mightily close to a stoppage.
Having survived that spell, the champion's combinations continued to land flush but he wasn't having it all his own way as they traded hooks with both wanting to have the final say in exchanges. Into the final frame they went, Calixto swinging for the fences and Yabuki retreating towards the ropes knowing he was well ahead but fatigued.
Unable to keep the Mexican off him, Yabuki remained defensively responsible while overhand rights bounced off his head, uppercuts through the guard and punishing hooks too, before he returned the favor in the final seconds.
Calixto refused to relent after a disastrous first frame, though Yabuki built up an early lead and despite absorbing more damage than he would've liked, proved a worthy winner.
Casimero crunches Nery
In the chief support bout, John Riel Casimero (36-5-1, 25 KOs) scored a stunning fourth-round stoppage of Luis Nery (37-3, 28 KOs). Former two-weight world champion Nery, who came in 3.2 pounds overweight on Friday, was noticeably a step slow to throw and defensively ragged from the off, as the Filipino fighter took full advantage early to stun him with three first-round knockdowns.
The dominance continued as time wore on, the older man logging a knockdown apiece in rounds two and three set the tone for a dominant display, despite Nery insisting to referee nobuto Ikehara he was okay to continue, though 'Pantera' was folded onto the canvas by a looping left hand in the fourth to end an unforgiving onslaught.