Naoya Inoue affirmed that he is one of the best fighters in the world as he took out Jason Moloney in round seven to retain the WBA/IBF Bantamweight title at the MGM Grand Bubble Conference Center in Las Vegas.

In Round six, Inoue scored a knockdown with a counter right.

In the final seconds of round seven, Inoue landed a brutal right hand that folded Moloney to the canvas. The fight was stopped after Moloney unsuccessfully tried to get up at 2:59.

Inoue, 117.7 lbs of Yokahama, JAP is 20-0 with 17 knockouts. Moloney, 117.9 lbs of Melbourne, AUS is 21-2.

Inoue said, ““The final punch, the finishing punch, I’m very happy and satisfied with that punch.

“Moloney has a great defense, and it was very difficult to get through. The two punches you mentioned are something we really practiced in Japan a lot, and I was able to perform well and use it, and I’m very happy with that.”

Added Bob Arum, Top Rank Chairman: “The Monster is a special fighter. I haven’t seen a young fighter like that in a long time. And credit to Jason Moloney for fighting like a warrior. He gave it his absolute best.”

Mayer Decisions Brodnicka; Wins WBO Jr. Lightweight Title

Mikaela Mayer won the WBO Junior Lightweight world title with an emphatic 10-round unanimous decision over Ewa Brodnicka.

Mayer dominated the fight on the inside, where Brodnick could only hold. Brodnicka was docked points in round six and seven for holding.

Mayer landed 160 of 529 punches; Brodnicka was 86 of 313.

Mayer, 129.8 lbs of Los Angeles won by scores of 100-88 twice and 99-89 is now 14-0. Brodnicka, who lost her belt at the scales on Friday as she was .1 pounds over the 130-lb. limit is now 19-1.

“I definitely want to unify this division. I don’t want to wait around. I don’t want to take a couple of years to do it. I want to do it right away. So, {WBC champion} Terri Harper told me to get a belt. Eddie Hearn told me to get a belt. I have the WBO belt now, so let’s make that fight happen. I want Terri Harper next.”

Robson Conceicao was dropped and docked two points, but some how was able to eek out a razor thin unanimous decision over Luis Coria in a junior lightweight fight.

In round two, Coria dropped Conceicao with a left hook. In Round four, Conceicao was deducted a point for a low blow. Conceicao was docked another point for a low blow. The fight was a toe-to-toe battle that both land hard shots with Conceicao getting the disputed win.

Conceicao, 128.8 lbs of Brazil won by scores of 95-92 twice and 94-93 and is now 15-0. Coria, 128.6 lbs of Moreno Valley, CA is 12-4.

Julian Rodriguez stopped Jose Lopez in round three of a scheduled 10-round junior welterweight bout.

Rodriguez dropped Lopez four times, and the fight was stopped at 2:10 of round three

Rodriguez, 142.6 lbs of Bergan County, NJ is 21-0 with 14 knockouts. Lopez, 142.3 lbs of Tormon, MN is 29-8-2.

Jared Anderson stopped Luis Eduardo Pena in round one of a scheduled six-round heavyweight bout.

Anderson landed a plethora of power punches to the head and body and Pena took a ferocious beating until the bout was stopped at 2:14.

Anderson, 246.1 lbs of Toledo, OH is 7-0 with seven knockouts. Pena, 229.6 lbs of Oxnard, CA is 6-2.

Andy Hiroka remained undefeated with a 4th round stoppage over Rickey Edwards in a scheduled eight-round junior welterweight bout.

Early in round three, Hiroka sent Edwards to the canvas with a right hook. It was another right hook that put Edwards down in the 4th. Later in the round, with Edwards hurt, a barrage of punches sent Edwards down again. A few seconds later, Hiroka landed a flurry that forced the stoppage at 2:20.

Hiroka, 140.9 lbs of Yokahama, JAP is 16-0 with 10 knockouts. Edwards, 140.7 lbs of Paterson, NJ is 12-5.

Oscar Valdez survived a hard knockdown to comeback and stop late-replacement Adam Lopez in round seven of their scheduled 10-round junior lightweight bout at the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas.

In round two, Lopez landed a perfect left hook that dropped Valdez.

In round seven, Valdez turned the tide when he landed a left hook that sent Lopez to the canvas. Lopez began to bleed from his nose. Valdez landed a hard right that sent Lopez back, and that gave Valdez the confidence to land a left and right that forced referee Russell Mora to stop the fight at 2:53.

Lopez took the fight on about 30 hours notice after original opponent Andres Gutierrez checked in at 11 pounds over the mandated 130-pound weight limit

Valdez, 129.8 lbs of Nogales, MX is 27-0 with 21 knockouts. Lopez, 126 lbs of Glendale, CA is 13-2.

The win sets Berchelt up for a spring battle with WBC champion Miguel Berchelt.

Former two-division world champion Carl Frampton introduced himself to a new weight class by winning a 10-round unanimous decision over previously undefeated Tyler McCreary in a junior lightweight contest.

Frampton used his experience and made the fight an inside battle and started beating the body of McCreary.

In round six, Frampton sent McCreary to a knee from a left to the body. In round nine, it was a double left hook to the body that sent McCreary down.

While McCreary had some moments in the fight, Frampton was mostly dominant and won by scores of 100-88 on all cards.

Frampton, 128 lbs of Belfast, Northern Ireland is 27-2. McCreary, 127.5 lbs of Toledo, OH is 16-1-1.

Frampton will now look towards a showdown with WBO champion Jamel Herring.

Frampton landed 141-461 punches. McCreary was 77-412

Patrick Teixeira dug own deep and although bloodied, came back to win the Interim WBO Jr. Middleweight title with a 12-round unanimous decision over Carlos Adames

Texieira started to bleed over his right eye in round five. Adames controlled the action through the first half of the fight.

In round seven, Adames came on and had Teixeira hurt on the ropes and bloodied both of his eyes. Somehow Teixeira was able to stage a huge comeback at the end of the round with some straight lefts and then a right hook put Adames down on the canvas. Teixeira continued on the momentum and won by scores of 116-111 and 114-113 twice.

Teixeira, 153 1/4 lbs of Sao Paulo, BRA is 31-1. Adames, 153 1/2 lbs of Santiago, DR is 18-1.

“I am very happy to bring a world title back to Brazil,” said Patrick Teixeira. “I want to make boxing bigger in Brazil. Soccer is our biggest sport, and this is a great moment for boxing in my country. It was tough with the cuts, but I was able to get through it because of my experience. It was a little harder, but my corner did an excellent job on the cuts. I felt like I needed to win the last round. It was a close fight. Every point was crucial, and I won the final round to win the fight.” 

“We are so proud of Patrick Teixeira for capturing the interim WBO World Title at 154 pounds,” said Oscar De La Hoya, Chairman and CEO of Golden Boy. “It was a brutal and bloody war, but Teixeira really dug deep to earn himself the most important win of his career against a very dangerous fighter. We look forward to starting the new year with yet another champion in our stable.”

Arnold Barboza Jr. stopped William Silva in round five of a scheduled 10-round junior welterweight bout.

In round three, Barboza dropped Silva with a left hand. In round five, Barboza landed a hard right hand to the body that made Silva crumple to the canvas for the 10-count at 2:59.

Barboza, 140 lbs of South El Monte, CA is 23-0 with 10 knockouts. Silva, 139 1/2 lbs of Sao Paulo, BRA is 27-3.

Larry Gomez won an eight-round split decision over Brian Mendoza in a welterweight contest

Mendoza started to swell around his left eye in round three.

Gomez, 146 lbs of West Jordan, UT won by scores of 77-75 on two cards. Mendoza took a card 77-75.

Gomez is 10-1. Mendoza, 146 1/2 lbs of Albuquerque, NM is 18-1.

Guido Vianello remained undefeated with a one=punch stoppage over Colby Madison in a scheduled six-round heavyweight bout.

Vianello landed a hard right that sent Madison down for the 10-count at 45 seconds.

Vianello, 237 lbs of Rome, ITA is 6-0 with six knockouts. Madison, 239 lbs of Owings Mills, MD is 8-2-2.

Andy Hiraoka stopped Rogilio Casarez in round two of a scheduled eight-round junior welterweight bout.

Hiraoka dropped Casarez with a right hook, and then finished him off with a big flurry of punches at

Hiraoka, 140 lbs of Yokahama, JAP is now 15-0 with 10 knockouts. Casarez, 139 1/2 lbs of Batesville, AK is 13-9.

Xander Zayas stopped Virgil Windfield in round one of a scheduled four-round welterweight bout.

In round one, Zayas landed an overhand right that put Windfield on the canvas. It was another overhand right that sent Windfield down again, and the fight was stopped at 1:48,

Zayas, 146 1/2 lbs of Plantation, FL is 2-0 with two knockouts. Windfield, 148 lbs of Concord, NC is 2-3-1.