VINCENT ASTROLABIO lines himself up as another Filipino world champion as he fights Australian Jason Moloney on May 13 for the vacant World Boxing Organization (WBO) bantamweight belt at the Stockton Arena in Stockton, California.
Undisputed world champion Naoya Inoue vacated the WBO crown after he climbed from bantamweight to the super bantamweight division, thus giving up his three other world titles.
Trainer and manager Nonoy Neri told BusinessMirror through internet call from Las Vegas that Astrolabio is in good condition after completing 12 rounds of sparring session over the weekend.
“He sparred with Jade Bornea and he’s doing very well,” said Neri, adding that they concentrated on enhancing Astrolabio’s quickness to catch Moloney whom they expect to brawl in the 12-round bout.
“We are focusing on developing his quickness, we want him to be fast and explosive,” he said. “We don’t have any problem with Vincent’s stamina and power.”
Bornea, meanwhile, takes on International Boxing Federation super flyweight champion Fernando Daniel Martinez of Argentina on June 24 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Both Astrolabio and Bornea are inspired with newly-crowned unified super bantamweight world champion Marlon Tapales.
“Marlon’s victory turned out to be a great motivational factor and inspiration to everyone,” Neri said.
Astrolabio (18-3 won-lost with 13 knockouts) is coming off a spectacular sixth-round knockout win over Russian Nikolai Potapov in a title-eliminator last December in Las Vegas.
The 32-year-old Moloney 25-2 won-lost with 19 knockouts he highlighted by with a third-round knockout of Filipino Aston Palicte last June in Melbourne, Australia.