Willibaldo Garcia Perez vs Andrew Moloney Preview June 6th, 2026
IBF Junior Bantamweight Champion Willibaldo Garcia Perez of Mexico will be battling it out with former two-division champion Andrew Moloney of Australia this Saturday, June 6th. The 12-rounder from Tokoname, Japan can be seen live on ABEMA in Japan while fans in America may be able to catch the action on the Saikoulush YouTube channel. Moloney last fought in November when he stopped Pawan Kumar Arya in the fifth round. Perez last saw action 13 months ago when he beat Rene Calixto by split decision in a rematch to take the IBF Junior Bantamweight Crown. Perez and Calixto first met six months earlier and battled to a draw for the vacant belt.
Perez vs Moloney Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Willibaldo Garcia Perez -105
- Andrew Moloney -125
My Pick
The 36-year-old Perez makes the ring walk with a record of 23-6-2 with 13 Ko’s and has boxed 177 rounds since making his pro debut back in 2017. He stands 5-feet-4-inches tall but unfortunately there’s no reach information for him so we don’t know how mush of an advantage or disadvantage he has against Moloney in reach. We do know that he’s not the hardest-hitting junior bantamweight out there though but he’s quite respectable as 56.5 per cent of his victories have come by stoppage, including five of his past seven.
Perez has five defeats on his record with the first coming in 2018 in his second pro fight when he dropped a four-round majority decision to Esteban Camacho Varo after having a point deducted in each of the second and third rounds. In fact, Perez’s pro career got off to a rocky start. After winning his pro debut he lost his next three contests as he also dropped four-round decisions to Rafael Alexander Delgado and Rafael Marzan and fought to a three-round no-contest with Jesus Sanchez after Sanchez was unable to continue following an accidental foul.
Perez then drew his seventh pro outing in a six-rounder with Misael Gracia Acevedo, also in 2018. His next loss came at the hands of Alexandro Santiago via a 10-round majority decision in a shot at the WBC International Bantamweight Title in 2020. Perez then fought for the vacant WBO International Bantamweight belt in 2021 against Paul Butler but was dropped in the first round and was edged by a 10-round split decision. He did manage to capture the IBF Latino Super Flyweight Title in 2023 via an eighth-round TKO over Marlon Rios Sarinana. He also has wins over Victor Mendez, Oscar Nery Plata and Dewayne Beamon.
The 35-year-old Moloney makes the ring walk with a mark of 28-4 with 18 Ko’s and has boxed 216 rounds since making his pro debut in 2014. His first two losses were both against Joshua Franco for the WBA Super Flyweight Title. Franco won their first meeting by close unanimous decision in 2020 and the first rematch saw Franco retain the title after the fight was ruled a no-decision in the second round when the champion claimed he couldn’t continue after suffering a phantom head butt. Another rematch was held in August, 2021 with Franco once again winning via a close unanimous decision.
Moloney has pretty good power as 64.3 per cent of his victories have come by stoppage and he had won four straight fights by KO until running into Franco the first time. Since losing the rematch with Franco he’s beaten Froilan Saludar, Gilberto Mendoza, Alexander Espinoza and Norbelto Jiminez for the vacant WBO International Super Flyweight Crown in October, 2022. Moloney then suffered a brutal 12th-round TKO at the hands of Junto Nakatani in 2023 in a shot at the vacant WBO Super Flyweight Title.
He bounced back with a 10-round unanimous nod over Judy Flores for the vacant WBO Global Super Flyweight Belt but in May, 2024 Moloney lost a 12-round split decision against Pedro Guevara of Mexico for the Interim WBC Super Flyweight Title. He’s won his last two fights though by halting Jakrawut Majungoen and Pawan Kumar Arya. Moloney measures 5-feet-5-inches tall with a wingspan of 65 inches for an inch edge in height on the champion.
Since turning pro after a fine amateur career Moloney he has also captured several Australian, Oceania and Commonwealth belts in the bantamweight and junior bantamweight divisions. His biggest wins have been against the likes of Miguel Gonzalez, Selemani Bangaiza, Luis Concepcion, Rene Dacquel, Aramis Solis and Raymond Tabugon with Franco, Nakatani and Guevera being the only men to beat him. He’s 3-2 in his last five fights and has stopped two of his last six opponents.
Prediction…
Perez and Moloney are quite durable and experienced with enough power to cause some damage. Moloney has been stopped just once while Perez has never been halted and has a slightly better chin. In addition, all of Perez’s defeats have been by very close decisions. Moloney needs to throw a lot of leather to beat Perez, but he can’t afford to get hit too often. I’m expecting a close battle here with Moloney pulling it out, likely via a close and controversial decision.
Moloney needs to assert himself each round.
Play: Andrew Moloney -450 @ BetOnline.ag
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Andrew Moloney betting • Willibaldo Garcia Perez betting