STOCKTON, California — Vanquished Filipino fighter Vincent Astrolabio traveled back to Los Angeles on Sunday morning armed with a car-load of hard lessons following his botched bid to win the World Boxing Organization bantamweight crown.
Before he signed off, Astrolabio heard a mouthful from the men who have been tasked to reinvent him as he attempts to get back into world title contention in 2024.
“Don’t worry,” strength and conditioning coach Memo Heredia told Astrolabio, who dropped a 12-round majority decision to Australian Jason Moloney on Saturday night at the Stockton Arena.
Sean Gibbons, the influential boxing man who set up Astrolabio for that coveted shot at the WBO 118-lb plum, swore the judges put too much premium on Moloney’s side-to-side movements even if it was clear as day his fighter was the aggressor.
“He didn’t hurt Vincent while Vincent hurt Moloney a few times,” added Gibbons as the team dissected the failed attempt to wrest the WBO diadem.
Parker Gibbons, Sean’s son and who shared back-up corner duties with brother Brendan, felt Astrolabio should have stepped up the attack as he had shown that Moloney was in panic mode whenever he was being roughed up.
Two of the judges scored in favor of Moloney while the third had it even.
Moloney, who finally won a world championship in his third try, banked heavily on his jab to mess up the rugged Astrolabio all night long.
With Astrolabio suffering a heartbreaking loss, the Philippines remains with two world champions at the moment.
The two are newly-crowned super-bantamweight boss Marlon Tapales, who holds the World Boxing Association and International Boxing Federation straps, and WBO minimumweight ruler Melvin Jerusalem.
Next month, another Filipino will bid to join them when Jade Bornea faces Argentine Fernando Martinez in Minneapolis for the IBF super-flyweight jewels.
If Astrolabio gets back on track, Gibbons will move heaven and earth to give him another chance next year.
