Former amateur standout Jason Mallia (9-0, 5 KOs) cruised through his first 10-round bout with flying colors, scoring a big win over teak-tough Ben Horn (6-8, 1 KO) to become Australian to be crowned welterweight champion at the Pullman Hotel in Albert Park, Melbourne, on Thursday evening.
The 29-year-old Mallia, a smart boxer-puncher with quick hands, was not quite on his own in the beginning after a right hand from Horn badly damaged his left eye. Horn, with his awkward pressure-fighting style, went after Mallia in the third and targeted his damaged bulb.
Mallia, with his vision compromised, had to box through adversity for the next few stanzas. He had a better round in the fourth, pushing Horn back and landing the faster punches. The counter left hook was a particularly effective weapon for the Melbourne native, while a right hand over the top of Horn’s head snapped back. But to the credit of the younger brother of former WBO welterweight titleholder Jeff Horn, the 34-year-old from Brisbane appeared unfazed by the assault.
Mallia continued to do the better job in the fifth, but his left eye remained a problem. Horn was falling behind and needed to get into a different gear in the sixth, and while he didn’t exactly get it right, he largely gave as good as he got and engaged in some spirited exchanges.
As the fight wore on, Mallia settled into his rhythm. The outpourings from Horn have become both less frequent and more predictable. Mallia was able to mix sharp jabs with movement and time and time again determined Horn with shocking right hands.
With a round to go in their match for the vacant national crown, Horn was advised by his trainer, Glenn Rushton, to go there and look for the knockout. Horn tried, but Mallia had all the answers. In the second half of the round, he landed an unforgiving right hand to Horn’s face that snapped his head back and drew blood from his nose.
When the cards were counted, Mallia was declared the winner with scores of 98-92, 100-90 and 99-91.
“He got me with a really good shot and I just knew I had to stay focused. It was a bit of an issue early on but I just kept sticking to the plan,” said Mallia as she squinted through her injured left eye after the victory.
“Anyone who knows me and knows my story knows I was around the block in boxing and always fell short, so that means the world. It goes back to when I was 13 years old, that little boy in me. I’ve been training so hard and everyone knows I don’t cut corners, so it means everything to me.”
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In the co-main event, junior middleweight puncher Lilo Telepe (5-0, 5 KOs) lived up to the hype, walking and stopping Luke Gersbeck (7-1-1, 5 KOs) midway through the fourth round of their eight-round contest.
Auckland, New Zealand native Telepe boxes from Melbourne’s western suburbs. The 19-year-old has made headlines with his explosive style since turning professional in April last year, knocking out his first four opponents in less than two rounds. In his first eight-round bout against Gersbeck, the real question was how Telepe would fare if his opponent could take him deep into the fight. We could hardly find out.
Balaclava’s Gersbeck (30) was clearly the sharper boxer. But it didn’t matter much against the squat Telepe, who dragged him into the trenches and often got the better of him when he worked inside.
The first sign that Gersbeck might be in trouble came early in the second round when Telepe let his mouthpiece fly. Telepe kept up the pressure and succeeded with a three-press combination to the body and head that crumpled Gersbeck to the canvas.
Gersbeck recovered and snapped Telepe’s head back late in the frame with a series of hard uppercuts, but it wasn’t enough to claw back the deficit on the scorecards.
The faster hands of Gersbeck continued to land in the third, but Telepe remained dangerous with his powerful punches launched from all angles. The pace of the fight was already starting to show, with both boxers appearing visibly tired before the bell. Gersbeck returned to his corner with swelling and a small cut under his right eye. A sharp right hand to the jaw from Telepe was the most striking blow of the round.
Things quickly came to a head in the fourth. The relentless pressure from Telepe paid off as he clipped a tiring Gersbeck with a punch that sent him to the canvas. Gersbeck beat the count, but Telepe swarmed him and dropped the defenseless boxer on the ropes with a two-fisted attack. Referee Brett Manton stepped in to save Gersbeck from further punishment at the 1:52 mark of the round.
Telepe celebrated his victory with a backflip from the top rope.
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In an entertaining and fast-paced eight-round bout for the vacant Victorian state middleweight title, Blake Wells (11-2, 5 KOs) scored an eight-round split decision victory over Apai Cook (3-2, 3 KOs) via the slimmest of margins.
At 6-foot-1, Wells seemed to have all the physical advantages against Cook, who stood four inches shorter, and for the first two rounds that was the case. But Cook began to find his range in the third heat, hammering his opponent with hard shots.
Cook tried to hit the natural southpaw Wells in the fourth and even put on a bit of a show, a move that would cost him late in the round when a Wells right hook clipped him on the chin and sent him to the deck.
There were some lively exchanges in the fifth, with both boxers trading on even terms. Cook opened a small vertical cut over Wells’ eye with a lead right hand late in the heat.
Wells boxed well early in the sixth, but the pace of the fight began to take its toll as Cook began to land heavy shots, landing with power to the body and head. Wells went right at Cook to start the seventh, but came off second best in the exchange. He had more success when he took the fight long, but there was little punch to his punches. Cook snapped Wells’ head back with a right hand late in the round and continued to attack the body with venom.
Wells landed some smart left crosses in the eighth, but Cook countered with a head-butting left hook. The powerful work to the body of Cook continued in the final round, with many combinations ending with a blow to the breadbasket.
The winner was ultimately decided by knockout, with Wells leading the match 76-75 on two of the judges’ scorecards, while the third judge had Cook ahead by the same margin.
A rematch will not disappoint.
Other results
Joel Taylor UD 6 Kohei Hatanaka
Billy Polkinghorn TKO 2 Wilber Carame
Vita Pomale UD 6 Heath Graham
Dominic Molinaro TKO 4 Elliott Glenister
Andrew Eglezos TKO 2 Suriya Thongkoed
Liam Reynolds KO 4 Deng Mawut Atem
Australian boxing journalist Anthony Cocks has covered the sport for over 20 years for various print and online publications. Follow him on X.
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