Former amateur standout Jason Mallia (9-0, 5 KOs) came through his first 10-round bout with flying colors, scoring a wide points win over the teak-tough Ben Horn (6-8, 1 KO) to be crowned Australian welterweight champion at the Pullman Hotel in Albert Park, Melbourne, on Thursday night.

The 29-year-old Mallia, a clever boxer-puncher with quick hands, didn’t have it all his own way in the early going after a right hand from Horn badly damaged his left eye. Horn, with his awkward, pressure-fighting style, went after Mallia in the third, targeting his damaged orb.

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 snappier shots. The counter left hook was a particularly effective weapon for the Melbourne native, while a right hand over the top snapped Horn’s head backwards. But to the credit of the younger brother of ex-WBO welterweight titleholder Jeff Horn, the 34-year-old from Brisbane seemed unfazed by the assault.

Mallia continued to do the better work in the fifth, but his left eye remained a problem. Horn was slipping behind and needed to find another gear in the sixth, and while he didn’t exactly manage to do that, 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 onward rushes from Horn were becoming both less frequent and more predictable. Mallia was able to mix up crisp punches with movement, timing Horn again and again with jarring right hands.

With a round to go in their bout for the vacant national crown, Horn was advised in the corner by his coach Glenn Rushton to go out there and look for the knockout. Horn tried, but Mallia had all the answers. In the second half of the round, he smashed an unforgiving right hand into Horn’s face that jolted his head back and drew blood from his nose. 

When the cards were tallied, Mallia was announced the winner by scores of 98-92, 100-90 and 99-91.

“He got me with a real 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, squinting through his wounded left eye after the win.

“Anyone who knows me and knows my story knows I’ve been around the block in boxing and always fell short, so this means the world. This goes back to when I was 13 years old, that little boy inside me. I trained so hard and everyone knows I don’t cut corners, so this means everything to me.”

***

In the main support bout, junior middleweight puncher Lilo Telepe (5-0, 5 KOs) lived up to the hype, walking down 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 out of Melbourne’s western suburbs. The 19-year-old has made waves with his explosive style since turning professional in April last year, knocking out his first four opponents in under two rounds. In his first eight-round bout against Gersbeck, the real question was how Telepe would cope if his opponent could take him deep into the fight. We barely got to find out. 

Balaclava’s Gersbeck, 30, was clearly the sharper boxer. But that didn’t account for much against the squat Telepe, who dragged him into the trenches and regularly got the better of the exchanges when he worked his way inside.

The first sign that Gersbeck might be in trouble came early in the second round when Telepe sent his mouthpiece flying. Telepe kept up the pressure, finding success with a three-punch 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 shots upstairs, but it wasn’t enough to claw back the deficit on the scorecards. 

The quicker hands of Gersbeck continued to land in the third, but Telepe remained dangerous with his powerful punches that were launched from all angles. The pace of the fight was already starting to tell, with both boxers appearing visibly fatigued at the bell. Gersbeck returned to his corner with swelling and a small cut under his right eye. A sharp right hand to the jaw of Telepe was the most eye-catching punch of the round.

Things quickly came to a head in the fourth. The relentless pressure from Telepe paid dividends as he clipped a fatiguing Gersbeck with a punch that sent him to the canvas. Gersbeck beat the count, but Telepe swarmed him, unloading on the defenseless boxer on the ropes with a two-fisted assault. 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 off the top rope.

***

In an entertaining and fast-paced eight-rounder for the vacant Victorian state middleweight title, Blake Wells (11-2, 5 KOs) eked out an eight-round split decision win over Apai Cook (3-2, 3 KOs) by the slimmest of margins.

At 6-foot-1, Wells appeared to have all the physical advantages against Cook, who stood four inches shorter, and for the first two rounds that appeared to be the case. But Cook began to find his range in the third heat, hammering his opponent with hard shots.

Cook tried switch-hitting against natural southpaw Wells in the fourth and even engaged in a little showboating, 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 spirited exchanges in the fifth, with both boxers trading on equal terms. Cook opened up 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 bout was beginning to take its toll as Cook started unleashing heavy-handed 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 exchanges. He had more success when he took the fight long, but there was little snap on 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 clever left crosses in the eighth, but Cook retaliated with a head-snapping left hook. The powerful work to the body from Cook continued in the final round, with many combinations concluding with a blow to the breadbasket.

The winner was ultimately determined by the knockdown, with Wells edging the bout 76-75 on two of the judges’ scorecards, while the third judge had Cook ahead by the same margin.

A rematch would 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-based boxing journalist Anthony Cocks has been covering the sport for over 20 years for various print and online publications. Follow him on X.