James Moore (17-3, 10 KOs) lost by unanimous decision to Pawel Wolak (27-1, 17 KOs) at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York on Saturday night.

Wolak outworked Moore for the majority of the fight on the inside, and though Moore had good moments when he fought at distance, too much of the bout was fought on the ropes, which worked to Wolak's favor.

Moore started the fight very brightly, getting a little distance to get his shots off and landing several hard blows. 

The 32-year-old’s best punch of the round was a huge right uppercut at the end of the first stanza that ensured he won the round on all three judges’ cards.

Moore continued to do well in the second round, but Wolak came into the fight more and forced the Irishman onto the ropes and some inside fighting.

Wolak soon got a foothold in proceedings and Moore got sucked into a close quarters inside affair for the mid section of the fight.

Though Wolak did not connect with many of the punches he threw, the sheer volume prevented Moore from sticking to his fight plan of boxing and turned the fight in the Polish American’s favor

Temperatures around fight time hovered about 83 degrees Fahrenheit (just over 28 degrees Celsius) so it was an energy-sapping humid night for the Irishman, who tired as the fight went on and the pressure from Wolak took its toll.

However, a strong effort in the final rounds from Moore closed Wolak’s lead, but the Irishman left himself too much work to do.

Judges G. DeGabriel and K. Morgan scored the fight 97-93, while F. Lombardi scored the fight 96-94, all in Wolak's favor.

“Wolak won the fight. James stayed on the ropes a little too much,” said Moore’s father Jim afterwards.

“James needed to stay in the middle of the ring and box a bit more,” he added.  “Wolak’s relentless volume of punches wore him out.”