Australian Jason Moloney (left) fought but lost his WBO bantamweight title to Yoshiki Takei via unanimous decision. (Photo: Philip Fong/AFP via Getty Images)
Former bantamweight titleholder Jason Moloney (27-3, 19 KOs) plans to return to Japan to once again claim one of the sport’s top four titles.
Earlier this year, Moloney had the opportunity to defend his WBO belt for a second time when George Kambosos Jr. faced Vasily Lomachenko in Perth, but instead opted to head overseas to build his brand in the lucrative Japanese market.
In May, Moloney traveled to Japan to face former kickboxer turned boxer Yoshiki Takei (9-0, 8 KOs) at the Tokyo Dome, a fight that was supposed to be a prelude to Naoya Inoue’s undisputed junior featherweight title defense against Luis Nery.
The relatively inexperienced Takei had won all eight of his previous fights by knockout and was widely believed to be his greatest asset. However, the left-handed fighter from Yokohama proved he had some skill as well, putting in a great fight to take the title from the Australian by unanimous decision with scores of 116-111 (Ellis Johnson), 117-110 (Lou Moret) and 116-111 (Benoit Roussel).
“I’ve got some pretty good support there, but there’s no doubt that Takei is their man,” Moloney said. on 7plus.
“They ripped the roof off the venue and the atmosphere was incredible. Being there and just walking out, there were so many people, as far as you could see. There were 55,000 people. It was challenging to fathom. To fight in front of that crowd was unbelievable. Obviously it wasn’t the result I wanted, but it was the kind of moment you dream of.
“That’s why you work so challenging and dedicate yourself to the sport; it’s for opportunities like this. It’s something I’ll never forget. Unfortunately, I didn’t get the result I wanted, and I hope that one day I’ll have the chance to make up for that mistake.”
“It’s a crazy part of the sport. One minute you’ve got a world title, and the next minute you’ve got to make a choice. Do you want to fight in Australia for Kambosos-Lomachenko, or do you want to go to Japan and fight in the Tokyo Dome in front of 55,000 people?”
“There are always amazing opportunities, but after one failure, no one wants to know you anymore.”
Moloney has been one of the most consistent fighters in Australian boxing over the past decade, losing his first world title fight to then-IBF heavyweight Emmanuel Rodriguez in October 2018 by split decision in Orlando, Florida, before winning four straight, all in close quarters, to earn a title shot against Inoue two years later. In a gutsy effort, he lasted seven rounds against the Japanese phenomenon before rebuilding to set himself up for a fight for the vacant WBO title against Filipino Vincent Astrolabio in Stockton, California, last May.
Moloney fought a slick fight against Astrolabio, winning a majority decision, before hitting the road again to defend his title for the first time against Saul Sanchez in Quebec City, Canada, in January.
California slugger Sanchez gave it his all that night, showing better boxing skills than in previous fights to see the fight through to the finish. Moloney earned the majority nomination, but both boxers gained more fans for their tremendous effort.
At 33, Moloney knows the clock is ticking on his career. And all roads lead back to Japan.
“My division is currently dominated by Japan,” said the 118-pound title challenger, ranked No. 6 by The Ring. “All four world champions are Japanese, so that’s where I really need to be. I need to go back there and test myself against one of the titleholders in Japan.
“If it was up to me and I had the choice, I would love to fight Takuma Inoue. He’s the WBA world champion. Of course, there’s some history there because I fought his brother. I think it’s a really good fight for me, stylistically. I think I can definitely beat him. I just need the opportunity.
“Whether I need to get another win and move up in the WBA rankings before I can push him for the mandatory, we’ll wait and see. I’ve got a bit of a name there already, so maybe that will encourage him to bring me in as a voluntary defense.”
“But if I could pick one fight, Takuma Inoue would be at the top of my list of goals.”
The bantamweight division is as loaded as any in boxing at the moment, with a slew of stimulating up-to-date faces having won one of the four major belts in the past 16 months. Takuma Inoue (20-1, 5 KOs) is the longest-reigning titleholder after winning the vacant WBA belt against veteran Liborio Solis (37-7-1, 18 KOs) on points last April. Next up is former WBO flyweight and junior bantamweight champion Junto Nakatani (28-0, 21 KOs), who moved up in weight to win the WBC belt against Alexandro Santiago (28-4-5, 14 KOs) via sixth-round TKO in February. Then there’s Ryosuke Nishida (9-0, 1 KO), who won the IBF belt on May 4 with a points victory over Rodriguez (22-3, 13 KOs). Takei is the most recent title holder, with his win over Moloney coming on May 6.
Everyone except Inoue is left-handed.
When asked to pick the best fighter, Moloney had his doubts but ultimately chose Nakatani, who had a 12th-round knockout win over Jason’s twin brother, Andrew, at 115 pounds.
“That’s probably the pick ’em right now,” Moloney said. “We really need to see champions fight champions. That’s what everyone wants to see. Obviously, I want to jump in there and fight one of them before that happens. But I think Nakatani is probably the biggest name in the division right now.”
“I think stylistically he’s probably the toughest opponent in the division, but he’s still someone I’d like to get in there and try my hand at. But we’ll have to wait and see.
“It is said that Nakatani may fight [Takuma] Inoue, so they’ll start looking at ways to unify and combine the titles, but first I want to get in there and try my hand at Inoue.
“Of course I would also like a rematch with Takei. It wasn’t my best performance and I really believe I can beat him, so I would like to try him again. Inoue, he is the best for me. If I could choose, he is the one I would want.”
But for Moloney, boxing is about more than titles and scalps. It’s about moments he’ll cherish for the rest of his life.
“I just want to get the most out of this sport that I can,” he said. “I’ve dedicated my life to this sport, so all you want are gigantic occasions, gigantic nights and unforgettable occasions that you can tell your children and grandchildren about in the history books.”
The World Boxing Council (WBC) ordered world cruiserweight champion Badou “The Ripper” Jack (20-1-1, 19 KO) to make a mandatory title defense against Ryan “The Bruiser” Rozicki (20-1), number 1 in the WBC ranking – 1, 19 KOs).
If both camps fail to successfully negotiate an agreement, the WBC will organize a tender on February 4, followed by the Jack vs. Rozicki. Rozicki’s promoter, Three Lions Promotions, immediately sent Team Jacek an offer to promote the fight in Canada last week.
“We are waiting for their counteroffer,” explained promoter Dan Otter of Three Lions Promotions. “Boxing has had a huge resurgence in Canada and Ryan is leading the way. He is one of the most electrifying and hardest-hitting fighters in boxing, definitely in the cruiserweight division. He wants the WBC green belt and ultimately the unification of the division. Ryan will fight Jack anywhere for the belt.”
29-year-old Rozicki, born in Sydney (Nova Scotia) and living in Hamilton (Ontario), fought 22 professional fights against 21 different opponents (twice against Yamil Alberto Peralta), stopping 19 of the 20 opponents he defeated. an eye-opening 95-KO percentage.
Jack, 41, was a 2008 Olympian representing his native Sweden. He is a three-division world champion, as well as the WBC super middleweight and World Boxing Association (WBA) lightweight heavyweight title holder. Jack has a record of 5-0-2 (2 KO) in world championship fights.
“We respect Jack and I don’t want to sound disrespectful,” Otter added, “but he’s over 40 years vintage and has been relatively inactive for two years (only one fight). He brings a lot of experience and respect to the ring, but he will fight a newborn defender with a lot of power. Jack is going to struggle and honestly, I don’t think he’ll make it past the first few rounds.”
Ryan Rozicki is on a mission to become the first Canadian cruiserweight world champion.
Floyd Mayweather’s incredible 50-0 record is not normal and cannot be repeated in sports for another seventy years.
This is the view of Saudi Arabian president Turki Alalshikh, who wants to adopt the UFC model in which fighters lose many fights during their career.
In a speech as he hosted the Ring Magazine Awards after acquiring the long-running boxing publication from Oscar De La Hoya, Alalshikh was unequivocal in his opinion.
“Now losing some fights in boxing must be normal,” he explained. “All fighters want a career similar to Floyd Mayweather – no losses. This may happen once every 50, 60 or 70 years.
“We need it [to be] like currently in the UFC model, where champions lose and win,” added the matchmaker during the Riyad season.
Mayweather rose through the sport in the tardy 1990s to become one of its youngest superstars. Mayweather’s professional success came after winning a bronze medal at the Olympics after losing to Serafim Todorov.
Winning world titles in five weight classes, Mayweather was untouchable. The Grand Rapids native only came close to defeat a few times. He dominated Manny Pacquiao and overtook Canelo Alvarez and Oscar De La Hoya after heated debates, with decisions that should have been made unanimously.
Towards the end of his career, Mayweather chose to face Andre Berto and Conor McGregor, easily winning and ending his boxing career at the age of 50 without ever going out. Calling himself “the greatest of all time,” Mayweather earned first-ballot Hall of Fame honors and is widely considered one of, if not the greatest defensive fighter of all time.
However, Alalshikh says this type of career needs to end so that fans can get the most out of boxing, as is the case with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Boxing needs to become more attractive, and Alalshikh sees the failures of top stars as a way to keep interest at an all-time high.
In this sport, many boxers enjoy undefeated streaks, the most notable of which is Oleksandr Usyk. The Ukrainian Pound for Pound King is 23-0 and has beaten the best he has to offer in his division and cruiserweight classification.
It remains a mystery how Alalshikh plans to make Usyk suffer while he dominates everyone else. By the time his grand plan goes into action, Usyk will be long gone, and Gervonta Davis, Shakur Stevenson and Devin Haney may be more realistic targets.
WBN understands that despite alternative options emerging, it is more likely that Manny Pacquiao will face Mario Barrios next.
Bob Santos, coach of WBC welterweight champion Barrios, told World Boxing News that he is currently in contact with Pacquiao’s team. Asked by WBN if he had spoken to Pacquiao or representatives of any other challenger, Santos replied: “Yes, Pacquiao’s promoter, Sean Gibbons.” Pressed on whether Barrios vs Pacquiao might happen next, he added: “It’s challenging to say. We’ll have to see how this plays out.”
WBN contacted Santos after Conor Benn emerged as a potential alternative to Barrios. The British fighter, who recently returned from a suspension following two positive drug tests, is keen to return to competition.
Benn showed favor with the World Boxing Council at the recent WBC Convention, the WBC Evaluation Committee and during an interview with the sanctioning body over the weekend. “The Destroyer” is ranked second in the rankings at 147 pounds, despite less than solid opponents during his time in exile, during which Benn competed twice in the United States while his career in the United Kingdom was in doubt.
As he battled to clear his name and with the British Anti-Doping Authority finding no evidence that Benn had intentionally taken ostarine, the 28-year-old’s career took a pointed nosedive. Despite this, he remains highly rated and at least one step away from fighting for an eliminator or one of the remaining championship titles.
However, Pacquiao remains Barrios’ favorite. Now it’s up to the boxing legend and Hall of Famer who got the first votes to secure his shot. WBN believes a July date – most likely at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas – is the most realistic date for a Nevada swan song.
Pacquiao could extend his record as the oldest welterweight champion by six years if he can secure a huge victory over the 29-year-old world champion. At 46 years antique, such a scenario remains unlikely, but he can never be compared to one of the greatest players of this generation.
Unlike heavier boxers and his training regiment, Pacquiao looks in great shape despite his advanced age. Everything is set for a massive return to the boxing capital of the world, provided Pacquiao and his team can manage his political ambitions, which are expected to run from this month until May. After that time, Pacquiao could find himself in the summer finals and become the all-time champion, regardless of the result.
Barrios is based in the city, where he trained with Santos, and would be the perfect opponent to see out the career of one of the greatest fighters in history.
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