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Add FightsATW on GoogleAndrew Moloney feels the wind has finally turned in his favour ahead of his fifth world title fight on Saturday in Japan.
Moloney (28-4, 18 KOs) collides with Mexico’s Willibaldo Garcia for the IBF super flyweight title at the Aichi Sky Expo in Tokoname following a tormenting period to become the mandatory challenger. The 35-year-old Australian spent weeks being pushed around Mexico, where he was meant to face off with Argi Cortes in a final eliminator for the red and gold belt. However, multiple date and location changes forced the trip to be cut short, as Moloney took the long flight home with his world title dreams in tatters.
“I really feel that this is my time,” Moloney said in an exclusive interview for FightsATW. “I’ve been through a lot, especially over the last few years. It felt like a lot of things weren’t going my way, and you always try to stay positive, but it was difficult at times. But now it feels like it was all meant to be; this is my time. Winning this world title on June 6 is going to make all the blood, sweat, and tears over the last twenty years worth it.”
The IBF sided with Moloney after some unfathomable requests from the Cortes’ team. Moloney returned home to have a keep-busy fight in Fiji against the little-known Pawan Kumar Arya last November, while Garcia was gearing up to defend his belt against Kenshiro Teraji in Saudi Arabia eight weeks later. However, the Mexican would pull out of his fight with Teraji the day before due to sickness.
“I feel now that those difficult times make you more hungry,” Moloney explained. “It has kept me so focused on this goal of becoming a world champion. Now, finally, we are here, and I feel those difficult times are going to make it all the more sweet when I have that world title strapped around my waist. You feel when you go through those moments, you think, maybe, is that my story? I should have been a champion multiple times, but that’s not how the story is going to end. The story is going to end with that world title around my waist, and on a positive note, not a case of what could have been!”
There were fears that Moloney could be walked over, and an exception could be made to delay his shot at the IBF world title. Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez was also on the search for the undisputed title at super flyweight, which presented Moloney the task of pressing the IBF to make a much less lucrative fight.
“I will say that the IBF has a really good reputation, and I can see why through the last six months or so,” Moloney said. “They’ve really done the right thing by me, which almost comes as a shock sometimes in boxing. What happened to me in Mexico, they saw that we were getting stuffed around and that the other team was trying to get an advantage by moving the location of the fight to a higher altitude without giving us any notice. The IBF did the right thing, stood by me, and moved me into the mandatory position [for their world title].
“Also, when they were trying to get me to step aside because of this undisputed fight with Bam and Willibaldo, the IBF stuck by their mandatory position and let me have the fight. Which is in the rule book and should have been done. It’s refreshing that they look after the fighters and do what’s right by the fighters. They probably could have made more money by saying ‘no’ to me and letting the undisputed fight happen, but you get into a mandatory spot with the IBF, and they will reward the fighter with a title shot.”
Garcia (23-6-2, 13 KOs) won the IBF title against Mexican counterpart Rene Calixto by split-decision in Zacatecas last May. The pair had previously fought to a split-decision draw six months previously in Japan, in a largely under-the-radar and unreported manner.
“From watching a lot of tape of him, he brings the same thing every fight really,” Moloney discussed. “It’s just relentless pressure with punches coming from all angles. Hooks, uppercuts, overhands. There are not many straight punches that he throws at all. He just brings a lot of pressure and really lets his punches go from all angles.
“But there are plenty of holes, and I know exactly what it takes to beat this guy. I’m extremely confident, and I’ve been putting in the work to make sure we leave with that belt around my waist. For this camp, I have brought out a Mexican sparring partner and a Chinese sparring partner, who are perfect for this opponent. I couldn’t be happier with the level of sparring for this camp. It’s a pretty awkward style Willibaldo has got, so we did well to find two quality guys to replicate him.”
Having to take most of his career’s bigger fights abroad in America, Moloney will make his Japanese debut next Saturday, despite his family’s history with boxing in the country.
“It’s funny because I’ve wanted to fight in Japan for so long now,” Moloney recalled. “I remember early on in my career that the OPBF title was really big in Japan, and we purposely went out to Japan to target that title in the hope that I would fight next in Japan. I won that title, but it never eventuated. Here we are ten-odd years later, and I’m finally getting the chance to fight over there. Especially after watching Jason (Moloney) fight over there too a couple of times now. Just seeing how good the scene is over there, particularly in the lighter weight divisions. It’s better there than anywhere else in the world. I’m looking forward to being a part of it. The Japanese are always very fair, and it’s neutral territory. I think it’s perfect, everything has played out exactly how we want it.”
Moloney’s twin brother, Jason, has fought twice in the country, experiencing the biggest fanfare of his career.
“Jason has been there a bunch of times, but I have only been there once.” Moloney added: “That was to watch Jason fight Tenshin Nasukawa in Tokyo. The other time he fought in Japan, I was fighting a week after him, so I couldn’t make it. So, I’ve only been there once, and I’m looking forward to getting back over there. It’s better if Jason is in my corner. I like having him there. He’ll be flying over for this fight. When we are not fighting on the same night, it can be a bit stressful. When we are just there supporting each other and in each other’s corners, I feel like that really helps.
“Jason has a lot of fans over there, and even when I went over to watch him, I had a lot of supporters there for myself as well. I’m hoping the Moloney name will have a bit more of a following over there, and the Japanese crowd will get behind me. Overall, in the lighter weight divisions, around super flyweight, bantamweight, and flyweight, Japan is the place to be for that market. They put on huge shows over there at that weight, which is something you don’t necessarily see that much elsewhere.”
The former WBA belt holder has had to wait just over three years for another crack at world honours having fallen short in a 12th-round stoppage loss to Junto Nakatani. Controversy followed as Moloney was given a highly debatable split-decision loss to Pedro Guevara in his homeland a year later. Having had to go back to the drawing board again to rebuild for a fifth career world title fight has obviously made the Australian’s net conquest all the more meaningful.
“Normally, when we fight overseas, we do a month or so of camp where we are fighting,” said Moloney. “But because we are so close to Japan, it’s only a time difference of an hour and only an eight-hour flight. So, we set up camp at home [in Queensland] this time. But obviously, because there is so much on the line this time and it’s the most important fight of my career, we want to make sure everything is done properly.
“I’m actually staying at a…It’s hard to explain. We got ‘The Bunker’ I like to call it, down my trainer’s [Angelo Hyder] farm, where we have all the sparring partners living. I would have been there the whole five weeks, away from the family, just to lock in! Ensuring there are no distractions and we do everything right. It’s a lot of time away from the family, but we have had to make sacrifices to make sure everything is perfect for this one.”
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