Why You Should Care About: Jason Moloney

Naoya Inoue’s meteoric and spectacular rise looks set to shine some light on the lower weight classes. One of the beneficiaries of this could be a boxer who has stepped through the ropes with the man they call ‘Kaibutsu’. Australia’s Jason Moloney suffered a seventh-round TKO at the hands of ‘The Monster’ back in 2020. But since then he has hit a rich vein of form that has taken him back to the top of his sport.

Moloney steps through the ropes this weekend against Saul Sanchez on the undercard of Callum Smith’s IBF, WBC and WBO light heavyweight title challenge against Artur Beterbiev. It is a great platform for ‘Mayhem’ as he aims to continue an admirable post-Inoue rebuild.

The Melbourne man was a high quality amateur. At the 2010 Commonwealth Games, Moloney beat Michael Conlan via count-back in a standout fight. But it was in the pros where ‘Mayhem’ truly hit his stride. 

The domestic scene Down Under didn’t know what had hit it when Moloney went on a destructive tear through the bantamweight and super bantamweight divisions. Jason compiled a 16-0 record with 15 stoppages and picked up domestic, continental and Commonwealth belts in both divisions. It seemed like the nation that had propelled Jeff Harding, Jeff Fenech, Anthony Mundine and Kostya Tsyzu to ring stardom had produced another ring icon.

Moloney entered a richly talented field for the bantamweight World Boxing Super Series. Inoue was in the bracket along with ring legend Nonito Donaire, WBA champion Ryan Burnett and WBO kingpin Zolani Tete. It was a star-studded competition and a possible breakout moment for Moloney.

Unfortunately for the Australian, he was beaten in his first round fight. IBF champion Emmanuel Rodriguez eked out a split decision over Moloney to retain his title. It was a disappointment for the challenger, but the close nature of the fight demonstrated his world level credentials.

A run of four knockouts in as many fights positioned ‘Mayhem’ back at the front of the queue. Moloney earned a title shot against the man who had won the Super Series, IBF and WBA champion Inoue.

At that stage only two men had even taken Inoue to a decision in a 12-round fight. The brutal punching of ‘Kaibutsu’ had overwhelmed quality men over and over again. Inoue’s dominance would hold against the brave Moloney, who succumbed in seven one-sided rounds. 

But just like in the aftermath of the Rodriguez defeat, Moloney would not relent. Joshua Greer Jr was beaten via a wide unanimous decision before Francisco Pedroza Portillo suffered the same fate. Then came a three-round thrashing of Aston Palicte and a unanimous decision over Navapon Khaikanha, both back home in Melbourne. These four victories helped banish the Inoue humbling and reset Moloney on course for title belts.

At the third time of asking, ‘Mayhem’ took championship hardware home with him. The vacant WBO bantamweight title was on the line as he took on Vincent Astrolabio in Stockton, California last May. Like the Rodriguez bout, the action was closely contested. But this time, Moloney triumphed. A strong jab and constant movement saw him do enough to outpoint Astrolabio by majority decision. ‘Mayhem’ was finally a world champion.

Now he defends his world crown for the first time as he heads to Canada to box Saul Sanchez. With Inoue up at super bantamweight these days and greats like Donaire coming to the end of the line, there is room for a bantamweight superstar. Moloney has a solid fanbase in his homeland, has mixed with big names already, has considerable power and now a title belt around his waist. Why should you care about Jason Moloney? Because he might just be about to define the bantamweight division for years to come.