SYDNEY, Australia – Jason Moloney has revealed a fear that his career would be over if he didn’t defeat Herlan Gomez on his recent return to the ring.
On the occasion of his first fight in his home country for over three years, on the undercard of Jai Opetaia-Huseyin Cinkara in Australia’s Gold Coast, he eased to victory in four rounds.
The former WBO bantamweight champion was fighting for the first time since losing successive fights, to Yoshiki Takei for his title and then to Tenshin Nasukawa.
Gomez, 26 and of the Philippines, proved overmatched, but Moloney – fighting for the first time since signing a three-fight promotional agreement with Tasman Fighters – had previously feared that he could present the end.
“People always say ‘I don’t even think about that’, but of course you do, and that adds fuel to the fire,” the 34 year old told BoxingScene. “I’m a realist. I know that I couldn’t afford to lose that fight, and if I was to lose, then perhaps it would have been all over for me.
“As much as you can want to do something in this sport and as much as you can want to continue fighting and continue chasing the dream, the opportunities don’t come if someone doesn’t believe in it as well.
“It’s a three-fight deal. This is rebuilding away; I’m looking at it as if it is the final chapter. If I can’t get through the rebuild phase – and I think a couple of wins should put me in for a world-title shot relatively quick – if I was to slip up on the way back to the top then that’s probably me done. I guess it added pressure, but as I said, I’m a realist – you don’t get too many opportunities in this sport if you’re not performing.
“You’ve got to go out there and get the job done, and take care of business. I’ve got a great team around me that I believe can get me back to the top, but I had to do my job, and that was win the fight.”
