By Jake Donovan
Jason Moloney’s second straight local headliner comes with a late opponent switch.
The bantamweight contender had just wrapped up training camp ahead of his June 15 main event at Seagulls Rugby League Club in Tweed Heads, New South Wales, Australia. Whatever time was spent specifically preparing for Mexico’s Cesar Ramirez will go to waste, as he will now face Tanzania’s Goodluck Faustini Mrema, Moloney’s manager Tony Tolj informed BoxingScene.com on Sunday.
“These things happen,” Moloney (18-1, 15KOs) told BoxingScene.com of the late opponent switch, taking the news in stride. “A big thank you to Tony Tolj for putting in many sleepless nights in getting me a replacement (opponent) who is going to come to test me.”
No official reason was given for Ramirez’s removal from the show, which will mark Moloney’s second fight in less than three months. His return home also took place at this venue, coming this past March in a 5th round injury stoppage of Cris Paulino. The bout was his first in his adopted home region of New South Wales, relocating with his wife and newborn child earlier this year.
“I always prepare correctly no matter the circumstances,” Moloney noted of having to mentally prepare for a completely different style in Mrema (23-4, 13KOs), who is winless outside of his native Tanzania. “It's what being a professional is about.”
Moloney continues to attempt to prove his worth in a loaded bantamweight division following his heartbreaking exit from the World Boxing Super Series. The Aussie slugger—whose twin brother Andrew, a top-rated super flyweight, also fights on the show—fell just short in a 12-round split decision thriller with then-unbeaten Emmanuel Rodriguez in the WBSS quarterfinals last October in Orlando, Fla.
He’s since rebounded with the win over Paulino, which came less than a month after the birth of his daughter Isla. As if he didn’t carry enough motivation into the ring this weekend, the recent massive upset registered by Andy Ruiz’s unseating of unified heavyweight titlist Anthony Joshua has every A-side in the industry on their toes.
“You can never overlook any fighter. Look what happened with Anthony Joshua last week,” notes Moloney. “I can't let slip-ups like that happen to me.”
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
