When bantamweight contender Jason Moloney takes on unified titleholder Naoya Inoue, the Japanese star universally regarded as one of the pound-for-pound best fighters in the world, he will surely be a heavy underdog. But Moloney believes he has what it takes to dethrone “The Monster.”
“I think Inoue is a great fighter and right now the No. 1 bantamweight in the world and probably pound-for-pound top 5,” Moloney told BoxingScene.com. “He is very explosive and has a lot of power, but I also see him as another man with two arms and two legs.
“I think every fighter has weaknesses and every fighter can be beaten. I believe that I have what it takes to beat Inoue and this is my big opportunity to prove it.”
Top Rank is in the process of finalizing the fight to headline an ESPN-televised card on Oct. 31 from the bubble inside the conference center of the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Moloney got the call to face Inoue after bantamweight world titlist John Riel Casimero elected to go in another direction rather than look to reschedule their April 25 unification fight that initially was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. When the financial terms of the fight changed because there would be no spectators allowed at a rescheduled bout, Casimero took another fight instead.
That opened the door for Moloney, who had been scheduled to fight Josh Greer in the co-feature of that April 25 fight.
The 29-year-old Moloney (21-1, 18 KOs), of Australia, who is the twin brother of former secondary junior bantamweight world titlist Andrew Moloney, instead returned on June 25 inside the bubble and knocked out Leonard Baez in the seventh round. Soon after came the offer to fight Inoue (19-0, 16 KOs), 27, who has won world titles in three divisions (junior flyweight, junior bantamweight and bantamweight).
“This is the biggest challenge there is and that is what excites me,” Moloney said. “With the ultimate challenge comes the ultimate reward. This will be the hardest fight of my life but winning this fight will also be the most rewarding and most satisfying moment of my life.”
Moloney has won four fights in a row, all by knockout, since suffering his lone defeat, which came by split decision challenging then-bantamweight world titlist Emmanuel Rodriguez in October 2018 in Orlando, Florida, in the quarterfinals of the eight-man World Boxing Super Series tournament. Rodriguez would go on to get badly knocked out by Inoue in the second round of their semifinal match.
Moloney has studied up on Inoue, including watching his last fight, which was a unanimous decision – 117-109, 116-111 and 114-113 – against four-division champion Nonito Donaire in an enthralling bantamweight title unification fight in the final of the World Boxing Super Series on Nov. 7 in Saitama, Japan.
The fight was picked as the 2019 fight of the year by several media outlets and was voted fight of the year by the Boxing Writers Association of America, honors Moloney said the fight deserved.
“Inoue versus Donaire was an incredible fight,” Moloney said. “Both guys put on a great performance. A lot of people were surprised with how well Donaire did in this fight but, honestly, I wasn’t. Donaire showed what I already believed -- Inoue is human. He can be hit, he can be hurt and he can be beaten. You just need to have the brains and bravery to do it and I believe I have both.”
Indeed, Donaire opened a cut over Inoue’s right eye with a sharp left hook in the second round and it caused him problems for the rest of the fight. Inoue said he had double vision thereafter and he also suffered a fractured orbital bone and nose in the second or third round.
It was the vulnerability Inoue showed that Moloney said gives him such confidence ahead of their probable showdown.
“This is everything to me. This is my chance to make all of my dreams come true,” Moloney said. “I have given everything to this sport and this is the opportunity I have been working for. Winning this fight will change my life and I couldn’t be more excited. I’m ready to shock the world.”
Dan Rafael was ESPN.com's senior boxing writer for fifteen years, and covered the sport for five years at USA Today. He was the 2013 BWAA Nat Fleischer Award winner for excellence in boxing journalism.