Former world bantamweight challenger Jason Moloney (21-1, 18 KOs) talked to Fightnews.com to say he is confident he can upset pound-for-pound best IBF, WBA bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue (19-0, 16 KOs) when they clash on the proposed date of October 31st in Las Vegas on a Top Rank promotion televised on ESPN.
“I see this as the opportunity of a lifetime,” Moloney said. ”This is the chance for me to achieve my dreams, become an undisputed world champion and the number one bantamweight in the world. This is everything that I have worked towards my whole life.
“Of course, this is a huge challenge but this is the type of challenge that excites me. This is the reason I train so hard every day, continue to make endless sacrifices, and dedicate my life to this sport. I am in this sport to test myself and be the best that I can be. This fight means everything to me. I truly believe that I’ve got what it takes to beat Inoue. I’m ready to shock the world!”
Moloney’s manager Tony Tolj added…
“It’s the biggest challenge in today’s boxing, we put Inoue as pound for pound number one. We have huge respect for the WBA, IBF, Ring Magazine champion. In life, you have to dare to be great. It was around 50 years ago that Lionel Rose became a boxing immortal by beating Harada. I have full confidence in Jason Moloney’s ability, heart and determination and I expect to see the fight of 2020.”
This should be a good one! The Maloney brothers bring it and it’ll be a fun fight to watch.
First, how is Inoue after his grueling fight against Nonito Donaire, where he suffered an injury in one of his orbital bones, nose and a cut?
Also, some wheels came off of the Japanese train in this fight, where Donaire was able to staggers him with some big shots, showing a dangerous permeability on Inoue’s defense, along with this, Donaire absorbed the best of his punching power.
Moloney is a kid with nice skills and very decent output. He is a difficult matchup for any top bantamweight, Inoue included. If Inoue is in top condition, this fight could be similar to the one against Rodriguez, but if he is not, Moloney could upset him.
Good assessment… Let us see how Inoue is after some serious injuries.. he is human and these have a psychological affect.. Good move I would say on Inoues part going in with this level of opponent to retest the waters as they say…
Wish Moloney all the best but Inoue is a beast and should not be underestimated. Deff a great matchup looking forward to it.
Earth to Jason Maloney,
NO you won’t !!!
As we should remember, Inoue was supposed to fight Casimero of Philippines. But due to covid, it did not happen. that also would have been a unification fight. I wish Maloney luck, but he lost a split decision to a boxer that Inoue knocked out. Don’t really see Maloney having much luck either.
He had two burst ear drums in that loss – Still fought til the end, Maybe his balance would have been affected, wouldn’t have been easy to fight like that. Shows he had a big heart, this will be a cracker fight.
I can’t see lnoue losing this fight
Ummm, there won’t be any upset here. Inoue will blitz this kid.
I’ve watched many of Naoya Inoue’s fights and he is punching much harder in his last few fights than ever before. His punches seem to accelerate before they land. He gets great leverage on his shots without a lot of effort and looks like he’s trying to punch through his target. I’d swear I could hear his left hooks whistling on the way to the target.
Donaire was the bigger man, is a fearsome puncher, and had fought at featherweight. Yet, Inoue took Donaire’s best punches and gave much more in return. Inoue has a small frame and shouldn’t go any higher than bantamweight. I do believe Inoue’s best weight is at 115 lbs, but the best fights for him are at 118 lbs.
Jason Moloney is a good fighter, but Inoue is a great fighter and would be too much for him. Moloney showed his durability and fighting spirit with his strong finish against Rodriguez. However, Rodriguez had built up a big lead before Moloney’s strong finish and held on for the decision.. We all know what happened to Rodriguez in his fight against Inoue. There was a comment earlier about burst eardrums, but I believe that was brother Andrew in his loss to Joshua Franco.
Inoue took everything Donaire threw at him and survived at least one rocky moment. Jason Moloney is not that type of puncher. I expect Inoue to win decisively either by KO or unanimous decision. The fight I would really like to see is Nery vs Inoue. That would be a real battle.
I want to see inoue v nery as well but he can’t even make weight and offering the other side more money to accept the extra weight gives him the advantageputting the other side at risk…. MAKE WEIGHT NERY
Yes … Maloney will SHOCK the world
by losing within 3 rounds